Page:Women of distinction.djvu/231

Rh matron, Mrs. Jane McKamey, and Rev. C. H. Parrisb. Before leaving she said to the matron, "I waited to see Miss Cook," who was then in the New England States, "but I must go now." She arose every morning, dressed and received her friends till the morning of her death, December i, 1888, at 5 A. M., when she rested from her labors.

The subject of this sketch was born in Westmoreland county, Va., December 25, 1862. When she was but little more than a month old her parents braved the perils of that unsettled period, and moved to Washington, D. C., so that for all practical purposes she is a child of our capital city. Her mother was free, but her father was a slave. This latter fact, however, had little effect upon the child's career, for both were practically free when she was born, and during all her life with them she was able to enjoy the full benefit of what time and ability they were capable of bestowing upon her. Her father was said to have been a man of uncommon natural ability, but of course had been denied all advantages which schooling would have afforded. Her mother was one of those amiable characters which seem filled with love for all, and bred to innate nobleness and purity of life. She had learned to read and write a little, and