Grace A. Mapps’s birthdate is unknown, but is believed to have been born in New Jersey in 1835. She was a woman who was highly educated for her time and possibly the first African-American woman to ever graduate from college. She graduated from New York Central College in McGrawville in 1852. She became a teacher and was the principal for the Institute of Colored Youth. she died in 1891 from what is thought to have been starvation. She was also a beautiful poet.
David Rosell Jr. was an African-American man born in New Hampshire in 1838. He was also a student at New York Central College in McGrawville, New York. He studied in both the United states and Germany in order to become a physician. He served as a surgeon during the Civil War. After the war, he continued his work as a surgeon in Philadelphia until his death at the age of 40. There is no record of an obituary or cause of death for David Rosell. It is said that both he and his father, David Rosell Sr., made significant contributions to the colored race.
Seen below is a photo of the map we created of Rosell and Mapps’s places of origin and their final residences. As you can see, they ended up in pretty close proximity in Philadelphia and New Jersey. The stars represent the places of origin and the “X” marks represent the final residences. It is interesting to see that these two African Americans who had a major impact on the colored community lived relatively close to each other.
