# Sarah Harper Heard

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American educator, activist, librarian, and gardener

Not to be confused with [Sarah Heard](/source/Sarah_Heard).

Sarah Harper Heard Heard in 1910 Born 1853 Newton County, Georgia United States Died April 9, 1919(1919-04-09) (aged 65–66) Resting place Elmhurt Cemetery Elberton, Georgia Occupations Educator, activist, librarian, gardener Known for Seaboard Airline Railway Free Traveling Library System

**Sarah Harper Heard** (1853 – April 9, 1919) was an American [educator](/source/Educator), [activist](/source/Activist), [librarian](/source/Librarian), and [gardener](/source/Gardener). Well-educated and interested in many topics, Heard was described by an acquaintance as "one of those magnificent Victorian women who had a super-charged energy, which home life could never use up".[1]

## Early life

Heard was born in [Newton County](/source/Newton_County%2C_Georgia), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)) in 1853 to John H. Harper and Susan Rebecca Oliver. She married Eugene B. Heard, former president of Georgia [Stephen Heard](/source/Stephen_Heard)'s grandson, when she was 19 years old; the couple moved into the Heard family's 2,000-acre [Rose Hill Plantation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rose_Hill_(Elbert_County,_Georgia)&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Elbert County](/source/Elbert_County%2C_Georgia).[1]

## Women's clubs

In 1892, Heard founded the first [women's club](/source/Women's_club) in Georgia, the [Elberton Sorosis Club](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elberton_Sorosis_Club&action=edit&redlink=1).[2] Together with the [Atlanta Woman's Club](/source/Atlanta_Woman's_Club) and its founder [Rebecca Lowe](/source/Rebecca_Lowe), she founded the [Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgia_Federation_of_Women%27s_Clubs&action=edit&redlink=1).[1]

## Traveling libraries

Starting from 1897, women's clubs were instrumental in developing and implementing [traveling libraries](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traveling_libraries&action=edit&redlink=1), as the [Georgia General Assembly](/source/Georgia_General_Assembly) had yet to provision any funds for state libraries. Heard was further driven towards establishing libraries following the early death of her book-loving son Thomas; she opened a library at Rose Hill which quickly gained popularity.[1]

### Seaboard Airline Railway Free Traveling Library System

The library collection at Rose Hill would soon develop into the Seaboard Airline Railway Free Traveling Library System. Heard met with and persuaded the vice president and general manager of [Seaboard Air Line Railroad](/source/Seaboard_Air_Line_Railroad), [Everett St. John](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Everett_St._John&action=edit&redlink=1),[3] to have the company transport books to every railroad stop; these small libraries came to be called "S.A.L. Magundi Clubs". St. John went on to contact [Andrew Carnegie](/source/Andrew_Carnegie), who donated $1,000 towards the effort and called Heard "the right woman at the right time".[1] Thus began in 1898 the Seaboard Airline Railway Free Traveling Library System; due to his support, Heard sometimes referred to the program as the "Andrew Carnegie Free Traveling Library".

Heard also traveled to [New York City](/source/New_York_City), where she met with [book editors](/source/Book_editor) and [publishing houses](/source/Publishing_house) to establish business agreements and request donations,[4] and then back to Georgia via the [Eastern seaboard](/source/East_Coast_of_the_United_States), recruiting [librarians](/source/Librarian) across six states along the way.[5] Her overall efforts were so successful that the *[New York Daily Tribune](/source/New_York_Daily_Tribune)* noted that the donations "enabled [Heard] to send the boxes in all directions. Quantities of books have been given and the rooms at Rose Hill, which were used as a distributing headquarters, are now overcrowded".[6][1] By the turn of the century, the Seaboard library system boasted a collection of over 2,500 books and attracted so much support that it was able to donate entire libraries to deserving schools. Heard was named Seaboard's Superintendent [of] Traveling Libraries in 1901. By 1910, books were being circulated from Rose Hill to 35 community libraries and 150 school libraries; by 1912, the Seaboard library system comprised 18,000 books and 38,000 magazines.[5] A number of publications came from the [United States Department of Agriculture](/source/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture).[7]

