Elizabeth Ann Berry

(1840-1909)

Elizabeth Ann Berry
Historic Hillsborough Commission

At a Glance

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Ann Berry was born in Hillsborough in 1840. She was the daughter of John Berry (a famous builder/architect of Hillsborough) and Elizabeth Ann Vincent Berry, who was said to be of French Huguenot descent.

Story

Elizabeth Ann was the third and last of the Berry girls to attend the Burwell School and the only one of them, so far as is known, who became a teacher.

Elizabeth Ann, later to be known in Hillsborough as  "Miss Lizzie"  Berry, was willed the beautiful little Berry Brick House in Hillsborough by her father. She did not marry, but lived with her sister, Caroline Victoria Berry and Caroline's husband Benjamin Hardesty Bell. Elizabeth's niece wrote of her:  "Elizabeth Ann was the beloved  "Aunt Lizzie"  of the Bell children with whom she was a delightful companion and teacher. She inspired them with a love of classical literature which has persisted throughout their lives. One of the children, Mr. Franklin Wilhelm Bell, became a collector of rare books and all the children have a loving recollection of their Aunt."

Biographical Data

Elizabeth was called Lizzie.

Important Dates

Elizabeth Ann Berry was born in 1840, in Hillsborough, NC. She died in 1909, and was buried in Hillsborough, NC.

Places of Residence

• Hillsborough, NC, between 1840 and 1909. Elizabeth Berry lived her entire life in Hillsborough. She lived in the house her father willed to her with her sister Caroline and her sister's husband Benjamin Bell. She became a teacher in Hillsborough and was fondly known as  "Miss Lizzie." [1]

Schools Attended

• Burwell School. Elizabeth Berry was the third and last of the six Berry sisters to have attended the Burwell School. She is also the only one known to have become a teacher [1].

Occupations

• Teacher [1].

Relatives

• Parents: John Berry (1798-1870) [1] and Elizabeth Ann Vincent (1803-1888) [1].
• Siblings: three sisters, Caroline Victoria Berry (1845-1927) [1], Josephine Berry (1833-1912)  [1] and Rosanna Berry (1836-1860) .

References

1. Mary Claire Engstrom. The Book of Burwell Students: Lives of Educated Women in the Antebellum South. (Hillsborough: Hillsborough Historic Commission, 2007).