EDITH LONGWOOD HATCHER HARCUM:
CONCERT PIANIST, EDUCATOR, COLLEGE FOUNDER IN PENNSYLVANIA
"Find your hope, cherish it, and set about actively realizing it. Grapple early with your fears; face them from the beginning. Try to live a life of usefulness and action. Look about you: see plan in what seems a chaotic world; find generosity and tolerance where you are led to believe there is selfishness and bigotry; then be generous and tolerant yourself." - Edith Hatcher Harcum, from an early Harcum Commencement address. [From the Harcum College website]
---
Obituary from the Philadelphia "Evening Bulletin," Wednesday, December 24, 1958, p. 6, appeared under the heading "Educator" with a photo tagged "Mrs. Edith H. Harcum":
Mrs. Harcum Is Dead at 80
She Was Founder of Junior College
Mrs. Edith H. Harcum, founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, died yesterday at the Greystone Nursing Home, 319 W. Johnson St.
She was 80 and lived at the Colonial Manor Apartments, 118 W. Evergreen Av., Chestnut Hill.
Mrs. Harcum was the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. and Mrs. William E. Hatcher, of Richmond, Va.
She received her Bachelor of Letters degree from Woman's College in Richmond.
It was while teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr that she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum.
They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Avs. in 1915.
Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident five years later.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum; a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean; and a sister.
Services will be held at 2 P.M. Friday, at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial in Hollywood Cemetery.
---
Obituary from the "Main Line Times" in Ardmore, Pennsylvaia, dated Tuesday, December 30, 1958:
Edith Harcum, Educator
The founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, Mrs. Edith H. Harcum died Tuesday at the Greystone Nursing Home, Philadelphia. She was 80.
While teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum. They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Ave., in 1915. In 1920, Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident.
Services were held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial at Hollywood Cemetery.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum, a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean, and a sister*.
---
*Note: Elizabeth Herndon Hatcher Sadler; Mrs. Harcum's other siblings had predeceased her. The "Main Line Times" obituary appeared one week after Mrs. Harcum's death; she was buried on Friday, December 26, 1958.
--
EDITH HATCHER HARCUM AND HARCUM COLLEGE
The following account is taken from "Harcum College - History" on the college website, and presents the story of the college during Edith Harcum's lifetime:
Harcum College from its inception has sought to enrich its graduates by broadening their intellectual and cultural horizons with practical, experiential education and exposure to the liberal arts. The origin of Harcum can be traced back to February 1913 when Edith Hatcher, a talented concert pianist and daughter of prominent Virginia clergyman and educator Dr. William E. Hatcher, married Octavius Marvin Harcum, another Virginian.
Mrs. Harcum studied music, performed piano concerts in Europe and the U.S., and was head of the music department at The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA. She decided after the birth of her first child that “the concert career did not offer a chance for family stability” so the couple chose a venture that would combine her “talents as an educator and artist and his business vision and ability.”
The Harcum Post Graduate School opened on October 1, 1915 in Melville Hall in Bryn Mawr, which was home to the Harcum family as well as the School’s academic building. The first class had three students and five pianos. Mrs. Harcum’s stated goal was to “start a school where the individual talent of each girl would be treated as an integral part of her education.” To help her plan the curriculum, she had as consultants her sister Orie Hatcher, a faculty member at Bryn Mawr College, a faculty member from Harvard University, and the President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Though her own expertise was in the fine arts, Edith was also committed to providing a strong academic program.
In its early years, Harcum was a preparatory school, giving women students the skills needed for college study. It quickly grew, soon adding junior college-level courses. The "lower school" program was eliminated in the 1920’s, and the junior college program was put in place. Edith Harcum was head of school, and Mr. Harcum, or "Uncle Marvin" as the students called him, was responsible for finances. When he was killed in a car accident in 1920, Edith assumed the Presidency. She remained in that post for more than 30 years with the exception of one academic year, 1945-1946, when Dr. John Barber served as President.
