Description
Mrs. Carter –a native of Syracuse, New York- was hired by the Syracuse City School District via a Competitive Examination Process shortly before graduating from Cortland State Teacher's College in 1950. Letter confirming Marjorie Dey as teacher in the Syracuse school district, making her the first Negro teacher in Syracuse by David H. Patton, Superintendent of Schools. She was only 23 years old at the time. Her starting salary was $2200 dollars a year – at that time the standard starting salary for a recent college graduate without prior teaching experience. Newspapers at the time quoted Ms. Dey (later to become Mrs. Carter by marriage) as saying that she was "delighted with her new job." (Herald-Journal, April 12th, 1950) Mrs. Carter remained with the Syracuse City School District for her entire career, eventually retiring in 1990 as an Administrator at Dr. Weeks Elementary school. According to genealogical research that Mrs. Dey-Carter has done, the Dey family may have been in the Central New York region since the 1700s. Her father: Orlando Williams Day was born in Southern Onondaga County –in the vicinity of the town of Skaneateles. Her mother, Hester Coles had family in the Princeton New Jersey area but later moved to Syracuse. Her grand-father, Alexander Dey was born in the Fulton New York area in 1836. The Dey family members were farmers in the southern tier of Onondaga County until the early part of the twentieth century, when Mrs. Carter-Dey's father Orlando moved the family to Syracuse to find work. Orlando Williams Day ended up being the caretaker for the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house on the Syracuse University campus for many years.
Rights and Restrictions
General rights and permissions for the SU Libraries
In copyright (c) educational use permitted.
For any additional usage requests (including, but
not limited to, reproduction), please contact aas@syr.edu or jobryant@syr.edu.
Permission to use this content has been granted by owner to the Black History Preservation Project and its current
and future partners.
Marjorie Carter first Negro Teacher appointed by City.
18365
Clippings (information artifacts)
Elementary schools
Syracuse (N.Y.)
Teaching
Teachers
Education
Teachers
Marjorie D. Dey
Marjorie D. Carter
Elementary schools
Cortland State Teachers' College
Teachers
Syracuse
Schools
David H. Patton
English
67919
Black History Preservation Project