Tuskegee Connections Part One: Matthew Theodore Driver
This is a two-part blog exploring the connection between the Driver family from Gloucester County, VA, Trenton, NJ, and Tuskegee University. Along the way, we’ll meet remarkable people and events that shaped history. In this first part, meet Matthew Theodore Driver, a Wheelwright Instructor at Tuskegee and the son-in-law of Lewis Adams. Do you know about Lewis Adams? Let’s explore.
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITYLEWIS ADAMSBOOKER T. WASHINGTONGEORGE WASHINGTON CARVERROBERT RUSSA MOTON
Wayne Karl Driver
9/9/20252 min read
The Story of Matthew Theodore Driver
Matthew Theodore Driver, my great-granduncle, was born in Gloucester County, Virginia, on December 29, 1862. He graduated from Hampton Institute and later married Virginia Louise Adams—the daughter of Lewis Adams, the founder of Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers.
This marriage tied our family roots to a powerful legacy. Addison Driver, Matthew’s father (my 2nd great-grandfather), is where the Driver story begins—but Matthew’s journey connected us to Tuskegee.
Tuskegee University: A Legacy of Education
Tuskegee University (originally Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers) is located in Tuskegee, Alabama, about 40 miles east of Montgomery. Founded by Lewis Adams, a formerly enslaved man, its first president was Booker T. Washington.
Here are a few of the fascinating family and institutional connections:
Matthew & Virginia Louise Adams Driver
Virginia Louise Adams was Tuskegee’s first graduate. Her marriage to Matthew T. Driver sealed the family’s direct link to Tuskegee’s founding.Shared Virginia Roots
Booker T. Washington, Matthew T. Driver, and Robert Russa Moton (Tuskegee’s 2nd principal) all had roots in Virginia and studied at Hampton Institute.The Hampton–Tuskegee–St. Paul’s Connection
These schools shared the same philosophy: mind, hand, and heart. They are among the HBCUs that educated African Americans after slavery. I, too, am a proud HBCU graduate—Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.Robert Russa Moton’s Gloucester Connection
When Robert Russa Moton retired from Tuskegee in 1935, he built his home, Holly Knoll, in Gloucester County, VA—where his wife Jennie Dee Booth Moton was born.
Why This Matters
Researching these connections taught me some lessons:
Geography is not limited: Don’t assume your ancestors stayed in one place.
Look for connections: Family and history link us in surprising ways.
Respect the past: People then were just as brilliant, creative, and ambitious as today.
Embrace history: Share the positive contributions that shape our communities.
The featured photo for this blog—Tuskegee Executive Council, 1906—shows Matthew T. Driver alongside George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington. To see these figures together in one historic moment was an unforgettable discovery.
Want to Dig Deeper?
Years ago, I published The Road Back to Route 606: The History of the Driver Family from Gloucester County, VA. It’s available on Amazon here. With today’s DNA tools, I look forward to updating it in the future.
Disclaimer: These posts were edited with AI assistance for clarity. All genealogy research and conclusions are my own.
Left to right, top row: Robert R. Taylor, R. M. Attwell, Julius Ramsey, Edgar J. Penney, Matthew T. Driver, Henry G. Maberry, George Washington Carver. Left to Right, bottom row: Jane E. Clark, Emmett J. Scott, Booker T. Washington, Warren Logan, John H. Washington.
