CHOWAN FEMALE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, Murfreesboro, North Carolina.   

Framed diploma dated July 6th, 1859, certifying "that Miss Fannie H. Peters ... had completed "the usual course of ENGLISH STUDIES, and also those in the French, and Latin Languages, pursued in this Institute ... ."  Silk ribbon on left side; bottom portion embossed "MURFREESBORO  N.C. / FEMALE / INSTITUTE / 1848." 

Diploma is signed by school officials and teachers, including the Institute's President and the President of the Board of Trustees. 

The frame is obviously antique, but its exact age is unknown.  The overall size, including the frame, is 22" by 18 1/4."  The frame has losses to the finish (especially at the corners), but is still attractive.

This school was founded in 1848, and originally named Chowan Baptist Female Institute (1848-1850).   It was renamed the Chowan Female Collegiate Institute in 1850, and used that name until 1867.  It was originally intended as an all-girls school that would provide women with a well-rounded two-year education.  It exists today as Chowan University, a private four-year coeducational institution.

 

An 1870 catalog for the Institute lists Fannie H. Peters as a member of the class of 1859, and noted that she was then "Mrs. Prince" living in Southampton Co., Virginia.  This clue helped me make a firm identification.  Census and other records indicate that her full name was Hannah Frances "Fannie" Peters (with Hannah her first rather than middle name).   She was born in Southampton Co., Virginia on 8 Aug. 1842.  Her parents were James E. and Mollie S. Peters.  The 1860 Federal Census shows Fannie (listed as "H. Francis", age 17) living with her parents in Southampton Co., Virginia.  It further shows that James E. Peters was a farmer owning real and personal property with a total value of $34,500.  

Fannie married John David Prince (1844-1922) on 8 June 1865 in Petersburg, Va.  She passed away on 27 May 1911, and is buried in Sussex Co. Va. 

Please inspect photos carefully.