When her parents died in the 1890s, Jessie Ellen Mathews
was shunted from relative to relative, once even left alone on the streets.
After being beaten by an aunt, she went to Harrisburg to live with her
brother and in 1904 graduated with honors from Harrisburg High School.
She married attorney Robert Vann, editor of The Pittsburgh Courier,
the nation’s premier Negro newspaper. When he died in 1940, Mrs. Vann assumed
many of his duties at the Courier while continuing to serve on several
national boards. A frequent White House guest, Mrs. Vann was appointed by
President Eisenhower to represent the United States at the inauguration of President
Tubman of Liberia and was offered a post at the United Nations. Her remarkable life
story was documented on the popular ’50s television show This Is Your Life.
Learn how this daughter of a U.S. Colored Troops veteran overcame adversity to become one
of Pennsylvania’s Distinguished Daughters. |