In a 1901 special edition titled "Free Traveling Libraries", Seaboard's promotional magazine *S.A.L. Magundi* published an assortment of letters communicating with and praising Heard, written by notable figures including President [William McKinley](/source/William_McKinley), the governor of Alabama, Florida governor [William Sherman Jennings](/source/William_Sherman_Jennings), Georgia governor [Allen D. Candler](/source/Allen_D._Candler), North Carolina governor [Charles Brantley Aycock](/source/Charles_Brantley_Aycock), South Carolina governor [Miles Benjamin McSweeney](/source/Miles_Benjamin_McSweeney), Virginia governor [James Hoge Tyler](/source/James_Hoge_Tyler), [Andrew Carnegie](/source/Andrew_Carnegie), and [Georgia State School Superintendent](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgia_State_School_Superintendent&action=edit&redlink=1) G. R. Glenn.

Heard worked to establish twelve "McKinley libraries" in 1902, dedicated to "the characteristics and high ideals so exemplified in the life and purposes of [President William] McKinley".[8] The traveling library system won a gold medal award at the 1907 [Jamestown Exposition](/source/Jamestown_Exposition) in Virginia.

Following the death of [Georgia Library Association](/source/Georgia_Library_Association) president Walter B. Hill in 1905, Heard was appointed to fill the role and went on to serve four terms as president and longer after that as second president.[1]

Seaboard continued to transport books to small towns and libraries in need across the region until 1955, leaving behind new libraries scattered among small communities across the Southeast. The library system never charged fees for late or lost books.[5] Its collection of books was donated to schools across Georgia.[4]

## Gardening

A master gardener, Heard played a crucial role in developing the [Elberta peach](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elberta_peach&action=edit&redlink=1). She also took care of the gardens around Rose Hill, which would go on to be featured in the 1933 [University of Georgia Press](/source/University_of_Georgia_Press) book *The Garden History of Georgia 1733–1933*.[1]

## Personal life

Sarah and Eugene Heard had two children, an older daughter, Susan ("Sue"), and a younger son,[5] Thomas, who died at the age of 12.[1]

Heard died in 1919, and her husband Eugene died on March 31, 1934. Following her mother's death, Heard's daughter Susan took over management of the Seaboard library system as head librarian until her death on April 7, 1934; Susan's husband James Y. Swift then took over management.[9]

## Legacy

In 2016, Heard was inducted into the [Georgia Women of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Women_of_Achievement) Hall of Fame.[10][1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-gwa-heard-bio_1-9) ["Sarah Harper Heard"](https://www.georgiawomen.org/sarah-harper-heard). *Georgia Women of Achievement*. 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-gfwc-history_2-0)** ["GFWC Georgia History"](https://mcwcga.org/gfwc-georgia). *Morrow Civic Woman's Club*. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac-1901-everett_3-0)** ["Vice President St. John Resigns Office on Seaboard Air-Line"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2437371/everett-st-john-b-1844-railroad-man/). *[The Atlanta Constitution](/source/The_Atlanta_Constitution)*. 8 January 1901. p. 4. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-kilton-jlh_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-kilton-jlh_4-1) Kilton, Tom D. (Winter 1982). ["The American Railroad as Publisher, Bookseller, and Librarian"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25541236). *[Journal of Library History](/source/Journal_of_Library_History)*. **17** (1). [University of Texas Press](/source/University_of_Texas_Press): 39–64. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [25541236](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25541236). 0275-3650/82/010039-26$02.05.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-walker-railway-library_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-walker-railway-library_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-walker-railway-library_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-walker-railway-library_5-3) Walker, Estellene P. (1981). ["Seaboard Airline Railway Free Traveling Library System"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210921173227/http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/vts/epw52.html). South Carolina State University. Archived from [the original](http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/vts/epw52.html) on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-libraries-people_6-0)** Freeman, Robert S.; Hovde, David M., eds. (2003). *Libraries to the People: Histories of Outreach*. [Jefferson, North Carolina](/source/Jefferson%2C_North_Carolina): McFarland & Co. pp. 80–82. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [078641359X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/078641359X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-usda-yearbook-1899_7-0)** Greathouse, Charles H. (1900). "Development of Agricultural Libraries". [*Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1899*](https://books.google.com/books?id=IuPeW80j6gwC). [Washington](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.): [Government Printing Office](/source/Government_Printing_Office). p. 511.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pl-1902_8-0)** ["McKinley Memorial Libraries for Public Schools"](http://mckinleydeath.com/documents/journals/PLibraries7-3p.htm). *Public Libraries*. **7** (3): 116. March 1902. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mcintosh-elbert-history_9-0)** McIntosh, John H. (1940). *The Official History of Elbert County, 1790–1935: Supplement 1935–1939*. [Athens](/source/Athens%2C_Georgia): The McGregor Company. pp. 135–136.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-corley-macon-2016_10-0)** Corley, Laura (6 March 2016). ["Three Georgia women to be honored posthumously Wednesday at Wesleyan"](https://www.macon.com/news/local/article64469197.html). *[The Telegraph](/source/The_Macon_Telegraph)*. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