Harcum grew steadily through the 1930s and 1940s with a student enrollment of 185 in 1948. Mrs. Harcum’s individualized approach placed the academic focus on the needs of each student. However, Harcum was a proprietary institution and faced financial difficulties. In 1952, it could no longer run as a profitable enterprise; Mrs. Harcum declared bankruptcy.
The Junto is a non-profit educational corporation founded in 1941 to promote adult education in the Philadelphia region, adopting the name of a group originally co-founded by Benjamin Franklin. In 1952 The Junto purchased the assets of Harcum College for possible use as a residential college for adults but soon decided to continue its mission as a two-year college for women.
Philip Klein, one of the founders of The Junto, assumed leadership of Harcum and it was re-opened under a nonprofit charter. In 1955, Pennsylvania granted the College the right to be the first two-year college in the Commonwealth’s history to confer the associate of arts and the associate of science degrees. Mrs. Harcum passed away in 1958 at the age of 80, leaving a legacy of compassionate and dedicated service to students and the community.
Source:
http://www.harcum.edu/s/1044/edu/index.aspx?pgid=885&gid=1
CONCERT PIANIST, EDUCATOR, COLLEGE FOUNDER IN PENNSYLVANIA
"Find your hope, cherish it, and set about actively realizing it. Grapple early with your fears; face them from the beginning. Try to live a life of usefulness and action. Look about you: see plan in what seems a chaotic world; find generosity and tolerance where you are led to believe there is selfishness and bigotry; then be generous and tolerant yourself." - Edith Hatcher Harcum, from an early Harcum Commencement address. [From the Harcum College website]
---
Obituary from the Philadelphia "Evening Bulletin," Wednesday, December 24, 1958, p. 6, appeared under the heading "Educator" with a photo tagged "Mrs. Edith H. Harcum":
Mrs. Harcum Is Dead at 80
She Was Founder of Junior College
Mrs. Edith H. Harcum, founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, died yesterday at the Greystone Nursing Home, 319 W. Johnson St.
She was 80 and lived at the Colonial Manor Apartments, 118 W. Evergreen Av., Chestnut Hill.
Mrs. Harcum was the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. and Mrs. William E. Hatcher, of Richmond, Va.
She received her Bachelor of Letters degree from Woman's College in Richmond.
It was while teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr that she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum.
They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Avs. in 1915.
Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident five years later.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum; a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean; and a sister.
Services will be held at 2 P.M. Friday, at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial in Hollywood Cemetery.
---
Obituary from the "Main Line Times" in Ardmore, Pennsylvaia, dated Tuesday, December 30, 1958:
Edith Harcum, Educator
The founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, Mrs. Edith H. Harcum died Tuesday at the Greystone Nursing Home, Philadelphia. She was 80.
While teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum. They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Ave., in 1915. In 1920, Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident.
Services were held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial at Hollywood Cemetery.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum, a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean, and a sister*.
---
*Note: Elizabeth Herndon Hatcher Sadler; Mrs. Harcum's other siblings had predeceased her. The "Main Line Times" obituary appeared one week after Mrs. Harcum's death; she was buried on Friday, December 26, 1958.
--
EDITH HATCHER HARCUM AND HARCUM COLLEGE
The following account is taken from "Harcum College - History" on the college website, and presents the story of the college during Edith Harcum's lifetime:
Harcum College from its inception has sought to enrich its graduates by broadening their intellectual and cultural horizons with practical, experiential education and exposure to the liberal arts. The origin of Harcum can be traced back to February 1913 when Edith Hatcher, a talented concert pianist and daughter of prominent Virginia clergyman and educator Dr. William E. Hatcher, married Octavius Marvin Harcum, another Virginian.
Mrs. Harcum studied music, performed piano concerts in Europe and the U.S., and was head of the music department at The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA. She decided after the birth of her first child that “the concert career did not offer a chance for family stability” so the couple chose a venture that would combine her “talents as an educator and artist and his business vision and ability.”
The Harcum Post Graduate School opened on October 1, 1915 in Melville Hall in Bryn Mawr, which was home to the Harcum family as well as the School’s academic building. The first class had three students and five pianos. Mrs. Harcum’s stated goal was to “start a school where the individual talent of each girl would be treated as an integral part of her education.” To help her plan the curriculum, she had as consultants her sister Orie Hatcher, a faculty member at Bryn Mawr College, a faculty member from Harvard University, and the President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Though her own expertise was in the fine arts, Edith was also committed to providing a strong academic program.
