Mother Mathilda Beasley, born Mathilda Taylor on November 14, 1832, in New Orleans, Louisiana, was a pioneering African American educator and the first Black nun in Georgia. She was born to Caroline, an enslaved woman owned by James C. Taylor. Details about her early life and how she gained freedom remain unclear, but by the 1850s, she had relocated to Savannah, Georgia. ?BlackPast.org

In Savannah, Beasley secretly operated a school for African American children during the 1850s, a time when educating Black individuals was illegal and punishable by fines and public lashings. Her dedication to education showcased her commitment to uplifting her community despite significant risks.?

In 1869, Mathilda married Abraham Beasley, a successful Black businessman and restaurant owner in Savannah. Following his death in 1877, she inherited his estate and donated it to the Roman Catholic Church, specifying that some of the funds be used to establish an orphanage for African American children. ?

Seeking a religious vocation, Beasley traveled to York, England, in the 1880s to train as a nun. Upon returning to Savannah, she founded the St. Francis Home for Colored Orphans in 1886 and established the first community of African American nuns in Georgia in 1889, known as the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. ?

Mother Mathilda Beasley passed away on December 20, 1903, in Savannah, Georgia. Her legacy is honored through the Mother Mathilda Beasley Park in Savannah and her induction into the Georgia Women of Achievement in 2004. ?