Martha Berry

Martha as a young girl. (www.georgiaencyclopedia.org)

Have you ever heard of Martha McChesney Berry? She was a hero to the mountain children she taught. Her mother’s name was Ms. Frances Reha and her father’s name was Thomas Berry. Martha was born on October 7, 1866 in Rome, Georgia. She was born right after the Civil War. She was the second of eight children.

Martha didn’t go to school. Instead she was home schooled. The teacher who taught the Berry children was Ms. Ida McCullogh. There teacher came every day to teach the children. If it was nice outside that day, after lessons she would take them outside. She taught them to love the outdoors. While they were outside their teacher would take them on long walks. They would look at all the different flowers. Also they would search for slippers, pipes, and other things Native Americans left behind. One day while Martha and her father were together she told her father that it would be easier to learn in a log cabin outside. Martha and her father built the log cabin together with Martha’s brothers and sisters. While they were building the cabin her father told her, "If you hand things to the needy you take away their pride. Lend them seeds and tools to grow crops. Then you know you have given wisely.”

Martha first started off teaching kids by reading them Bible stories. When the kids went home they told their parents about how Martha read stories to them. Soon many people came to hear stories. Martha soon began to take the Sunday schools to the old churches up on the mountains. The people called Martha the “Sunday Lady." That made Martha feel very proud. One day she was sitting in her log cabin and thought of making a school instead of a Sunday School. Once she made the school, she rang the bell to tell everyone that there was a new school. She taught the kids in the school “The soap game”. First the kids would look at their hands in a magnifying glass to see how dirty they were. Then Martha would wash their hands really well and when they looked in the magnifying glass again they saw that their hands were clean.

One of Martha's accomplishments was that she made a boarding school for boys. The boarding school was for boys to learn how to do chores and learn. Martha also made a boarding school for girls. The boarding school was also for the girls to learn to do chores and learn. One day she heard one of the boys praying for Martha to go to New York to get some money. Unfortunately, the people in New York didn’t agree. One of her friends told president Theodore Roosevelt that Martha needed some money. Roosevelt asked Martha to come and see him. Roosevelt looked at the pictures of the schools and decided to give her some money. Many famous people came to see her. Henry Ford and his wife came to visit too. Mr. Ford agreed to come every year to give money for new buildings. Martha died on February 27, 1942 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Martha Berry was a nice person because she cared about other people and not just about her self. She taught me to care for others. I’m glad I learned about her.