Side A: William Henry Fouse was born in Westerville to former slaves Squire Fouse and “Sallie” Syler. The first Black student to graduate from Westerville High School (1884), he worked as a bootblack and waiter to earn college tuition. Fouse graduated cum laude from Otterbein (1893), and as the college’s first Black graduate, delivered “A Plea for the Afro-American” at commencement. For forty-five years Fouse worked as a teacher and administrator in Corydon (Indiana), Gallipolis (Ohio), Covington (Kentucky), and Lexington (Kentucky). He served as principal at Lexington’s Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School from its opening in 1923 until his retirement in 1938. During that time, Fouse developed the Bluegrass Oratorical Association, served as president of the Kentucky Negro Education Association, and earned his MA in Education. In 1937, Otterbein conferred a Doctor of Pedagogy upon the distinguished educator.
Side B: “Three interests dominated the life of Squire Fouse. They were a home, the education of his children, and his church.” – William Henry Fouse after the 1937 dedication of Hanby House Museum.
Squire Fouse was born enslaved on a plantation in Chatham County, North Carolina. Trained as a blacksmith, he was sold at auction for $2,000 when about 15 years old. His first spouse, “Sallie” Syler, was also born enslaved. By 1867, the newly emancipated pair were living in Westerville when their first of four children, William Henry Fouse, was born. In 1889, Squire Fouse purchased the former home of Reverend Bishop William Hanby and moved it to Home Street. Illiterate, Fouse encouraged his children to obtain the “magic and power of education.” He died February 26, 1909, and is buried in Otterbein Cemetery.