In its early years, Harcum was a preparatory school, giving women students the skills needed for college study. It quickly grew, soon adding junior college-level courses. The "lower school" program was eliminated in the 1920’s, and the junior college program was put in place. Edith Harcum was head of school, and Mr. Harcum, or "Uncle Marvin" as the students called him, was responsible for finances. When he was killed in a car accident in 1920, Edith assumed the Presidency. She remained in that post for more than 30 years with the exception of one academic year, 1945-1946, when Dr. John Barber served as President.
Harcum grew steadily through the 1930s and 1940s with a student enrollment of 185 in 1948. Mrs. Harcum’s individualized approach placed the academic focus on the needs of each student. However, Harcum was a proprietary institution and faced financial difficulties. In 1952, it could no longer run as a profitable enterprise; Mrs. Harcum declared bankruptcy.
The Junto is a non-profit educational corporation founded in 1941 to promote adult education in the Philadelphia region, adopting the name of a group originally co-founded by Benjamin Franklin. In 1952 The Junto purchased the assets of Harcum College for possible use as a residential college for adults but soon decided to continue its mission as a two-year college for women.
Philip Klein, one of the founders of The Junto, assumed leadership of Harcum and it was re-opened under a nonprofit charter. In 1955, Pennsylvania granted the College the right to be the first two-year college in the Commonwealth’s history to confer the associate of arts and the associate of science degrees. Mrs. Harcum passed away in 1958 at the age of 80, leaving a legacy of compassionate and dedicated service to students and the community.
Source:
http://www.harcum.edu/s/1044/edu/index.aspx?pgid=885&gid=1
EDITH LONGWOOD HATCHER HARCUM:
CONCERT PIANIST, EDUCATOR, COLLEGE FOUNDER IN PENNSYLVANIA
"Find your hope, cherish it, and set about actively realizing it. Grapple early with your fears; face them from the beginning. Try to live a life of usefulness and action. Look about you: see plan in what seems a chaotic world; find generosity and tolerance where you are led to believe there is selfishness and bigotry; then be generous and tolerant yourself." - Edith Hatcher Harcum, from an early Harcum Commencement address. [From the Harcum College website]
---
Obituary from the Philadelphia "Evening Bulletin," Wednesday, December 24, 1958, p. 6, appeared under the heading "Educator" with a photo tagged "Mrs. Edith H. Harcum":
Mrs. Harcum Is Dead at 80
She Was Founder of Junior College
Mrs. Edith H. Harcum, founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, died yesterday at the Greystone Nursing Home, 319 W. Johnson St.
She was 80 and lived at the Colonial Manor Apartments, 118 W. Evergreen Av., Chestnut Hill.
Mrs. Harcum was the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. and Mrs. William E. Hatcher, of Richmond, Va.
She received her Bachelor of Letters degree from Woman's College in Richmond.
It was while teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr that she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum.
They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Avs. in 1915.
Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident five years later.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum; a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean; and a sister.
Services will be held at 2 P.M. Friday, at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial in Hollywood Cemetery.
---
Obituary from the "Main Line Times" in Ardmore, Pennsylvaia, dated Tuesday, December 30, 1958:
Edith Harcum, Educator
The founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, Mrs. Edith H. Harcum died Tuesday at the Greystone Nursing Home, Philadelphia. She was 80.
While teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum. They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Ave., in 1915. In 1920, Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident.
Services were held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial at Hollywood Cemetery.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum, a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean, and a sister*.
---
*Note: Elizabeth Herndon Hatcher Sadler; Mrs. Harcum's other siblings had predeceased her. The "Main Line Times" obituary appeared one week after Mrs. Harcum's death; she was buried on Friday, December 26, 1958.
