Category: Law and Law Enforcement
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Margaret P. McMahon Dugan
c. 1885-1947 In 1918, Margaret Dugan, Justina Eller and Etta Fallon were appointed as Newark’s first policewomen and only policewomen for a long period afterwards. Born in Harrison, Margaret was a store detective before being appointed to the police. Margaret was appointed director of the juvenile bureau and promoted to sergeant in 1943, with Etta…
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Ramona Santiago
c. 1952- Ramona Santiago was appointed deputy mayor in 1994. Her grandfather came from Spain to Newark in 1914. She operated the Santiago Funeral Home of Lafayette Street. At her appointment as deputy mayor she stated, “I’m raising my two children here and I want to see a better life for them and all children”.…
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Martha Belle Williams
1924-1969 Martha Belle Williams, with M. Bernadine Johnson Marshall, was the first African American woman admitted to the New Jersey Bar. She said, “I haven’t thought much about taking the examination as a Negro or as a woman either, I just want to be a good lawyer.’ Martha was from Montclair but attended Essex Junior College…
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Elizabeth Blume-Silverstein
1892-1991 Eliabeth Blume-Silverstein was born in Newark. She graduated the New Jersey Law School in Newark in 1911 (just a year after the first woman graduate Laura Mayo Wilson), but could not practice until she turned 21. In Nov 1913, she was admitted to the Bar as an attorney (just after Laura Mayo Wilson and…
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Betty Lester
1945-2021 Betty Lester was the first African American woman Presiding Judge in Essex County and the 2nd African American female judge appointed to Superior Court of New Jersey. Betty Lester was born as Betty Joan Johnson in Pennsylvania. She attended Howard University and Rutgers Law School. After graduation she worked in Public Defenders Office. In…
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Laura Mayo Wilson
1871-1963 Laura Mayo Wilson was the first woman to graduate the New Jersey Law School, along with Lulu Kinsgsland Garrabrant (who was never admitted to the bar). New Jersey Law School became Rutgers Law School, in Newark in 1910 and was admitted to the bar as an attorney. Born in Newark, to William Wilson and…
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Barbara George
c. 1953-2000 Barbara George was the first woman and first African American woman police captain. Sharpe James called her a “trailblazer, role model and…hero”. Barbara was the sister of Gigi Foushee, who also served with the police, one of 7 children. After graduating Weequahic in 1970 and Bloomfield College, she taught science. Barbara joined the…
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Myrna Milan
1954- Myrna Milan-Rivera Myrna Milan was the first Hispanic woman Newark municipal judge in 1988 and active with the Puerto Rican Congress and ASPIRA. As a judge, she was well-known for developing alternative sentences for offenders, according to the book Latinas: Hispanic Women in the US. Myrna was born in Hoboken, of Puerto Rican descent,…