Sarah “Sallie” Joyner Davis (1871-1954) was one of the charter faculty at East Carolina Teachers Training School (ECTTS). She served as an instructor of history from 1909, the year the school opened, until her retirement in 1945. Like Mamie Jenkins, Davis was a pioneer among women in higher education in North Carolina. She graduated from the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College for Women (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro), and later did graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, Trinity College (now Duke University), and the University of California. Before coming to ECTTS, Davis taught at the Greensboro Female College (now Greensboro College), a private Methodist school. It is, no doubt, noteworthy that Davis, a native of Wayne County, was a niece of Dr. James Yadkin Joyner (1862-1954), the state superintendent of public instruction from 1902-1919, and founding chair of the board of trustees at East Carolina Teachers Training School (ECTTS).
Davis elevated the study of history at East Carolina through her teaching, research, and professional associations. A colleague, Colonel Fred A. Olds at the North Carolina Historical Commission, prompted Davis, in 1916, to found a historical collection at ECTTS. For this purpose, Olds provided Davis with a quantity of currency from the Colonial, Revolutionary, and the Civil War periods. Davis thus pioneered an initial expression of the special collections archive at East Carolina. Prior to coming to ECTTS, Davis had established herself as a respected historian with a three-part essay, “North Carolina’s Part in the Revolution,” published in the South Atlantic Quarterly, a journal founded by Trinity College. At ECTTS, Davis contributed, as a historian, to Southern historical studies with an address on Robert E. Lee as part of the campus’ observance of Lee’s birthday. Davis also participated in the North Carolina Teachers Assembly meetings, giving talks on teaching history in the “grammar grades.” In addition to her academic work, Davis served as the founding director of the ECTTS tennis club, a rival to the popular basketball club.
Reflecting her popularity as an instructor of history, the 1927 edition of the Teachers College yearbook, the Tecoan, was dedicated to Davis. In 1935, the campus arboretum located east of the Science Building (now Graham Building), was named in her honor. Though later lost to campus expansion, Davis Arboretum once stood as the most beautiful natural area at East Carolina, with native trees and shrubs, hiking trails, and a scenic gazebo set next to small lake. Davis has championed the development of this natural space while serving as the first chairperson of the campus landscape committee. Following her retirement in 1945, a loan fund of $600 was established by the Alumni Association, the Maria D. Graham-Sallie Joyner Davis Loan Fund, to provide funding for majors in mathematics and history.
Sources
- Bratton, Mary Jo. East Carolina University, The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
- Davis, Sallie Joyner. “North Carolina’s Part in the Revolution.” South Atlantic Quarterly, vols. 2-3, 1903-1904.
- Davis, Sallie Joyner. “The Use of Pageants in Schools.” Training School Quarterly, Vol. 1, no. 3 (October, November, December 1914). Pp. 132-135.
- “Dedication.” Tecoan. 1927. Pp. 7-8.
- “East Carolina Teachers’ Training School Items.” The Roanoke News. January 26, 1911. P. 3.
- Ferrell, Henry C., Jr. No Time for Ivy: East Carolina University, 1907-2007. Greenville, N.C.: East Carolina University, 2006. Pp. 47-48.
- “Graham-Davis Fund Established at ECTC.” Rocky Mount Telegram. October 17, 1945. P. 5.
- “Greensboro Female College Items.” North Carolina Christian Advocate. August 9, 1905. P. 4.
- “Many Pitt Teachers Going to Assembly.” The Charlotte Observer. November 25, 1919. P. 5.
- Sallie Joyner Davis Collection (#133), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
Citation Information
Title: Sarah "Sallie" Joyner Davis
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/1/2018