Savannah, Ga., March 21, 2019 - The Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Waters Foundation, Inc., and the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute & Ecology Center, will dedicate a new historical marker about Susie King Taylor. Taylor was born to enslaved parents in Liberty County and grew up to become an educator, nurse, and author.
The dedication will take place Tuesday, March 26, at 11:00 a.m. at Midway First Presbyterian Church, 672 N. Coastal Hwy, Midway, Georgia.
The keynote speaker is Michael Thurmond, historian and DeKalb County CEO. Thurmond is the author of Freedom: An African-American History of Georgia, 1733-1865 (Longstreet Press 2003). Other speakers include Don Waters, Chairman of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and The Waters Foundation, Inc., and member of the GHS Board of Curators; Hermina Glass-King from the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute and Ecology Center; Reverend Jamil El-Shair, pastor of the First Midway Presbyterian Church, and Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society.
“It is rare that we find so fitting an example of the original Georgia Trustees’ guiding principle, Non Sibi, Sed Aliis, ‘Not for Self, But for Others,’” said Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society. “As an educator and as a nurse, Taylor selflessly and courageously risked her health, her independence, and even her life in service to others. She was an eyewitness to some of the most tumultuous, triumphant, and heart-breaking moments in American history and left us with a record of her experiences that is unique in its perspective and invaluable to our understanding of the wartime experiences of African Americans associated with the U.S. Army.”
The Marker Reads:
Susie King Taylor (1848-1912)
Educator, nurse, and author Susannah “Susie” Baker King Taylor was born into an enslaved Geechee family on the Grest Plantation in Liberty County, Georgia. Educated as a child in secret schools in Savannah, she escaped slavery in 1862 during the Civil War. In 1863 she married Sgt. Edward King of the first all-black U.S. Army regiment, the 1st South Carolina Volunteers/33rd U.S. Colored Troops. Moving with his regiment, she served as nurse, laundress, and teacher. After the war, she opened schools for African Americans in Savannah and Midway. In 1874, King moved to Boston, returning to Midway in 1879 to marry Russell Taylor at the Medway Chapel and School located here. In 1902, she published her memoir, Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33rd United States Colored Troops. Susie King Taylor is buried in Massachusetts.
For additional information please contact Patricia Meagher at 912-651-2125, ext. 153 or on cell at 434-996-7085 or by email at pmeagher@georgiahistory.com.
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