Modina Boyd Davis Watson

1927-1994 Hairdresser, makeup artists, assistant, secretary, stylist and “gal Friday” for Sarah Vaughan who traveled the world with Vaughan from … More

Elizabeth “Betty” Hoyt Baker Henderson

1912-1999 Elizabeth Henderson, with her husband Dorland, bought and preserved, Newark’s oldest private residence: the Sydenham House, getting so involved … More

Bernice Schneiderman Edelcreek

1927-2015 Born and raised in Newark, Bernice Edelcreek said “Newark was the only place I ever really wanted to teach.” … More

Eva Hodgson

1924-2020 Eva Hodgson was an internationally known Bermudian activist, union leader and author (read more here). However, she had an … More

Bessie Lanier Smith

1924-1966 Bessie Lanier was born in Virginia but graduated Arts High in 1942 with a major in music. She was … More

Rose A Leonardis

1916-2012 Lifelong Ironbound resident. Proprietor of the Rose A. Leonardis Funeral Home after the death of her father in 1953. … More

Peggy Officer Lista

1913-2013 Inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 for being a basketball and track standout at Central … More

Anna Lois Russ Jones

1911-1987 Mother of Amiri Baraka. Born in Alabama, lived in Newark from 1926. Attended Tuskegee, Fisk, and Shaw College. Administrator … More

Sarah Catherine Howard Johnson

1907-1993 One of the first African American nurses in the Visiting Nurses Association of Newark, where she worked from 1930-1950. … More

Aileen Fong Shane

1926-2017 Born and raised in Newark’s Chinatown Aileen Fong Shane was an early woman engineer, graduating from Newark College of … More

Helen Pollard Zimmer

1910-1980 Corporate secretary (secretary/treasurer) of Fidelity Union Bank from 1964-1975, previously assistant secretary 1961-1964 and with Fidelity from 1956. First … More

Dorothy Gould

1922 – 2015 Early Black teacher, hired in 1943 for $144 a month at Cleveland Junior High as a “permanent … More

Katherine Bell Banks

1912-2008 Photo from Vailsburg yearbook 1973. Born in Tennessee, the Banks family shared a home with the WEB Dubois family … More

Curvin Family

The sisters of historian Robert Curvin. There were six daughters. They were born in Newark, but they grew up in … More

Naomi Sylvia Charner Campbell

1925-2017 Naomi Charner was a graduate of South Side High who lived at 712 Bergen St and 140 Somerset St … More

Dorothy Turpin Smith

1910-1987 An early Black teacher, hired in 1945 (see Timeline, bottom of page here). Was eventually appointed Supervisor of Music … More

Newark Policewomen Class of 1949

Photo from Star Ledger shows women in training, May 1949. Though police matrons existed and 12 policewomen were listed as … More

Rose Baldasare Maker

1913-1997 1939 Women’s Singles NJ Tennis Champion and the Newark Open Champion 4 years in succession. Lived at 258 Van … More

Gladys Berry Francis

c. 1911-1993 Born in Newark.* Director of Elementary Education from 1967-1978. Previously taught at Charlton Street School and South 8th … More

Wynona Moore Lipman

1923* -1999 Though Lipman is well known as a Senator, some of her early accomplishments are lesser known. She got … More

Cabiria Assunta Polo Accarino

1914-2007 Lifelong Newark resident. Attended Barringer High and the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. Ran for North Ward … More

Doris Thompson Dorsey

1911-1985 Doris Dorsey was the first Black woman supervisor in the Newark Post Office in 1966. She was “the only … More

Martha Belle Williams

1924-1969 With M. Bernadine Johnson Marshall, first African American woman admitted to the New Jersey Bar. From Montclair but attended Essex … More

Clara Dasher

1930-1995 President of the Essex County College Board of Trustees, longtime active member of the Newark Teacher’s Union. Teacher from … More

