Olivia Raney
Olivia Raney was a church organist and choral singer from Raleigh, North Carolina. The first public library in Wake County, North Carolina, Olivia Raney Memorial Library, is named after her.
Biography
Olivia Raney moved to Raleigh at age 10. She lived in the Five Points neighborhood, and on McDowell Street between Edenton and Hillsborough.
The couple had been married for about a year and a half, and Olivia was expecting her first child when she died suddenly, on May 4, 1896.
Her husband founded the Olivia Raney Memorial Library in her memory, which was chartered in 1899. Jennie Coffin, a close friend of Olivia Raney, became the first librarian.
The Olivia Raney Library was the city's first public library. It remained open until 1962 and was later demolished and reopened at on Fayetteville Street a year later until, ultimately closing again in 1985.
As a woman of her time, Olivia’s personal life is largely absent from the public domain, yet her legacy lives on in the ideals of a free and public library.
Biography
Olivia Raney moved to Raleigh at age 10. She lived in the Five Points neighborhood, and on McDowell Street between Edenton and Hillsborough.
The couple had been married for about a year and a half, and Olivia was expecting her first child when she died suddenly, on May 4, 1896.
Her husband founded the Olivia Raney Memorial Library in her memory, which was chartered in 1899. Jennie Coffin, a close friend of Olivia Raney, became the first librarian.
The Olivia Raney Library was the city's first public library. It remained open until 1962 and was later demolished and reopened at on Fayetteville Street a year later until, ultimately closing again in 1985.
As a woman of her time, Olivia’s personal life is largely absent from the public domain, yet her legacy lives on in the ideals of a free and public library.
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