My Contribution: I was a teacher at the Lincoln building in the Eighth Ward and an activist for virtue as a member of the Independent Order of the Daughters of Temperance.
My Legacy: I was a highly engaged teacher and activist in Harris- burg in social organizations as well as in my church. My role as a well-educated, local Black female teacher in Harrisburg continues to have relevance today amid contemporary conversations about the need for dedicated, local teachers in urban schools.
About Me: “Beloved by all who knew her… Miss Annie Summers, a teacher in the Lincoln building and graduate of the High School class of ’91, passed quietly away. She was the leading soprano in the State Street Bethel church choir and an influential member of Samaritan Council, No. 1, Daughters of Temperance. As a teacher she was liked by all, and her many friends will be grieved to learn of her demise.” — Harrisburg Telegraph, October 25, 1893.
Full Name: Annie M. Summers
Birth Date: ca. 1870
Death Date: October 24, 1893 (buried at Lincoln Cemetery, Penbrook Pennsylvania)
Place of Birth: Pennsylvania
Sex: Female
Race: Black (1800 Federal Census)
Places of Residence: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 1598 Elm Street and 514 Strawberry Avenue
Connection to the Old Eighth Ward: In charge of the Lincoln School in the Eighth Ward, at the corner of North and Spruce Streets, in the early 1890s
Family Members: Father: Richard Summers. Mother: Ann Summers. Siblings: Howard Summers, Thomas Summers, Henry H. Summers, Claigett Summers, Clara M. Summers, Sarah E. Summers
Education: • Education: Harrisburg High School, 1891
Occupations: Teacher
Church Membership: Bethel A.M.E. Church (leading soprano of choir).
Activism: Member of Good Samaritan Council No. 1, Independent Order of the Daughters of Temperance
Connections: Annie E. Amos, Josephine Bibb, and Henry H. Summers (relative).
Digital Harrisburg 