Frances Sherwood “Fannie” York

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54058620/frances-sherwood-york

Frances Sherwood York, called Fannie, was the first of eleven children born to Rev. R. Brantley York and his second wife Mary Wells Lineberry. She was, however, named for Rev. York's first wife, Frances "Fannie" Sherwood.

Rev. York was a well known minister, teacher, writer, and founder of schools, in North Carolina. At the age of 48 in 1853, he lost his eyesight, and from then until her death, his daughter Fannie assisted him in his endeavors.

In his autobiography, Rev. York wrote, "On the sixth of June, '71, my daughter Fannie, who had been for sometime assisting me in the school*, died, and was buried at O'Kelly's Chapel, and her funeral sermon was preached by Rev. L. Branson, A. M., of Raleigh, on the 20th day of August. Her death was to me a bitter and protracted grief, for she had been for some years my eyes to see, and hand to write; but I have the best of reasons for believing that my loss was her eternal gain. She had been a member of the church from the age of 12, and her life was in every way consistent with her profession."

• The school mentioned was the Ruffin-Badger Institute in Chatham Co., which Rev. York had founded in 1869.