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Title
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EWP conkiln 1924
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Place
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Virginia
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Identifier
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1007501
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Is Version Of
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1007501_EWP_conkiln_1924.pdf
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Is Part Of
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Uncategorized
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Date Created
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2024-01-07
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Format
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Pdf Document
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Number
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77e42b0a7fbbc9286ce5459dfd4034b7d066cc37694e3921caac46bf333cb68e
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ffeafa1f09b10868f2d06cd4006c901b265d43829891d02d544eaba321f9c621
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Source
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/Volumes/T7 Shield/EWP/Elements/EWP_Files/Access Files/Upload temp/1007501_EWP_conkiln_1924.pdf
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Publisher
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Digitized by Edwin Washington Project
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Rights
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Loudoun County Public Schools
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Language
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English
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Replaces
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/Volumes/T7 Shield/EWP/Elements/EWP_Files/source/Ingest One/14 Town and County Histories/14-1 Conklin/conklin/EWP_conkiln_1924.pdf
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extracted text
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1924/25 Academic Year. Conklin closed, despite Intervention by J.F. Ryan
Curtis Ewing of Leesburg was to be the instructor at Conklin in the
1924/25 academic year and was certified in all topics with a local permit.
He would eventually teach at a number of schools in Loudoun. The
gentleman even had a six month contract for the princely sum of $40 a
month. However the school was closed that year, due to a resolution of the
county school board (R. M. Emerick 1924). Reference Note: The closure is
also reflected by the Loudoun County School enrollment cards in the
Figure 1 Curtis Ewing,
undated photo from the
1950's, courtesy of
Lewis Jett.
school system archives in Round Hill, Loudoun. In addition, there was
nothing in the Richmond school files (Virginia Department of Public
Instruction 1892-1975, Reel 4438).
Education for African Americans had been uneven since the Civil War, with “colored
schools” not gaining a balanced share of resources. In 1924 for example, the Jeanes Fund, a
one-million-dollar national fund donated by Miss Anna T. Jeanes of Philadelphia, allowed
Loudoun to hire a superintendent for “Negro schools;” but the county did not do so until 1931.
The Conklin School was instead closed that year due to an attendance of less than ten
students, which Oscar Emerick, Superintendent of Schools, found to be unlawful (O. L. Emerick
1924).” (School Board 1924). That would have been a good year to have an advocate for
colored schools embedded in the system.
Remarkably perhaps, the local African-American community did attracted the attention of
Mr. John F. Ryan , who spoke on their behalf and requested that the Conklin School be open in
the 1924-25 session; but this was denied by the School Board on March 17, despite the
prominence of Mr. Ryan. (O. L. Emerick 1924), as a former Speaker of the Virginia House of
Delegates, and former County Supervisor.
Figure 2 Resolution to close Conklin March 17, 1924
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 1
Figure 3 Resolution to deny Mr. Ryan's request to keep Conklin open, March 17, 1924
Figure 4 Letter from Emerick to J.F. Ryan July 12, 19241
1
The original of the 1924 letter to Ryan is in the archives of the Prosperity Baptist Church.
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 2
Who was John F. Ryan?
The letter stopping the Conklin School from opening was signed by Oscar L. Emerick,
who had been Loudoun’s school system superintendent
since July 1, 1917 (Stearnes 1918).
The man requesting that the school be
allowed to open was John Franklin
Ryan (born 1849), a retired white
farmer and politician living in his last
years on the farm of Arthur Mankin, a
relative and fellow white farmer on
Arcola Road in the Broad Run District
Figure 5 John F, Ryan
(undated)
of Loudoun (US Census Bureau
1920). The only truly personal things
we know about him were that he was a life-long bachelor and
that he liked to travel. In 1906 he traveled to Jamaica, Colon, across the Isthmus of Panama by
rail, perhaps to see the Panama Canal then under construction, and then up the coast by
steamship to San Francisco (Staff Writer 1906). Then in 1926 he went to Bermuda, returning to
New York on January 7th on the Fort St. George (Records
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 1957,
Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls. NAI: 300346).
Aside from that, John Ryan, had extensive property
holdings in the Arcola area, and was Loudoun’s Delegate to
the Virginia House of Delegates for 11 terms (1884-1906).
He also served as Speaker of the House from 1894-1899,
Figure 6 Ship Ryan traveled on in 1926
and 1901-1906. The gap in Speakership came about
because he bucked the "machine2.”
