Edmund and John H. Kelly Scholarship Fund

Maury County students attending Tennessee State University (TSU) this fall have a new scholarship opportunity. Named by the African American Heritage Society of Maury County and an anonymous donor to highlight the work of two distinguished Columbia leaders, the Edmund and John H. Kelly Scholarship provides up to $10,000 for the 2025-26 academic year.

Rev. Edmund Kelly (1818-1894) was co-founder in 1843 of Mt. Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church. He became an evangelist who organized churches in many states, earning enough to buy freedom for himself and his wife and children. The family moved in 1851 to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but returned in the 1870’s to Maury County. His son, John Henry Kelly (1852-1935), initially trained to be a lawyer, but moved to Columbia in the 1880’s to found and become principal of College Hill School, the county’s first public school for African Americans. In the 1890’s he created a summer Teachers’ Institute that used local professionals and seasoned teachers to train and certify African Americans to teach in Maury County Schools.
Students applying to TSU for the scholarship will write a brief essay connecting one of the men’s life and values to their own experience growing up in Maury County.