Justus K. Jillson

Justus Kendall Jillson (1839–1881) was an American educator and politician.

Justus K. Jillson
1st South Carolina Superintendent of Education
In office
July 6, 1868 – December 14, 1876
GovernorRobert Kingston Scott
Franklin J. Moses, Jr.
Daniel Henry Chamberlain
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byHugh Smith Thompson
Personal details
Born1839
Gardner, Massachusetts
Died1881
Springfield, Massachusetts
Cause of deathSuicide
Political partyRepublican

Jilson was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, in 1839, to parents Mary and Sylvester Jillson. His brothers were Henry and Leander. Jillson married Ellen Gates in 1858.[1][2] He moved from Massachusetts to South Carolina in 1866 to teach for the Freedmen's Bureau.[3] He served four terms from 1868 until 1876 as South Carolina Superintendent of Education, head of the South Carolina Department of Education,[4] and was the first to hold the title.[5] He reportedly struggled with corruption in state government.[6] Jillson was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 1868 to 1871,[7] and chaired the education committee.[8] During his political career, Jilson was affiliated with the Republican Party.[9][10]

He issued the first Annual Report of the State Superintendent of Education of the State of South Carolina to the Governor of South Carolina and state legislature.[11] His efforts at integration included a deaf school. Its leaders resigned instead of accepting African American deaf students.[12]

Jillson moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1876 and died by suicide in 1881.[1][2]

References
  1. Towers, Richard L. (February 28, 1967). "Seeks Jillson Descendants". Fitchburg Sentinel. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  2. Richard L. Towers (March 14, 1967). "Seeks Descendant Of Justus Jillson". North Adams Transcript. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  3. Chaddock, Katherine Reynolds (October 8, 2017). Uncompromising Activist: Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College. JHU Press. ISBN 9781421423302 – via Google Books.
  4. Tindall, George Brown (2003). South Carolina Negroes, 1877-1900. University of South Carolina Press. p. 209. ISBN 9781570034947.
  5. Former State Superintendents of Education South Carolina Department of Education
  6. "Justus K. Jillson - South Carolina Department of Education - 8/20/21 5:24 PM".
  7. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=pubhist_books page 28
  8. "USC Education Report". The College. June 18, 1957 – via Google Books.
  9. McAfee, Ward M. (1998). Religion, Race, and Reconstruction. SUNY Press. p. 100. ISBN 9780791438473.
  10. Hanson, Joyce A. (2003). Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women's Political Activism. University of Missouri Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780826264046.
  11. Education, South Carolina State Dept of (June 18, 1967). "Annual Report of the State Superintendent of Education of the State of South Carolina". State Superintendent of Education of the State of South Carolina. – via Google Books.
  12. Padden, Carol; Humphries, Tom (June 30, 2009). Inside Deaf Culture. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674041752 – via Google Books.


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