The only direct reference connection between Ryan and race relations was his 1924
intervention, long after he retired. Unfortunately, Ryan’s political prominence proved of no avail
to Conklin, as the “colored” school didn’t reopen until the 1926/27 Academic Year; yet he at
least tried, which may be a window into how Ryan kept winning elections, namely "constituent
services." None the less, he did have strong opinions on other issues, as seen in 1889 when
speaking of the Readjusters, of whom he was opposed. However, during his unsuccessful bid
2
At this juncture, we don’t know what Ryan did to upset the political machine.
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 3
in 1907 to be the Democratic Candidate for Congress, it was also said of Ryan that he “has
been more successful than the average Virginia public man in avoiding espousing the side of
either of the two wings of the Democratic Party of Virginia and would draw strength from both as
represented in the District (Staff Writer 1907),” an observation which some experts think means
Ryan may have been fairly liberal.
Noted local historian Eugene Scheel actually knew people
who were acquainted with Ryan and told them they never mentioned any antipathy towards
African-Americans, though they were quick to list others with less liberal views (Scheel 2015).
Research Note: Given the politics of the time, Ryan likely supported segregation; but
was he otherwise supportive of African-American education, perhaps even concur with
adequate funding, etc? That question is still to be answered; but it’s important and will be the
subject of more research, especially when he served as a County Supervisor. As an example of
the inequality between White and “Black” schools, “in 1925, Loudoun County spent an average
of $29.27 to educate each white pupil, but only $9.81 on each African-American student. The
minimum annual salary for an African-American elementary school teacher was $315, whereas
the annual salaries for white elementary school teachers started at $520.4 (Causey and
Claypool 2010)3.” “In the late 1910s, the county school superintendent and school board
developed programs to replace one-room elementary schools for whites with graded schools
that served a larger geographical area, but they made little effort to consolidate schools for
African Americans (Causey and Claypool 2010)4”.
3
See also Richard Kluger, Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and
Black America’s Struggle for Equality (New York: Vintage Books, 1977), pp. 70-83; Susan
Cianci Salvatore, et al, Racial Desegregation in Public Education in the United States Theme
Study (National Park Service, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, and
Organization of American Historians, 2000), Section E, pp., 27, 31-21, 35, 39; Doxey A.
Wilkerson, “The Negro School Movement in Virginia: From ‘Equalization’ to ‘Integration,’” The
Journal of Negro Education 29:1 (Winter, 1960): 17-24; French, pp. 15-21. Charles Preston
Poland, Jr., From Frontier to Suburbia: Loudoun County, Virginia, One of America’s Fastest
Growing Counties (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1976), p. 351.
4
See Poland, Charles Preston, Jr. From Frontier to Suburbia: Loudoun County, Virginia, One of
America’s Fastest Growing Counties. Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company,
1976. Poland, pp. 344-345, 351. In 1940, the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) approved
a “program of final consolidation of white schools,” but made no mention of a corresponding
program for the consolidation of schools for African Americans. LCSB Minute Book III, p. 93 (28
February 1940).
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 4
1883 Ryan was Delegate for Loudoun
Ryan was listed as the Delegate for Loudoun and took various measures to advance
livestock agriculture in Loudoun (Clerk of the House of Delegates 1883, pg 4), no surprise since
farming, especially cattle, was his main source of income.
1887 Democratic State Convention, Roanoke, Aug 4, 1887
Ryan was the Chairman of the Committee on Permanent Organization. The party
platform considered (a) abolition of federal taxes, (b) attacking the Readjuster Party, (c)
protecting agriculture and (d) being against the immigration of “foreign paupers (Staff Writer
1887).”
1888 Ryan made Chair of 8th District Delegation
Ryan was elected Chair of the 8th District (Loudoun) to the State Convention (Staff Writer
May ).
1889 Ryan Nominated for Delegate
On September 9th, the Democratic Convention for Loudoun was held in Leesburg and Ryan
was nominated by acclimation. He then made the following points, the last of which might have
dealt with race relations (Staff Writer 1889).
Thanked the audience for endorsement of his career over the prior four years.
He mentioned that he was opposed to an agricultural bill in Richmond to create a Board
of Agriculture with $15,000 worth of salaried officials, a portion of which was to pay for
the travel of someone over the state instructing farmers how to cultivate the soil. Ryan
didn’t think Loudoun’s farmers needed training.
Ryan was also initially opposed to a Railroad Commission, with the same misgivings.
None the less, he voted for it.