--
EDITH HATCHER HARCUM AND HARCUM COLLEGE
The following account is taken from "Harcum College - History" on the college website, and presents the story of the college during Edith Harcum's lifetime:
Harcum College from its inception has sought to enrich its graduates by broadening their intellectual and cultural horizons with practical, experiential education and exposure to the liberal arts. The origin of Harcum can be traced back to February 1913 when Edith Hatcher, a talented concert pianist and daughter of prominent Virginia clergyman and educator Dr. William E. Hatcher, married Octavius Marvin Harcum, another Virginian.
Mrs. Harcum studied music, performed piano concerts in Europe and the U.S., and was head of the music department at The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA. She decided after the birth of her first child that “the concert career did not offer a chance for family stability” so the couple chose a venture that would combine her “talents as an educator and artist and his business vision and ability.”
The Harcum Post Graduate School opened on October 1, 1915 in Melville Hall in Bryn Mawr, which was home to the Harcum family as well as the School’s academic building. The first class had three students and five pianos. Mrs. Harcum’s stated goal was to “start a school where the individual talent of each girl would be treated as an integral part of her education.” To help her plan the curriculum, she had as consultants her sister Orie Hatcher, a faculty member at Bryn Mawr College, a faculty member from Harvard University, and the President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Though her own expertise was in the fine arts, Edith was also committed to providing a strong academic program.
In its early years, Harcum was a preparatory school, giving women students the skills needed for college study. It quickly grew, soon adding junior college-level courses. The "lower school" program was eliminated in the 1920’s, and the junior college program was put in place. Edith Harcum was head of school, and Mr. Harcum, or "Uncle Marvin" as the students called him, was responsible for finances. When he was killed in a car accident in 1920, Edith assumed the Presidency. She remained in that post for more than 30 years with the exception of one academic year, 1945-1946, when Dr. John Barber served as President.
Harcum grew steadily through the 1930s and 1940s with a student enrollment of 185 in 1948. Mrs. Harcum’s individualized approach placed the academic focus on the needs of each student. However, Harcum was a proprietary institution and faced financial difficulties. In 1952, it could no longer run as a profitable enterprise; Mrs. Harcum declared bankruptcy.
The Junto is a non-profit educational corporation founded in 1941 to promote adult education in the Philadelphia region, adopting the name of a group originally co-founded by Benjamin Franklin. In 1952 The Junto purchased the assets of Harcum College for possible use as a residential college for adults but soon decided to continue its mission as a two-year college for women.
Philip Klein, one of the founders of The Junto, assumed leadership of Harcum and it was re-opened under a nonprofit charter. In 1955, Pennsylvania granted the College the right to be the first two-year college in the Commonwealth’s history to confer the associate of arts and the associate of science degrees. Mrs. Harcum passed away in 1958 at the age of 80, leaving a legacy of compassionate and dedicated service to students and the community.
Source:
http://www.harcum.edu/s/1044/edu/index.aspx?pgid=885&gid=1
CONCERT PIANIST, EDUCATOR, COLLEGE FOUNDER IN PENNSYLVANIA
"Find your hope, cherish it, and set about actively realizing it. Grapple early with your fears; face them from the beginning. Try to live a life of usefulness and action. Look about you: see plan in what seems a chaotic world; find generosity and tolerance where you are led to believe there is selfishness and bigotry; then be generous and tolerant yourself." - Edith Hatcher Harcum, from an early Harcum Commencement address. [From the Harcum College website]
---
Obituary from the Philadelphia "Evening Bulletin," Wednesday, December 24, 1958, p. 6, appeared under the heading "Educator" with a photo tagged "Mrs. Edith H. Harcum":
Mrs. Harcum Is Dead at 80
She Was Founder of Junior College
Mrs. Edith H. Harcum, founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, died yesterday at the Greystone Nursing Home, 319 W. Johnson St.
She was 80 and lived at the Colonial Manor Apartments, 118 W. Evergreen Av., Chestnut Hill.
Mrs. Harcum was the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. and Mrs. William E. Hatcher, of Richmond, Va.
She received her Bachelor of Letters degree from Woman's College in Richmond.
It was while teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr that she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum.
They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Avs. in 1915.
Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident five years later.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum; a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean; and a sister.
