African-American Staff at the Turn of the Century
By the turn of the century, more African Americans had joined the Episcopal staff team. While this is certainly not a complete list of the African American staff, each of the following African American staff played a specific and important role at the school.
William N. Randall: According to Chronicles of the Episcopal High School, William Randall, a “big mulatto,” served as the head waiter as well as the bell ringer in the early 20th century. According to his census records, Randall was literate and served as a “waiter” in the high school industry. Some time in 1920s, Randall left Episcopal to join a laundry business in Alexandria.
Archie Strange: Archie Strange was not specifically employed by Episcopal High School, but he worked as a mail courier between the Alexandria Post Office and the Seminary and therefore was engaged with the community.
William Carpenter: The description of William Carpenter’s occupation in the Census included servant and dairyman. Chronicles of the Episcopal High School gives a detailed account of his work: “the herd consisted of twenty Holsteins cows and a mean bull named Klondike...The cow pastures were the fields on either side of the main driveway and a lane just north of Memorial that led to an old barn situated on the present site of the Joseph Bryan Library…After milking the milk was chilled in the barn and then brought to the basement under the kitchen where the refrigerators were located.”
George Taylor: The occupation of George Taylor under the census is farm laborer and later school teamster--likely meaning a person who drove a team of draft animals--, but his actual work at Episcopal was more versatile. He was in charge of “a team of mules” and heavy physical work on campus such as “hauling coal, ashes, and ice.”