Category: Law and Law Enforcement
-
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…
-
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,…
-
Mary Philbrook
1872-1958 Mary Philbrook was the first female attorney admitted to the bar in New Jersey. She practiced in Newark for many years. While there are several large biographies of Mary already written (see below), she was in Newark from 1899 until World War 1, and again from 1920 through the end of her life. In…
-
Irene Rutherford O’Crowley
1885-1974 Irene Rutherford O’Crowley was an early woman lawyer, born in Newark. She attended Barringer High School and graduated from NJ Law School 1919 as Vice President of her class. In 1900, the family lived on Lombardy Street and Irene lived there at least through 1920 when she was in law school. Irene was the…
-
Ruth Crumpton Dargan
1921-2010 Ruth Dargan became a Newark policewoman in 1949, in the second class of women. She was the first Newark woman detective, with her partner. Ruth was chosen for the Homicide Squad and sent to Quantico for advanced criminal investigation. She was the only woman chosen to initiate the Sex Crimes Unit during her tenure.…
-
Thelma Williams Gillis
1916-2003 Thelma Gillis was the first woman and first non-law school grad assistant chief of the municipal court clerks of the City of Newark. Featured in the Afro American in 1972 she said, “the courts are just overloaded these days!” and “I have taken 25 civil services exams in the last 10 years and intend…
-
Esther K Untermann
1896-1989 Esther was the first woman secretary of the Newark Civil Defense Council and first woman to be named a judge, as a police judge, in Essex County. Esther organized the first eight chapters of B’nai B’rith. She was active on behalf of United Jewish Appeal and lifetime member of the Newark Beth Isreal Women’s…
-
Sally Carroll
1922-2019 Sally Carroll was one of the first Black policewomen in Newark along with Rhoda Daniels and Eleanor M. Stokes in 1949 . She was the first Black woman detective with the Essex County Sherriff’s Office. She was active with the Batons. After entering the police in 1949, she took the Civil Service promotional exams…