Bibb County GaArchives Photo Tombstone.....Mosley, Ruth Price Hartley ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: James W. Allen jallen46@cox.net July 19, 2005, 7:25 pm Cemetery: Linwood Cemetery Name: Ruth Price Hartley Mosley Date Of Photograph: June 25, 2005 Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/bibb/photos/tombstones/linwood/mosley6673ph.jpg Image file size: 106.3 Kb Ruth Price Hartley Mosley b: 23 September 1886 d: 14 August 1975 Additional Comments: By the late 1800's, slavery in America had been abolished but life for black Americans was still a constant struggle. They were oppressed by discrimination from many white citizens, which made integration into society difficult. Jobs were not easily available to blacks that lacked the skills needed for such positions. They had come from an environment where they were merely property and had not been allowed to be self-reliant. Some black Americans allowed this seeming barrier to become the limiting factor in their lives. It was unusual to see blacks, especially black women, succeed in life by attaining an education, let alone a respectable occupation. Some black women were successful, however, such as Ruth Hartley Mosley. Tethel White of the Macon Telegraph and News said, "Ruth Hartley Mosely got ahead in life at a time when most blacks didn't make it.. she was different. You could tell it in what she did and said". Against all the ruthless odds of a white-dominated society, Ruth Hartley Mosley defied the present stereotypes by escaping poverty and becoming educated, emerging as a leader and leaving a legacy that will live for decades. Ruth Hartley Mosley was born on September 23, 1886 in Savannah, Georgia. Ruth's father, Mr. Price, was a bootmaker in Savannah and met Ruth's mother, a dressmaker, at a ladies' apparel shop. Ruth's father played a large role in enabling Ruth to escape the hard life the Price family was living. He passed down many characteristics to his daughter, including independence and self- support and determination to serve her people in Georgia. Ruth always strove for more opportunities by expanding her education. She attended high school at Beach Institute in Savannah, Georgia, and with her father's support, she attained a high school education. After completing high school, she was determined to go to college and make something of herself. With the intent of becoming a nurse, Ruth went to Barber Scotia Seminary in Concord, North Carolina. Barber Scotia Seminary, a Presbyterian co-ed college, was founded in 1867 and her Ruth attended a seminar that taught young ladies about the nursing profession. Later, Ruth transferred to Provindence Hospital in Chicago. After many challenging years of schooling, Ruth received a degree as a registered nurse. Though Ruth accomplished something that few black women had been able to achieve, she was not satisfied with simply living as a nurse for the rest of her life. Ruth could have stayed in the North and become significantly more wealthy than other black American women of her time, but instead she turned to the South with a determination to serve the black commmunity and to give insight into how they could improve their own lives. In choosing to work in a place that gave fewer freedoms to blacks, it was obvious that Ruth valued service over wealth and luxury. Escaping the poverty of most black Americans of her time, Ruth began her career in 1910 as the head nurse of the "Colored Female Department" at Georgia State Sanitarium in Millegeville, Georgia. Ruth, in fact, is listed as the first black American woman to head a department at what is now connected to Central State Hospital. Ruth's leadership skills grew when she was placed in such a highly ranked position. It was evident that she believed her purpose was to educate other black women on how they could escape poverty as well. However, Ruth needed a companion to help her keep her strong and someone she could turn to when she felt alone. That individual was Richard Hartley, whom she married in 1917. Richard Hartley was a widowed Macon socialite and the owner of a bar. Because the Prohibition Act of 1918, Hartley's business folded. To ease the economic pressure he went into a partnership in Central City Funeral Home. Ruth moved to Macon shortly after they got married and she immediately became involved in the community around her. She also showed a major interest in Richard's mortuary business. In order to assist her hubband to a larger extent, she became a licensed embalmer. Her family says she was one of the first women to obtain such a license. She soon stopped assisting her husband, at which is presently Randall Memorial Mortuary, and returned to helping those who were sick. She began to work at the Bibb County Public Health Department as a public health nurse. During her stay at the health department she was supervisor to "county midwives". Ruth was continually being placed in positions of leadership. Tragically, Richard Hartley died in 1931, leaving Ruth alone for six years. Ruth was left in charge of Central City funeral home after her husband passed away, allowing her to continue to grow as a leader in the community. During the six years, however, she found comfort in her work and was able to invest and build her fortune. Besides her job to keep her busy, Ruth traveled to New York to visit old friends. During Ruth's frequent visits she met a man named Fischer Mosley. They got married in 1937, and Ruth lived in New York with Fischer for one year. Fischer Mosley held the prestigious job of mail clerk, which allowed Ruth to be even more financially sound. After one year, the Mosley's moved to Macon, Georgia wehre Ruth became very well known. She had the desire to improve her speaking technique so she took speech lessons, and developed a speaking style as masterful as her appearance. She wanted to make herself presentable to the people around her so that she could gain the respect needed to be an influetial leader. Referring to Ruth's appearance, the nominators of Georgia Women of Achievement pronounced, She was a person of commanding presence, tall, with a beautiful but serious face and penetrating eyes. She had the look of a natural leader. Ruth Hartley Mosley indeed was a natural leader; she was one of the founding board memebers of the Booker T. Washington Community Center, a trustee board member of Steward Chapel AME Church, charter member of the Georgia Executive Board of National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, leader of Macon's NAACP, organizer of Eula Bennings Registered nurse Club, treasurer of Bibb County Interracial Human relations Council, co-owner of Central City Funeral Home, and she planned as well as too part in sit-ins in downtown Macon. Because Ruth was aging and could no longer handle the duties of owning the mortuary, she sold the Central City Funeral Home in 1967 to Mr. William P. Randall, a close friend of hers. Randall said of Ruth, "She would say, "You are as good as anybody. Never stop fighting. Never accept anything less than first. Never let the fact that you don't have anything keep you from achieving. Let your obstacles be your stepping stones". Fischer died in his sleep on May 12, 1975, and Ruth was once again left alone. Ruth became weak after the death of her second husband and she excluded herself from service for the first time in her life. She decided to move back to Savannah, her birthplace. On August 14, 1975, four months after Fischer died, Ruth Hartley Mosley passed away at the age of eighty-nine at her home in Savannah. The home of the late Mrs. Mosley is now the Ruth Hartley Mosley Memorial Women's Center located at 626 Spring Street in Macon, Georgia. Ms. Gwendolyn Hardeman, a previous Director at the center said, "The purpose of the center is to give women of the community a choice of things to do and a meeting place. The center hopes to enlighten the women of Macon and enhance the community". The home was also opened to civil rights leaders, such as Thurgood Marshall. Mrs. Mosley's trust fund for the Center provides money to help fund the activities and programs at the center. Ruth Hartley Mosley left a trust fund for the Memorial Nursing Loan Fund because she wanted to persuade students to continue their education and pursue a career in nursing. Because of the many lives Ruth Hartley Mosley touched, a woman of her caliber will never be forgotten. This excerpt was taken from the "Climbing the Hill" booklet produced by the students of Mercer University. This particual excerpt (not verbatim) was written by Aaron Kinard. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/bibb/photos/tombstones/linwood/mosley6673ph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 9.2 Kb