1907-8 Annual Report
A E Darrah, Principal
Mary I Bibb History
A T Roark, Commercial Dept.
George Davis, Science
O C Kirkman, Manual Training
C E Rogers, Math
Ms. N C Carter, English
Ms. L M Russell, Teaching Dept.
A K Greene, Latin
Charles D McGuffey, Spanish
1908-9 (Annual Report) (11)
A E Darrah, Principal
Mary Elizabeth Beck, Expression
Nannie Carter, English
George Davis, Science
O C Kirkman, Manual Arts
Ms. O C Kirkman, History (Mary Bibb Kirkman)
Charles McGuffey, Spanish
J B Rike, Physical Training and Math
A T Roark, Commercial Dept.
C E Rogers, Math
Ms. L M Russell, Teaching Dept.
J A Setliffe, Greek, Latin, German
1909-10 from City Directory
A E Darrah, Principal
Mary Elizabeth Beck, Speech
Nannie Carter, English
George Davis, Science
O C Kirkman, Manual Arts
Harriet Greve, History
Charles McGuffey, Spanish
J B Rike, Physical Training and Math
A T Roark, Commercial Dept.
C E Rogers, Math
Ms. L M Russell, Teaching Dept.
J A Setliffe, Greek, Latin, German
Annie May Crutchfield, English
Mabel Agnes Fair, Domestic Science
C A Garratt Music
Mrs C A Garratt Vocal Music
1910-11 per Sleepless Eye:
A T Roark replaced by Walter Harrington for Commercial
Frank E Gunn added for English, History
William K Anderson added for Math, German
1911-12 from City Directory
Walter Harrington replaced by W P Selcer, Commercial
Mabel Fair replaced by Claudia Frazier, Domestic Science
Lillie Schwartz added for German
William K Anderson replaced by Arthur T Rankin
C E Rogers, Math, resigned at mid-term to accept position at E Tenn Normal School
Mary E Beck apparently did not return and was not replaced.
1912-13 per The Central
Harriet Greve left to pursue MA at Columbia
Alpha Davis added for Science
Garratts replaced by Reita Faxon Pryor, Music
Preservation of Chattanooga Central History 
The early reports to the superintendent are somewhat unreliable. For example the 1908 report did not include W K Greene or Charles D McGuffey, whose presence is well documented elsewhere. The 1909 report seems more accurate, although the Times article on the 1909 graduation exercises indicate that the Garratts provided music for the ceremony. I’ve been using FamilySearch.com to put together bios of these early teachers and will post soon. Fascinating stuff.
Do the Kirkmans have any connection to the tech school which I knew as Kirkman in Chattanooga?
Bob:
You would have to go back to page 43 or so in the history section of the Connection front page to see the thread on “Early Central Faculty” or the like. O C Kirkman died in 1943 and the Chattanooga Vocational School (of which he was Principal from its inception in 1928) was renamed for him. I’ll put his and his wife’s bio up on our board this eve.
Charlie
Otis Clifford Kirkman was born April 28, 1878 near Liberty, NC and received his BS (Manual Training) degree from UT in 1905. He married a fellow teacher at Central, Mary Bibb, on August 4, 1908. He oversaw installation of the first high school vocational training facility in the Chattanooga area in 1910 and the first high school printing press in 1914. He remained on the faculty at Central until 1916 when he moved to Cookeville, TN. [He was replaced at Central in 1916-17 by James F Crawley and John H Burns.] When City High moved into their new building on Third Street in 1921, a vocational education facility was also built and Kirkman assumed command there in 1922. In October, 1928, Chattanooga opened the first all-vocational high school, Chattanooga Vocational School, with Kirkman as principal. He and Mary had three children – Lila, born in 1910, Julia (1913) and O C Jr. (1917). Following the tragic death of OC Jr. in a car accident on April 22, 1943, O C Sr. passed away less than two months later, on June 14. Chattanooga Vocational School was renamed Kirkman Vocational School in his honor (later Kirkman Technical School) before school opened that September.
Mary Isabelle Bibb (Mrs Kirkman) was born in 1885 in Madison County, AL, the younger sister of faculty member Amanda Bibb. She was on Central’s faculty as history teacher for its first two years, then left to give birth to Lila. [Replaced by Harriet Greve for 1909-10] She died on Sept 3, 1972.
Amanda W Bibb was born Sept 13, 1876 in Madison County, AL and received an AB degree from New York Normal College, BP (Bachelor of Pedagogy) from Chicago U, and an MP from Columbia. She married Laurence Medley Russell and was living in St Elmo when she joined Central’s faculty in 1907, initiating the first high school pedagogy program in the Chattanooga area. She was the longest tenured of Central’s original faculty, leaving Central in 1920. She was still active as a Hamilton County school administrator in 1930. Her husband, a local accountant, passed away in December, 1931 and she died on Jan 19, 1937. Both were buried in Decatur, Alabama.
Amanda and Mary Bibb’s father was Lockhart Bibb (born 1840), a Captain in the Confederate Army.