Ryan then referred to “the enemy”, meaning William Mahone, a former Confederate
general who was president of several railroads and a controlling force in Virginia politics
from around 1870 until 1883, when the Readjusters lost control to white conservative
Democrats. Mahone was the leader of the party, a coalition of Republicans and
Democrats with support from the Black community, the later because the Readjusters
supported free education and were racially inclusive, despite Mahone having been a
former Confederate General. I
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 5
My guess, absent further research, is that the dispute between Ryan and Mahone does suggest
Ryan was in support of reducing Black influence, especially given a desire by many of the white
electorate to do the same; but it could just as easily have been angst over the populist notion of
breaking up the influence of the agricultural elite, probably both.
1890 Supreme Court decision Plessy vs Ferguson
The Plessy vs Ferguson decision was a license to southern governments to
disenfranchise African-Americans, which they used with enthusiasm. I have found no remarks
by Ryan on the decision.
1891 Democratic Convention in Loudoun
Mr. Ryan was nominated to be Loudoun’s Democratic candidate for Delegate without
opposition. No remarks by Ryan were recorded (Staff Writer 1891).
1892 Virginia Democratic Convention Regarding President Cleveland
Mr. Ryan was elected as the anti-Cleveland Delegate for the 8th District (Loudoun) (Staff
Writer 1892). It’s uncertain precisely why Ryan was opposed, Cleveland was an inconsistent
politician. Cleveland was opposed to discrimination against Chinese immigrants out west,
whereas Ryan likely was opposed to the immigrants. On the other hand, Cleveland was also
opposed to equality for African-Americans, which was the political trend in Virginia. Cleveland
was opposed to pensions for Veterans of the Civil War. Judging by support of Confederate
encampments while he serving as a Delegate, it’s likely this was a definite area of
disagreement.
1897 Ryan Elected Speaker of the House of Delegates
Ryan was elected November 25, 1897 and apparently gave a substantial speech as a
result; but I have not found the text, so far (Clerk of the House of Delegates 1897, pg 6 and
176).
1899 Ryan Delegate for Loudoun
Elected Delegate for Loudoun (Staff Writer 1899).
1901/02 Virginia Constitutional Convention.
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 6
The new constitution disenfranchised African-Americans and brought in Jim
Crow. Ryan was elected Speaker of the House on December 4, 1901 and then on March 18,
1902 received from the Constitutional Convention an ordinance for consideration by the House
to make the laws of Virginia comport with the new Constitution (Clerk of the House of Delegates
1901).
A weird justification by some was that there was a lot of political corruption as a result of
whites trying to overcome Black minorities, so the "solution" was to reduce Black votes, thereby
reducing corruption (Saffer 2012). While that might have been the public excuse, the elite
didn’t want poor white or African-Americans to be able to influence the state through votes.
Veterans of the Union and Confederate armies could vote, including Blacks, but otherwise there
was the poll tax and literacy tests. Most Blacks were poor and many were still illiterate and
so were not grandfathered in, so this eliminated 2/3 of their votes! The question then is, did
Ryan play a role, even if in the background?
There were 100 delegates to the Convention and it was suggested that Ryan attend; but
he declined since he had a job as Delegate to the House of Delegates. Loudoun was
represented at the Convention by Senator Henry Fairfax of Oak Hill. Albert Ferguson of
Fauquier also partly represented Loudoun. In other words, Ryan didn't play a direct role in the
negotiations, though that doesn’t mean he didn’t have an opinion. In addition, at least for the
years in which he was Speaker, he didn't introduce legislation nor vote on bills. Still, as a party
leader, it’s hard to think he didn’t influence things from “behind the curtain,” though the “party
machine” probably had the most influence. While as Speaker, Ryan could not speak publically
on bills from the floor, but he was allowed to appoint a substitute Speaker for a maximum of
three days, during which he could have argued for or against a bill (Clerk of the House of
Delegates 1897, pg 6). I have no record of any statement made that way.
The newspapers did notice Ryan’s arrival in Richmond in November, 1902, describing
him as one of the most popular and genial of people. At the time he was staying at Murphy’s,
then one of the leading hotels in the city at the corner of 8th and Broad (Staff Writer 1902).
1907 Ryan is Candidate for Congress
In 1907 Ryan was in a crowded field of four Democratic candidates
(Staff Writer 1907) to be a congressman from Virginia; but lost in a
nomination process which may have been subject to some fraud
with competitors saying on more than occasion that he had
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 7
Figure 7 Ryan as Candidate
for Congress in 1907
withdrawn when he had not (Staff Writer 1907).
