In June of 1915 ninety applicants took the Illinois State teacher certification test. Only 11 qualified for their chosen certificate! This must have been quite a rigorous test to have just over 10 percent pass. The candidates who did not pass all sections of the test were allowed another attempt to pass the sections where they were deficient, making it possible that more than 11 teachers would be available to teach school the following year.
Among those who did pass the test were five young women from McLean County. Margaret Griffin was the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Griffin of Merna. She was born in 1895 and was living in Towanda when she took the test. She married Lawrence McDonald, a farmer, in 1927 and at that time it was reported that she had been teaching in McLean County and had been a student at ISU. Margaret lived the rest of her life in Towanda and died October 27, 1970. The McDonalds did not have any children.
Jessie May White of Mt Hope was another teacher candidate who passed the certification test. She was the daughter of Abner and Fanny White. Abner was a drayman, or wagon driver, for the city. Jessie's mother died sometime before Jessie was 13 years old, and Mr. White was left to raise three daughters alone. Jessie attended and graduated from Eureka College in 1922 (after Jessie received her teaching certificate). Jessie had probably started teaching school to earn money to attend college. In 1920 Jessie was teaching English and history at the Cropsey High School. She moved to Orlando, Florida around 1924, to be with her family there. She married F.L. Seidner in 1925 in Bloomington and moved to Ohio where her husband was affiliated with the Buick Motor Company.
Nellie Gray lived at 702 S. Low Street in Bloomington, with her parents Leon and Emma Gray. Her father was a salesman. Nellie married Theodore Kraft, a salesman of auto parts at Keiser Van Leer, who was also a farm owner. They lived at 1228 E. Grove Street. The Krafts did not have any children. Nellie was very active with her church and other organizations in Bloomington. To the left is a high school photo of Nellie from the Bloomington High School year book.
Alta Worley gave her address as Bloomington when taking the Certification Test because she was an ISU student. Her parents, James and Ella Worley, lived in Illiopolis in Sangamon County. After taking her certification Alta taught at the Lewis School near Kappa, but then in 1920 she was working as a drug store clerk in Illiopolis. She married Robert Burns Claypool in 1922 in DeWitt County.
Nina Henry was born in 1897 and was the daughter of Don and Eva Henry. She was in the freshmen class at ISU in 1915. In 1920 she was living in London Mills, Fulton County in a boarding house with four other school teachers. The photo to the right was Nina's Bloomington High senior photo. Whether Nina married or continued teaching is unknown.
Although these young women were apparently very accomplished and never had any children, their careers ended with marriage