Services will be held at 2 P.M. Friday, at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial in Hollywood Cemetery.
---
Obituary from the "Main Line Times" in Ardmore, Pennsylvaia, dated Tuesday, December 30, 1958:
Edith Harcum, Educator
The founder and former president of Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr, Mrs. Edith H. Harcum died Tuesday at the Greystone Nursing Home, Philadelphia. She was 80.
While teaching music at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, she met her late husband, O. Marvin Harcum. They founded the school for girls at Morris and Montgomery Ave., in 1915. In 1920, Mr. Harcum was killed and his wife injured in an automobile accident.
Services were held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Bennett Funeral Home in Richmond, Va., with burial at Hollywood Cemetery.
Surviving are a son, William Marvin Harcum, a daughter, Mrs. Jean Lafean, and a sister*.
---
*Note: Elizabeth Herndon Hatcher Sadler; Mrs. Harcum's other siblings had predeceased her. The "Main Line Times" obituary appeared one week after Mrs. Harcum's death; she was buried on Friday, December 26, 1958.
--
EDITH HATCHER HARCUM AND HARCUM COLLEGE
The following account is taken from "Harcum College - History" on the college website, and presents the story of the college during Edith Harcum's lifetime:
Harcum College from its inception has sought to enrich its graduates by broadening their intellectual and cultural horizons with practical, experiential education and exposure to the liberal arts. The origin of Harcum can be traced back to February 1913 when Edith Hatcher, a talented concert pianist and daughter of prominent Virginia clergyman and educator Dr. William E. Hatcher, married Octavius Marvin Harcum, another Virginian.
Mrs. Harcum studied music, performed piano concerts in Europe and the U.S., and was head of the music department at The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, PA. She decided after the birth of her first child that “the concert career did not offer a chance for family stability” so the couple chose a venture that would combine her “talents as an educator and artist and his business vision and ability.”
The Harcum Post Graduate School opened on October 1, 1915 in Melville Hall in Bryn Mawr, which was home to the Harcum family as well as the School’s academic building. The first class had three students and five pianos. Mrs. Harcum’s stated goal was to “start a school where the individual talent of each girl would be treated as an integral part of her education.” To help her plan the curriculum, she had as consultants her sister Orie Hatcher, a faculty member at Bryn Mawr College, a faculty member from Harvard University, and the President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Though her own expertise was in the fine arts, Edith was also committed to providing a strong academic program.
In its early years, Harcum was a preparatory school, giving women students the skills needed for college study. It quickly grew, soon adding junior college-level courses. The "lower school" program was eliminated in the 1920’s, and the junior college program was put in place. Edith Harcum was head of school, and Mr. Harcum, or "Uncle Marvin" as the students called him, was responsible for finances. When he was killed in a car accident in 1920, Edith assumed the Presidency. She remained in that post for more than 30 years with the exception of one academic year, 1945-1946, when Dr. John Barber served as President.
Harcum grew steadily through the 1930s and 1940s with a student enrollment of 185 in 1948. Mrs. Harcum’s individualized approach placed the academic focus on the needs of each student. However, Harcum was a proprietary institution and faced financial difficulties. In 1952, it could no longer run as a profitable enterprise; Mrs. Harcum declared bankruptcy.
The Junto is a non-profit educational corporation founded in 1941 to promote adult education in the Philadelphia region, adopting the name of a group originally co-founded by Benjamin Franklin. In 1952 The Junto purchased the assets of Harcum College for possible use as a residential college for adults but soon decided to continue its mission as a two-year college for women.
Philip Klein, one of the founders of The Junto, assumed leadership of Harcum and it was re-opened under a nonprofit charter. In 1955, Pennsylvania granted the College the right to be the first two-year college in the Commonwealth’s history to confer the associate of arts and the associate of science degrees. Mrs. Harcum passed away in 1958 at the age of 80, leaving a legacy of compassionate and dedicated service to students and the community.
Source:
http://www.harcum.edu/s/1044/edu/index.aspx?pgid=885&gid=1
Gravesite Details
Mrs, Date Of Burial : 12/26/1958 (Friday), Ref: Cemetery Records
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
