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The subject of this sketch, Miss Henrietta Vinton Davis, was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Mansfield Vinton Davis, was a distinguished musician, and from him she inherited a natural taste for music. Shortly after her birth her father died, leaving a young and beautiful widow and the subject of this sketch. In the course of a few years her mother contracted a second marriage with Captain George A. Hackett, who during his whole life was devoted to the best interests of his race, and was their recognized leader in Baltimore up to the time of his death. He was a man of ample means and generous heart, and gave to his little step-daughter all the advantages which such conditions allow. He, like her own father, died while she was quite young.

Her mother, a year after the death of Captain Hackett, removed to and became a permanent resident of the city of Washington, D. C. This good mother devoted herself to the training of her only child, and as she early displayed a fondness for books and an eagerness for knowledge, she was given every advantage of the excellent schools of Washington. She soon made rapid progress in her studies, and by her studious habits and genial manners became at once a favorite of her teachers.