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D2007-CMD-0408
Warrenton Female Academy Medal
D2007-CMD-0408

Warrenton Female Academy Medal

DateNovember, 1821
Owned by Martha Tabb Tompkins (1807 - 1842)
OriginAmerica, Southeast (possibly)
MediumAlloy of copper, gold, and silver
DimensionsOH: 2" OW: 1: 1/2"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2007-48,2
DescriptionOval gold medal ot award of merit with rope-patterned edging and suspension ring at top. Inscribed on both sides
Label TextDuring the early years of the New Republic it was not unusual for academy teachers to conduct public oral examinations of their pupils once or twice a year at the close of each session. During these orations, student projects, including needlework, were exhibited. They closed with the presentation of honorary rewards and certificates, with gold medals being the most prestigious and rare. Martha Tompkins’s gold medal from Warrenton Female Academy in North Carolina is one of just a few that survives from the South. It descended through the Tompkins/Tabb family with a sampler worked by Martha at the school. Awarded in November of 1821 presumably at the close of the school session, the medal is inscribed: "A well merited Reward" for her study of "Grammar/ Geography/ Mythology/ Music & Drawing/ History/ Belles Lettres [stylish writings], Chymistry [sic]/ Natural Philosophy/ Astronomy."

Established in 1809 by Jacob Mordecai, the Warrenton Female Academy was a liberal arts boarding school that revolutionized female education in the South by offering a vigorous curriculum that made it respectable for southern girls to study the same subjects as males. Jacob Mordecai sold his highly successful school to Joseph Andres and Thomas Jones in 1819. In 1822, Caroline Mordecai Plunkett, a married daughter of Jacob, reorganized the school and operated the academy until 1834.

Born at Poplar Grove in Mathews County, Virginia, Martha Tabb Tompkins was the oldest child of Christopher and Elizabeth Cary Smith Tompkins. Martha married her cousin, Henry Wythe Tabb, on July 22, 1828. Between 1829 and 1838, they had five children, one who was named for Henry's first wife. Martha died on September 17, 1842. Henry remarried, naming a daughter after Martha in 1854.
InscribedObverse engraved in mixed block and script lettering: “WARRENTON / Female / ACADEMY / J. Andrews / T. P. Jones / } Principals / to / Miss Mara T. Tompkins / A well merited / REWARD / Novr. 1821”

Reverse engraved in mixed block and script lettering: “Grammar / Geography / Mythology / Music & Drawing / HISTORY / Belles Lettres / Chymistry / Natural Philosophy / Astronomy”

ProvenanceThe medal survived attached to a sampler by Martha T. Tompkins in the collection of Judge John DeHardit who was a "pioneer collector who literally filled his family home "Wareloch" in Gloucester, Virginia from top to bottom." His collection, including labeled pastel portraits and drawings by Felix Thomas Sharples of Tompkins family members, sold at Motley's Auction & Realty in Richmond, VA in April of 2007.

History of owner of medal:
Born at Poplar Grove in Mathews County, Virginia, Martha Tabb Tompkins was the oldest child of Christopher and Elizabeth Cary Smith Tompkins. Martha married her cousin, Henry Wythe Tabb, on July 22, 1828. Between 1829 and 1838, they had five children, one who was named for Henry's first wife. Martha died on September 17, 1842. Henry remarried, naming a daughter after Martha in 1854.