Mary Jane Patterson was born on September 12, 1844 in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was the oldest child of Henry and Emeline Eliza (Taylor) Patterson. Her father was a bricklayer and plasterer who was born free. He purchased his wife and successfully petitioned for her freedom in 1840. The family moved to Oberlin, Ohio in 1852. In 1857 Mary Jane took a 1 year preparatory course at Oberlin College. After competing this course she she enrolled for a degree course designed for gentleman rather than the easier 2 year course for ladies. The modules she studied included Greek, Latin and higher mathematics. She ended up becoming the first African American woman to receive a Bachelors degree.
On September 21, 1864 Mary Jane applied for a teaching position at a school for black children in Norfolk, Virginia. She received a letter of recommendation from E.H. Fairchild, principal of Oberlin College's preparatory department. She became an assistant to Fanny Jackson Coppin in 1865 at the Philadelphia Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania). From 1869-1871 she taught at Preparatory High School for Colored Youth (now Dunbar High School) in Washington, DC, the first public high school for African Americans in the US. She became the school's first black principal from 1871-1872 and again from 1873-1874. In 1884 the administrators of the school would be better headed by a male principal and forced her to step down. She did continue to teach at the school until her death. Mary Jane devoted her time and money to black institutions in Washington, DC.
Mary Jane died at home on September 24, 1894. She was never married. She has been recognized as a pioneer in black education. Her home is on the route of Washington, DC's walking tour. In 2019 a scholarship was established in her name at the California State University, Long Beach's Teachers for Urban Schools.
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