Emma Stark | |
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Born | Emily Arabella Stark February 17, 1856
California, US |
Died |
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada | July 31, 1890 (aged 33)
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | Salt Spring Island Central School and Nanaimo high school, Teacher's certificate |
Occupation | Teacher |
Years active | 1874–1890 |
Spouse | James Clarke (m. 1878) |
Emily Arabella "Emma" Stark [1] (born February 17, 1856) was a Canadian teacher. [2] She was the first Black Canadian teacher in Vancouver Island [3] and the first teacher in the new North Cedar School, in 1874. [2]
Emily Arabella (Emma) Stark was born on February 17, 1856, in California, United States, to parents Louis (1816–1895) and Sylvia Stark (1840–1944), [1] [4] who had been slaves in the United States.
In 1860, Stark arrived with her family on Salt Spring Island, B.C. [2] While on Salt Spring Island, her siblings John Edmond (1860–1930), Abraham Lincoln (1863–1908), Hannah "Anne" Serena (1866–1888) and Marie Albertine (1867–1966) were born. [1] The Estes-Stark family moved to Cedar, Nanaimo, in 1875, where Stark's youngest sister Louisa Edna was born (1878–1971). [1]
Stark attended Salt Spring Island Central School, and she completed secondary school at Nanaimo high school. [1] Her instructor was primarily John Craven Jones, a graduate of Oberlin College. [5] Afterwards, Stark graduated high school; she trained to be a teacher. [1] [6]
Stark became a teacher at the age of 18 years. [1] In August 1874, she was hired to teach in a one-room school in the Cedar District; [1] her starting salary was $40 per month. [2]
She lived in a cabin that was provided for the teacher. [1] Students who lived a long way from the school boarded with Stark, including her younger sister Marie. [2]
Stark married James Clarke on December 28, 1878. [1] [2] [7]
In 1890, Stark died at the age of 34 from tuberculosis. [8] [1] [2] [7]