Local reports said he was popular in the
farming community of Loudoun but made few speeches in his run. Unfortunately, none of those
seem to have survived. (Staff Writer 1907, pg 1)
1936 Ryan Dies in Loudoun
Mr. Ryan died Monday, November 30, 1936 at the home of his nephew Emmett Mankin
of Pleasant Valley and was buried in Arcola. Ryan had been in failing health for a year, after
suffering from a fall. The obituary noted he “was a former Speaker of the Virginia House of
Delegates, serving in that capacity in one of the stormiest periods of Virginia’s history since the
War Between the States (Staff Writer 1936).” He was five times elected to the House of
Delegates from Loudoun. Had been a candidate for Congress and also a Director of the
Peoples National Bank of Leesburg and once in a similar capacity with the Herndon National
Bank. He was a large land and cattle owner. Late in life, Mr. Ryan made his home at the
Leesburg Inn. He was survived by a sister, Mrs. Thomas Grimes of Washington, DC.
Where does one find records of Virginia Delegates?
Unfortunately, there are not any official materials kept on the views of individual
delegates; nor does the state keep legislative history or records of debates. There are official
publications of the General Assembly; but that requires identifying specific legislation. In
addition, one can look through the bills for sponsors and the journals for voting information;
however, house journals do not record legislative intent or debates. (Huggins 2015). Another
way is to check newspapers for information about Ryan’s activities in the House of Delegates,
as well as the Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Planet, and the Times Dispatch.
Works Cited
Causey, Evelyn D., and Julia Claypool. Desegregation in Loudoun County Public Schools, 1954-1970. Done
for LCPS System, Washington, DC.: History Matters, LLC, 2010.
Clerk of the House of Delegates. Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of Virginia for the Session
of 1897-98. Richmond: Superintendent of Public Printing, 1897.
—. Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of Virginia for the Session of 1901-1902. Richmond:
Superintendent of Public Printing, 1901.
—. Journal of the House of Delegates of Virginia for the Session of 1883-84. Richmond: Superintendent
of Public Printing, 1883.
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 8
Emerick, Oscar L. Letter to J.F. Ryan of Sterling, Virginia of July 12, 1924. Purcellville, Va.: Loudoun
County School Board, 1924.
Emerick, Ruth M. Minutes of the County School Board Meeting for March 17, 1924. Purcellville: LCPS,
1924.
Huggins, Sarah, interview by Larry W. Roeder. Library of Virginia (6 19, 2015).
Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at
New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication T715. Microfilm, Washington, DC:
National Archives, 1957.
Saffer, Wynne, interview by Larry W. Roeder. Discussion of 1901 Virginia Constiutional Convention (6 21,
2012).
Scheel, Eugene, interview by Larry W. Roeder. Discussion of John F. Ryan (6 23, 2015).
School Board. Minutes for March 17, 1924. Purcellville: Loudoun County School Board, 1924.
Staff Writer. "Virginia Democratic Convention." Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser, May 19,
1892.
—. "Virginia News." Alexandria Gazette, March 27, 1906.
—. "Democratic Nomination." Loudoun Times Mirror, Oct 1, 1891: 2.
—. "Former Speaker Passes On At 87." Loudoun Times Mirror, Dec 3, 1936: 1.
—. "The Genial Speaker." Richmond Dispatch, Nov 12, 1902: 10.
—. "Democratic Convention." The Mirror, Aug 11, 1887: 2.
—. "Democratic Ticket." The Mirror, Sept 12, 1889.
—. "The Democratic Convention." The Mirror, 24 1888, May : 2.
—. "Ryan is Confident of Being Congressman." The Time Dispatch of Richmond, Feb 14, 1907: 12.
—. "Primary Wednesday Be Bitter Fight." The Times Dispatch of Richmond, June 18, 1907: 1.
—. "Candidates Who Make Great Fight Tomorrow For Seat in Congress." Times Dispatch, 6 18, 1907: 1.
—. "Ten Candidates Are in the Field." Times Dispatch, Feb 10, 1907: 1.
—. "House of Delegates." Virginia-Pilot, November 10, 1899: 8.
Stearnes, R.C. Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, School Year 1916-17. Richmond:
Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1918.
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
Page 9
US Census Bureau. US Census for Loudoun County for 1920. Washington: US Bureau of the Census, 1920.
Virginia Department of Public Instruction. "Virginia Dept. of Education, Lists of Teachers, 1892-1975."
Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Public Instruction/Education, 1892-1975.
From https://conklinproject.wordpress.com/students-and-teachers/ by Larry Roeder
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