David Abner Jr.

Father, David Abner, Sr.

David Abner Jr. was born November 25, 1860, in Upshur County, Texas, the son of David Abner and Louisa Abner. His family was slaved until emancipation, but his father would become a delegate to the state constitutional convention and state legislature. In 1870 they moved to Marshall, Texas, where Abner attended Wiley University. He then enrolled in Straight University in New Orleans. In 1877 he enrolled at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1881 he enrolled at Bishop College, where he graduated in 1884,[1] becoming the first African American to graduate from a Texas school of higher education.[2] He then became a professor at the school. He was a delegate to the National Convention of Colored men (part of the Colored Conventions Movement) in September 1883, in 1884 he became the corresponding secretary of the Baptist State Convention of Texas. He also edited the conventions paper, known as the Baptist Journal and later as the Baptist Pilot.[1]

In 1884, Guadalupe College was founded, primarily through the efforts of William B. Ball, who would later serve as president. The school opened in 1887, and Abner was made the first president of the school, a position he served until 1905,[2] when he was forcibly removed due to opposition within the Baptist church leadership. The denomination opened a new (third) convention in the state and created a new college, Conroe College.[3] Thereupon, in 1906, Abner was elected the first president of Conroe College.[4]

Abner married Ella M. Wheeler (1877-1950),[5] with whom he had two children. He died on August 21, 1928 in Houston, Texas.[6]

• Men of Mark

• "Conroe Normal and Industrial College". Negro Education: A Study of the Private and Higher Schools for Colored People in the United States. 2. pp. 602–603.