Ada A. Cooper

Ada Augusta Newton Harris Cooper (1861–1899) was a 19th-century Black American teacher and writer. Despite humble beginnings, she became a noted orator, giving talks in AME churches around the country,[1] often advocating for women's education and rights.[2][3] She was also a musician of some note.[4][5]

Early life and education

Ada Augusta Newton was born on 6 February 1861 in Brooklyn, New York.[6] She is the daughter of Olivia Hamilton Newton[1] and Rev. Alexander H. Newton, an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church minister.[6] Her grandfather, Robert Hamilton, was a noted abolitionist.[6] Newton's mother died when she was 7 and she went to live with her grandmother.[1][6] When she was 15, she wrote the story "The Bride of Death" and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas to live again with her father.[6]

When she was 17, Newton enrolled in Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.[6][1] She attended for 3 years but did not graduate.[1] At Shaw, she taught reading classes in return for fees.[1]

Career

When Newton was 18, her story, "The Bride of Death," was published in the North Carolina Republican.[6][1]

Newton taught in Hayward, Raleigh[6] and Washington, North Carolina.[1] In Raleigh, she also edited the woman's column in the local Outlook newspaper.[6][1] In 1890, she became sick and moved to Maryland.[1] After she recovered, she took a job as a travelling salesman.[1]

Newton lectured in various AME churches around the country,[1] particularly advocating for women's education and rights.[2][3] She was selected to deliver poems on 1 January 1881 in celebration of emancipation.[7][8]

In 1891, she also gave a notable speech at the North Carolina Industrial Fair as part of an Interstate Exposition[6][1] entitled "Our Women: The Party they Play."[9]

Personal life and death

Newton married fellow teacher, Rev. William R. Harris, on 4 May 1884[10][11] following a long engagement.[6] However, her husband died in January 1885, less than a year after they married.[1] In 1892, she married the Rev. Dr. Albert B. Cooper.[6][1][4][5]

Cooper died on 18 September 1899.[4][5] Her obituary noted that she "was one of the foremost and most gifted women workers in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was a fine musician, an entertaining and eloquent speaker, an authoress and poetess of no mean talent, and a musical composer of considerable ability."[5]

Works

  • Newton, Ada A. "Esta or Estranged". The Banner-Enterprise. Raleigh, North Carolina. Thursday, April 19, 1883

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Smith, Jessie Carney (1996). Notable Black American women. Vol. II. New York: Gale Research. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 "Town Notes". Lancaster New Era. 4 September 1890. p. 4. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via newspapers.com. An entertaining lecture was delivered last evening in Mt. Zion A. M. E. Church, by Mrs Ada A. Harris, a noted colored lecturer. The subject was the "Education of Women," which was handled in an interesting manner. A large audience was present.
  3. 1 2 "Newsy Paragraphs". Franklin Repository. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. 27 September 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via newspapers.com. Mrs. Ada A. Harris will lecture in St. James A. M. E. Church tomorrow at 3.00 p, m. on the "Education of Woman."
  4. 1 2 3 "Recent Deaths: Mrs. Ada Augusta Cooper". Boston Evening Transcript. 22 September 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Death of Mrs. Cooper". Dollar Weekly News. Bridgeton, New Jersey. Sep 30, 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Scruggs, Lawson A (1893). "Chapter LXXVII Mrs. Ada. A. Cooper". Women of Distinction: Remarkable in Works and Invincible in Character. Raleigh, North Carolina: L. A. Scruggs. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
  7. ↑ "Raleigh News Observer [news items]". Southern Home. Charlotte, North Carolina. Dec 24, 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Local items: The colored people of Raleigh...". The Union Republican. Raleigh, North Carolina. 16 December 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Program of Exercises for the Opening of the Fair of the N. C. Industrial Association at the Exposition Grounds, Thursday, Nov. 5, 1891". The Gazette. Raleigh, North Carolina. Oct 24, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 8 March 2026 – via newspapers.com. 10. Our Women "The Part they Play" by Mrs. Ada A. Harris.
  10. ↑ "Personal". The Banner-Enterprise. May 31, 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via newspapers.com. Prof. W. R. Harris to Miss A. A. Newton, both of Raleigh, on the 4th inst.
  11. ↑ "Observations". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. May 6, 1884. p. 4. Retrieved 7 March 2026 – via newspapers.com. Rev. W. R. Harris, one of the principal teachers at St. Augustine's normal school, and Ada A. Newton, of Brooklyn, N. Y., were married last week at St. Augustine's church. The attendance, consisting of both white and colored, was remarkably large
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