The students of the Radical University: Fletcher H. Henderson

Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (b. February 14, 1857; d. December 1, 1943)
South Carolina.  Born enslaved. Black/mulatto.
Occupation: teacher.
Father's occupation: carpenter, politician.

Fletcher H. Henderson was born in 1857 in South Carolina to James Anderson Henderson and Charlotte Boozer.  His father and mother were both born into slavery.  His mother was born in South Carolina, while his father was born in Virginia but moved South Carolina in the 1850s.

Fletcher's parents had different enslavers, and Fletcher lived with his mother, so he did not know James, his father, until he was a young teenager (after the Civil War).  At that time, he moved in with James and his family (the James had married and had a large number of children).  James was a politician during Reconstruction.  He represented Newberry County at the South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1868 and served in the state House of Representatives for 1868-70 and 1874-76.  After Reconstruction, he worked as a carpenter.

Fletcher registered as a student at the University of South Carolina on October 5, 1874, entering in the college preparatory (or sub freshman) class.  By 1876, he was enrolled as a college student following the classical studies track, but the university closed before he completed his education.

After the closure of the University of South Carolina, Fletcher moved to Atlanta and enrolled at Atlanta University, completing an A.B. degree in 1879.  At Atlanta University, he studied with other former students from the University of South Carolina (John Lewis Dart, J. J. Durham, Julius James Holland, Edward Johnson Stewart, Thomas Francis Parks Roberts, and Philip G. Drayton).

After graduating, Fletcher taught school for a term at Hollonville in Pike County, Georgia.  In the 1880s, he was recommended by the President of Atlanta University to fill the position of school principal at the Howard Normal School in in Cuthbert, Georgia.  He stayed in Cuthbert and worked at the school until he retired in 1930.

Fletcher was regarded as a highly accomplished educator who built and maintained one of the best African Americans schools during the early 20th century.  His home in Cuthbert is still standing and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fletcher's son Fletcher H. Henderson Jr. was a celebrated jazz musician.  The family papers are held at the Amistad Research Center.

Fletcher died on December 1, 1943.  He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Cuthbert, Georgia.

Sources

1). Dews, Margery P. "F. H. Henderson and Howard Normal School." The Georgia Historical Quarterly 63, no. 2 (1979): 252-63.

2). 1870; Census Place: Newberry, Newberry, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1504; Page: 650B

3). 1880; Census Place: District 534, Pike, Georgia; Roll: 161; Page: 42A; Enumeration District: 103

4). 1900; Census Place: Militia District 718, Randolph, Georgia; Page: 12

5). 1910; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: T624_210; Page: 4B

6). 1920; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: T625_275; Page: 15B

7). 1930; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0001

8). 1940; Census Place: Cuthbert, Randolph, Georgia; Roll: m-t0627-00703; Page: 6B