Falls, Andy
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Falls, Andy
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Andy Falls was a Jim Crow era janitor and fireman at Davidson College for 20 years.
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Andy Falls worked as a servant at Davidson College for 20 years. Self-reported census data and Davidson College records vary on both Andy’s birth year and age. Depending on the source, he was born between 1855 to 1871. Given family memorial data, he was most likely born in 1871. Despite being able to read, Andy had only rudimentary reading and writing abilities. He married Mary Cline Smith on March 13th, 1884. Together, they had at least one daughter, Cassie.
In addition to typical janitorial duties such as cleaning dorms and tending to the landscape, Andy Falls served as a fireman at Davidson College from about 1906 to 1926. When fire destroyed the first Chambers Building on November 28, 1921, Falls’ fireman skills were most likely used to extinguish the fire. Andy was an active participant in student life. In a student-directed-and-written one-act play, according to a Davidsonian article, he portrayed a “faithful servant...strict to carry out the letter and spirit of every wish of the college authorities.”
Outside of the college, Andy was an active member of the Masonic Lodge in Davidson, NC. The Lodge provided the opportunity for socialization and collaboration between black men and typically focused their philanthropic outreach on educational programs. Andy Falls passed away on March 14, 1926, at about 55 years old due to complications from a stroke.
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1871
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March 14, 1926
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Masonic Lodge
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“Faithful Employee Dies From Stroke,” The Davidsonian, March 18, 1926, 8.
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“Dramatic Club Gives Three One-Act Plays Written by Students,” The Davidsonian, November 20, 1924, 1.
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“Marriage Certificate of Andy Falls and Mary Cline, March 13, 1884,” in North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database-online], Ancestry.com
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“Standard Certificate of Death, Andy Falls,” North Carolina State Board of Health, issued March 21, 1926, Ancestry.com
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Jan Blodgett, and Ralph B Levering, One Town, Many Voices: A History of Davidson, North Carolina (Davidson, NC: Davidson Historical Society, 2012).
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1900 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1920 Federal Census, Ancestry.com
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1915 Quips and Cranks, Davidson College, Davidson, NC
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