This profile is from the Ames History Museum‘s exhibit People of Ames, which profiles an assortment of notable residents throughout the city’s history. To learn more, visit the Ames History Museum, 416 Douglas Ave., or AmesHistory.org.

Sarah Emery (1840 – 1935)

Sarah Emery moved to Story County with her family around 1856 and settled in what is now Nevada. The following year she took her first teaching position. In 1862, Emery was hired as the first teacher of Hoggatt School – Ames’ first one-room schoolhouse. She often lived with the families of her students, and for a time, she lived in the Farm House on the Iowa State University campus.

In her personal life, Emery was known to be an avid reader and tried very hard to keep up with national news as well as local. After marrying her husband, Thomas Gossard, she left teaching in order to raise a family. She continued to live in the area until her old age when she moved to be closer to her family.