Maud A. B. Fuller

Maud A. B. Fuller
Born Maud Anna Berry
(1868-10-07)October 7, 1868
Lockhart, Texas
Died January 26, 1972(1972-01-26) (aged 103)
Lockhart, Texas
Nationality American
Alma mater Tillotson College, Guadalupe College
Occupation Educator, Editor, Missionary
Spouse(s)
William Handy Fuller (m. 1914–1941)

Maud Anna Berry Fuller (October 7, 1868 - January 26, 1972) was an African American educator and a leader in the Baptist church. She was the founder and the editor of the Woman's Helper, a national newspaper. Fuller served for 41 years as the president of the National Baptist Convention's Women's Auxiliary.

Biography

Fuller was born in Lockhart, Texas on October 7, 1868.[1][2] She attended Tillotson College and then went on to Guadalupe College.[3] Fuller went on to teach for some time in Seguin, Texas.[4] She later taught in Austin, Texas and in other Texas cities.[5][2]

Fuller married William Handy Fuller in 1914 and they were together until his death in 1941.[2][6] Later, in 1932, they would purchase and run the N.W. Rhambo Funeral Parlor and a funeral home.[2] The Fullers were known for taking in orphans and providing education for young people and educated them both at her home and abroad.[7] Margaret Taylor Simms, was orphaned at 13 and came to live with Fuller.[8] Simms would go on to work at Fisk as a dean.[8][9] Maude Fuller George of Liberia graduated from the Florida Normal and Industrial Institute in 1943.[10]

She became the secretary to the Woman's Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention in 1916 and then became president in 1928.[1] She wrote literature for missionaries, including Guides for Home and Foreign Missionary Societies.[11][3] She also founded and edited the national newspaper, the Woman's Helper.[2]

Fuller raised the money to build a mission in Liberia in 1944.[12] She went on several missions to Africa, including the one that secured the land for the permanent mission in Liberia.[2] She also gave speeches and spoke about her missionary work around the country.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

In 1954, she was given an honorary humanities degree and a doctorate from the Union Baptist Theological Seminary.[5] Fuller retired as the president of the Woman's Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention in 1968 and became the president emeritus.[19]

Fuller died on January 26, 1972 in her home in Lockhart.[2][7] She is buried in Austin in the Evergreen Cemetery.[5] She was fondly called "Mother Fuller" or "Aunt Maude" by people who knew her.[7] The prayer room of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin is named after Fuller.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Winegarten, Ruthe (1996). Black Texas Women: A Sourcebook. Janet G. Humphrey and Frieda Werden, Consulting Editors. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 249. ISBN 9780292785564.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Craig, Algerene Akins (2010). "Fuller, Maud Anna Berry". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 "First Ladies of Colored America - No. 12". The Crisis. 50 (9): 272. September 1943 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Glasrud, Bruce A. (2008). "Time of Transition: Black Women in Early Twentieth-Century Texas, 1900-1930". In Glasrud, Bruce A.; Pitre, Merline. Black Women in Texas History. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN 9781603444095.
  5. 1 2 3 "Maud Anna Berry Smith Fuller - Austin - TX - US". Historical Marker Project. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  6. ↑ Smith, A. Arro. "Fuller Funeral Home". The Business of Burying the Dead in Early East Austin: Black-owned Mortuaries. Retrieved 2018-02-21.
  7. 1 2 3 Thomas, Willa (12 February 1972). "Church Events". Indianapolis Recorder. Retrieved 22 February 2018 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  8. 1 2 Malone, Sheterric; Beasley, Marsha (1993). "Margaret Simms Collection Papers, 1950-1974" (PDF). Fisk University. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  9. ↑ Major, Gerri (3 March 1960). "Society". Jet. 17 (19): 38 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ "Liberian Graduate". The Crisis. 50 (8): 254. August 1943 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Library of Congress Copyright Office (1921). Catalogue of Copyright Entries. 18. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 51.
  12. ↑ Winegarten, Ruthe; Kahn, Sharon (1997). Brave Black Women: From Slavery to the Space Shuttle. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780292785557.
  13. ↑ "Mrs. M.A.B. Fuller is New Light Speaker". San Antonio Register (San Antonio, Tex.). 9 (43): 8. 1939-11-24 – via The Portal to Texas History.
  14. ↑ "Noted Baptists". Indianapolis Recorder. 13 October 1951. p. 8. Retrieved 20 February 2018 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  15. ↑ "Out-Of-State Leaders Will Include Texan". Tampa Bay Times. 1960-03-14. p. 20. Retrieved 2018-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Baptist Leader to Speak Here". Arizona Republic. 1939-08-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2018-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Women Hear President". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1952-09-20. p. 4. Retrieved 2018-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Annual Meeting of Woman's Missionary Union, Southern Baptist Convention". Word and Way. 1942-05-28. p. 7. Retrieved 2018-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "J.C. Sams Is Reelected by Baptists". The Times. 1968-09-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2018-02-22 – via Newspapers.com.
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