Elitea Bulkley Allison

c. 1913 -2007 Received her graduate degree of Library Science in 1936, starting in Orangeburg South Carolina. Bachlor’s from Claflin … More

Mildred Lockett Lipscombe

1922-? Another of the library’s first Black librarians, hired 8 years after Theresa Moore. After graduating Virginia Union University, and … More

Julia Baxter Bates

c. 1917-2003 The first African-American student admitted to Douglass College. Granddaughter of James Baxter, principal of the Colored School. Master’s … More

Ruth Crumpton Dargan

1921-2010 Became a Newark policewoman in 1949. First Newark woman detective chosen for the Homicide Squad and sent to Quantico … More

Aneatha Dames Todd

1918-1998 Active in the UMDNJ struggle, member of the Concerned Citizens of the College. Instrumental in organizing the Gladys Dickinson … More

Connie Woodruff

1921-1996 Journalist, labor organizer, educator. City editor of the New Jersey Herald News. Also wrote On the Scene in Jersey … More

Thelma Gillis

1916-2003 First woman and first non-law school grad assistant chief of the municipal court clerks of the City of Newark. … More

Kitty (Kearney) V. Taylor

1926-2008 Attended Charlton Street School and South Side High. Senior citizen activist and radio host on WNJR with “The Kitty … More

Estrella Alonso Martinez

1924-1998 Lifelong Newark resident, daughter of Spanish immigrants. With her husband Antonio, founded what they claim was the first Spanish … More

Marie E Gonzalez

c. 1915-2006 Came to the US in 1929 and Newark in 1940. Called the “Puerto Rican Mayoress of Newark”. Chief … More

Amaelia Steward

1915-2001 Owned Steward’s Restaurant and Peppermint Lounge. Self-made millionaire. Bibliography Kukla, Barbara J. Newark Women: From Suffragettes to the Statehouse. … More

Ella Moncur

1919-1999 Wife of jazz artist, owned the Theatrical Beauty Salon in Newark. Later retired to Florida and taught there. Image … More

Eugenia “Jeanne” (Byrd) Dawkins

c. 1926-1978 Owned the Key Club, one of Newark’s most famous jazz clubs, with her husband. In 1976 she was … More

Jennie Caputo

1918-1996 Gymnast who competed in the 1936 Olympics. Married name Pascuzzi. Entered into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame 1992. … More

Sally Carroll

1922-2019 One of the first Black policewomen along with Rhoda Daniels and Eleanor M. Stokes . Actively involved with the … More

Mildred Preen

1919-1979 Mildred Preen, graduate of West Side High in Newark was the first woman to graduate in Electrical Engineering at … More

Gladys Grauer

1923-2019 Artist, launched the Aard Studio Gallery in Newark in 1972. Also ran for office with the Socialist Workers Party … More

Mary McKeon

1913-1997 Mary McKeon was the first woman president of the NJ Associations of Life Underwriters and the Newark-NJ Association of … More

Larrie West Stalks

1925-2015 Larrie Stalks was Essex County Register from 1974-1994. Stalks became Executive Secretary of the Newark Planning Board in 1962. … More

Bernice Cross

c. 1918-2011 Bernice Cross worked at the Star Ledger all her life (from 1939). She coordinated several sections of the … More

Pryno B Hillman

c. 1916-1964 Pryno B. Hillman (c. 1916-1963) founded the Mary Bethune Social Club, was an organizing and creative director of … More

Maria DeCastro Blake

1911-2011 Maria DeCastro Blake (1911-2011) was a dean of admissions at Rutgers and recruited hundreds of Hispanic students. She was … More

Marie Anderson Bagby

1925-2003 Marie Bagby (1925-2003) was a teacher starting in 1944, and eventually principal at Barringer, West Side and University High … More

Elvira Rodrigues

1918-1985 Elvira Rodrigues (left) co-owned an oil firm. She was a community leader in the Ironbound, leader in many Portuguese … More

Sophie L Cooper

1912-1971 Sophie L. