John Fox Slater
Encyclopedia
John Fox Slater United States
philanthropist
known for assisting in the education of emancipated African American slaves.
(Samuel Slater
's brother and partner), was born in Slatersville, Rhode Island
in 1815 where his family was active in Slaterville Congregational Church and owned the local textile mills and village. John F. Slater was educated in academies at Plainfield, Connecticut
, and Wrentham and Wilbraham, Massachusetts
. At seventeen he entered his father's woollen mill in Hopeville, Conn., of which he took charge in 1836. This and other mills he owned in partnership with his brother, William S Slater, until 1873, when his brother took over the Slatersville Mills and he assumed sole ownership of the mills at Jewett City
. In 1842 he removed from Jewett City to Norwich; there he helped to endow the Norwich Free Academy
, to which his son presented the Slater Memorial Hall. Slater also endowed Park Congregational Church in Norwich and donated Slater Library. Slater died on the 7th of May 1884 and his funeral was held at Park Congregational Church, where he was an attendant.
were Rutherford B Hayes, Morrison R Waite, William E Dodge, Phillips Brooks
, Daniel Coit Gilman
, Morris Ketchum Jesup
and the donor's son, William A Slater; and among members chosen later were Melville W Fuller, William E Dodge, Jr, Henry Codman Potter
, Cleveland H Dodge
and Seth Low
. In 1909 by careful investment the fund had increased, in spite of expenditures, to more than $1,500,000.
The fund has been of great value in aiding industrial schools in the South, its largest beneficiaries being the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute of Hampton, Virginia
, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute of Tuskegee, Alabama
, Spelman Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, Claflin University
in Orangeburg, SC
, and Fisk University
, in Nashville, Tennessee
. At Winston-Salem, NC
, is the Slater State Normal and Industrial School, founded in 1892 and named after the founder of the fund (now part of Winston-Salem State University). Other state normal schools for African Americans received assistance from the fund, as have some Southern urban school boards.
is another legacy. His son William A. Slater presented the Slater Memorial Museum
to Norwich Free Academy
in memory of his father.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
known for assisting in the education of emancipated African American slaves.
Early life and career
Slater, the son of John SlaterJohn Slater (industrialist)
John Slater was an early American industrialist, founder of Slatersville, Rhode Island and younger brother of Samuel Slater, father of the American Industrial Revolution.-Biography:...
(Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...
's brother and partner), was born in Slatersville, Rhode Island
Slatersville, Rhode Island
Slatersville is a village on the Branch River in the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the Slatersville Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
in 1815 where his family was active in Slaterville Congregational Church and owned the local textile mills and village. John F. Slater was educated in academies at Plainfield, Connecticut
Plainfield, Connecticut
Plainfield is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 14,619 at the 2000 census. The town comprises four villages: Plainfield , Moosup , Wauregan , and Central Village . Each village has their own respective United States Post Office and fire department...
, and Wrentham and Wilbraham, Massachusetts
Wilbraham, Massachusetts
Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is also a suburb of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,868 at the 2010 census...
. At seventeen he entered his father's woollen mill in Hopeville, Conn., of which he took charge in 1836. This and other mills he owned in partnership with his brother, William S Slater, until 1873, when his brother took over the Slatersville Mills and he assumed sole ownership of the mills at Jewett City
Jewett City, Connecticut
Jewett City is a borough in New London County, Connecticut, in the town of Griswold. The population was 3,053 people at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. In 1842 he removed from Jewett City to Norwich; there he helped to endow the Norwich Free Academy
Norwich Free Academy
The Norwich Free Academy founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a high school located in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. The Academy serves as the primary high school for Norwich and the surrounding towns of Canterbury, Bozrah, Voluntown, Sprague, Lisbon, Franklin, Preston andseveral...
, to which his son presented the Slater Memorial Hall. Slater also endowed Park Congregational Church in Norwich and donated Slater Library. Slater died on the 7th of May 1884 and his funeral was held at Park Congregational Church, where he was an attendant.
Philanthropy
In 1882 he donated $1,000,000 to a board of ten trustees, incorporated in New York state, for the uplifting of the lately emancipated population of the Southern states, and their posterity, by conferring on them the benefits of Christian education. Among the original trustees of the Slater FundSlater Fund
The John F. Slater Fund for the Education of Freedmen was created in the United States in 1882 for the encouragement of industrial education among negroes in the South....
were Rutherford B Hayes, Morrison R Waite, William E Dodge, Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks was an American clergyman and author, who briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890s. In the Episcopal liturgical calendar he is remembered on January 23...
, Daniel Coit Gilman
Daniel Coit Gilman
Daniel Coit Gilman was an American educator and academician, who was instrumental in founding the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale College, and who subsequently served as one of the earliest presidents of the University of California, the first president of Johns Hopkins University, and as...
, Morris Ketchum Jesup
Morris Ketchum Jesup
Morris Ketchum Jesup , was a United States banker and philanthropist. He was the president of the American Museum of Natural History.-Biography:...
and the donor's son, William A Slater; and among members chosen later were Melville W Fuller, William E Dodge, Jr, Henry Codman Potter
Henry Codman Potter
Henry Codman Potter was a bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. He was the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.-Life:...
, Cleveland H Dodge
Cleveland Hoadley Dodge
Cleveland Hoadley Dodge , was a capitalist and philanthropist.-Biography:He was born on January 26, 1860 to William Earl Dodge, Jr. He established a charitable foundation in 1917 when the United States entered World War I with an initial funding of five million dollars. He died on June 24, 1926 in...
and Seth Low
Seth Low
Seth Low , born in Brooklyn, New York, was an American educator and political figure who served as mayor of Brooklyn, as President of Columbia University, as diplomatic representative of the United States, and as Mayor of New York City...
. In 1909 by careful investment the fund had increased, in spite of expenditures, to more than $1,500,000.
The fund has been of great value in aiding industrial schools in the South, its largest beneficiaries being the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute of Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute of Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 11,846 and is designated a Micropolitan Statistical Area. Tuskegee has been an important site in various stages of African American history....
, Spelman Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, Claflin University
Claflin University
Claflin University is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. Claflin University was founded in 1869 and is the oldest historically black college or university in the state of South Carolina.-History:...
in Orangeburg, SC
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
, and Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
, in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. At Winston-Salem, NC
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, is the Slater State Normal and Industrial School, founded in 1892 and named after the founder of the fund (now part of Winston-Salem State University). Other state normal schools for African Americans received assistance from the fund, as have some Southern urban school boards.
Other
The John Fox Slater HouseJohn Fox Slater House
The John F. Slater House, also known as Elks Club, is a building in Norwich, ConnecticutIt was built in 1827 for John Fox Slater.-External links:*, at HABS...
is another legacy. His son William A. Slater presented the Slater Memorial Museum
Slater Memorial Museum
The J. F. Slater Memorial Museum, also known as Slater Memorial Museum, is a historic building and an art museum in the Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Connecticut....
to Norwich Free Academy
Norwich Free Academy
The Norwich Free Academy founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a high school located in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. The Academy serves as the primary high school for Norwich and the surrounding towns of Canterbury, Bozrah, Voluntown, Sprague, Lisbon, Franklin, Preston andseveral...
in memory of his father.
See also
- John Slater (industrialist)John Slater (industrialist)John Slater was an early American industrialist, founder of Slatersville, Rhode Island and younger brother of Samuel Slater, father of the American Industrial Revolution.-Biography:...