v t e Georgia Women of Achievement 1990s 1992 Martha Berry Lucy Craft Laney Juliette Gordon Low Flannery O'Connor 1993 Dicksie Bradley Bandy Mary Musgrove Cassandra Pickett Durham Viola Ross Napier Ma Rainey 1994 Julia Flisch Carson McCullers Margaret Mitchell Ruth Hartley Mosley Emily Harvie Thomas Tubman 1995 Selena Sloan Butler Anna Colquitt Hunter Hazel Jane Raines 1996 Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson Nellie Peters Black Ellen Craft Corra Harris Lugenia Burns Hope 1997 Rebecca Latimer Felton Mary Ann Harris Gay Nancy Hart Lucy Barrow McIntire 1998 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Julia Collier Harris Rhoda Kaufman Carrie Steele Logan 1999 Moina Michael Lillian Smith 2000s 2000 Sallie Ellis Davis Laura Askew Haygood Ellen Axson Wilson 2001 Julia L. Coleman Catherine Evans Whitener 2002 Wessie Gertrude Connell Lula Dobbs McEachern Alice Harrell Strickland 2003 Madeleine Kiker Anthony Helena Maud Brown Cobb Julia Lester Dillon Leila Ross Wilburn 2004 Mathilda Beasley Louise Frederick Hays Helen Dortch Longstreet Sarah McLendon Murphy Emily Barnelia Woodward 2005 Alice Woodby McKane Nina Anderson Pape Jeannette Rankin 2006 Eliza Frances Andrews Grace Towns Hamilton Sarah Porter Hillhouse 2007 Margaret O. Bynum Edith Lenora Foster Helen Douglas Mankin Sara Branham Matthews 2008 Elfrida De Renne Barrow Amilee Chastain Graves Susan Dowdell Myrick 2009 Caroline Pafford Miller Jane Hurt Yarn Harriet Powers 2010s 2010 Mary Ann Lipscomb Celestine Sibley Madrid Williams 2011 Lillian Gordy Carter Mary Francis Hill Coley May duBignon Stiles Howard 2012 Sarah Randolph Bailey Beulah Rucker Oliver Ethel Harpst 2013 Lollie Belle Wylie Mary Gregory Jewett Henrietta Stanley Dull 2014 Rebecca Stiles Taylor Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Bazoline Estelle Usher 2015 Allie Carroll Hart Frances Freeborn Pauley Nell Kendall Hodgson Woodruff 2016 Sarah Harper Heard Ellamae Ellis League Katie Hall Underwood 2017 Carolyn Mackenzie Carter Clermont Huger Lee Lucile Nix 2018 Ludie Clay Andrews Susie Baker King Taylor Mamie George S. Williams 2019 Leila Denmark Mary Dorothy Lyndon 2020s 2020 Clarice Cross Bagwell Katharine DuPre Lumpkin Juanita Marsh Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright 2021 Ruby M. Anderson Mary G. Bryan Laura Pope Forester Allie Murray Smith 2022 Lizzie Lurline Collier Josephine Fields Sanders Hedy West Josephine Wilkins 2023 Phyllis Jenkins Barrow Alice Coachman Luck Flanders Gambrell Dorothy Rogers Tilly 2024 Beatrice Hirsch Haas Adella Hunt Logan Valerie Murphey Elizabeth "Bessie" Tift 2025 Jessye Norman Alma Thomas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sarah Harper Heard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Harper_Heard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Harper_Heard?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.