Delphine Feminear Thomas
A middle-aged white woman, smiling, with grey hair in curls.
Delphine Feminear Thomas, from a 1941 newspaper.
Born
Delphine Feminear

October 1, 1890
Bay Minette, Alabama
DiedJuly 22, 1963
Auburn, Alabama
Other namesMrs. A. L. Thomas
OccupationEducator

Delphine Feminear Thomas (October 1, 1890 – July 22, 1963) was an American educator and civic leader in Auburn, Alabama.

Early life

Delphine Feminear was born in Bay Minette, Alabama, the daughter of Joseph Feminear and Delphine Byrne Feminear. She graduated from Troy State Normal School in 1910.[1][2] She attended a summer program for teachers at the University of Alabama in 1914.[3]

Career

Feminear was a high school teacher in rural Pike County, Alabama as a young woman.[4][5] In 1913 she became principal of a school in Edgewater, a mining community near Birmingham.[6] In 1915 she presented a paper on "Homes for Rural Teachers", and was elected vice president of the Alabama Educational Association, and the association's meeting in Montgomery.[7] From 1919 Thomas was an assistant in the English department at Auburn University.[8][9] While at Auburn, she volunteered as a nurse during the 1918 flu pandemic.[10] She taught junior high school at the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education in Fairhope in 1930.[11]

Thomas organized Auburn's first Girl Scout troop and the first girls' 4-H Club programs,[12] and was active in politics,[13] the Alabama Congress of Parents and Teachers,[14] Auburn Methodist Church, and American Red Cross work.[15][16] Her 1938 essay, "Some Facts About the Alabama Poll Tax Laws", was printed in newspapers statewide.[17][18] She served on the Alabama State Personnel Board from 1941 to 1953.[19][20][21] "She has made herself a place in the grateful affections of thousands who live in the rural districts on account of her work with canning clubs and in supervising rural schools," according to a 1916 report.[22]

Personal life

In 1916, Delphine Feminear married engineering professor Albert Lee Thomas (1885–1963). They had a son, Albert Lee Thomas Jr. (1923–1996), and a daughter, Delphine Thomas Cain.[20][23] She died in Auburn in 1963, a few weeks after her husband, aged 72 years.[24][25] In 1977, Thomas was nominated for the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame, as a notable educator and community leader.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Troy University (1919). The Palladium 1919. Troy University Archives. Troy University. p. 101 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ "State Normal Class of 1910 Holds Reunion". The Montgomery Advertiser. 1940-06-02. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Alabama, University of (1914). Catalogue. University of Alabama. p. 183.
  4. ↑ Duncan, L. N. (1911). "What Constitutes Successful Work in Agriculture in the High School". Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the 1st-25th Annual Meeting of the Southern Educational Association: 535–536.
  5. ↑ Ziegler, Edith (2010-10-06). Schools in the Landscape: Localism, Cultural Tradition, and the Development of Alabama's Public Education System, 1865-1915. University of Alabama Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8173-1709-6.
  6. ↑ "Notes and Personal". The Baldwin Times. 1913-10-23. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Publications of Associations". Bulletin, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 49: 3. December 1915.
  8. ↑ Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama (1916). Catalogue of the State Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. The College. p. 8.
  9. ↑ "List of Faculty Members". Auburn University, 1856-1956. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  10. ↑ "Letter of Appreciation". The Selma Times-Journal. 1918-11-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Organic School Notes". Fairhope Courier. 1930-05-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "4-H Club Work Leads the Way in Alabama". Greene County Democrat. 1949-08-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Women Voters for Hill in the Senate Race". The Baldwin Times. 1937-12-16. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "The Women Tell Us". The Cullman Tribune. 1938-11-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Red Cross Holds Annual Meeting Here and Elects New Officers". Opelika Daily News. 1960-06-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 "Hall of Fame Women Nominated". The Selma Times-Journal. 1977-03-27. p. 32. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Delphine F. (1938-11-24). "Some Facts About the Alabama Poll Tax Laws". The Union-Banner. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Thomas, Delphine F. (1938-12-01). "Some Facts about Alabama's Poll Tax Laws". The Ashland Progress. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Named by Dixon". The Cherokee County Herald. 1941-02-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. 1 2 "Mrs. Thomas Rites Today". The Montgomery Advertiser. 1963-07-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Woman Will Succeed Hall". The Decatur Daily. 1941-01-16. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Wedding Bells". The Baldwin Times. 1916-07-27. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Auburn Professor Buried Last Monday". The Baldwin Times. 1963-06-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Mrs. A. L. Thomas Dies in Hospital". The Baldwin Times. 1963-07-25. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "A Great Lady Passes". The Baldwin Times. 1963-08-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-11-17 – via Newspapers.com.
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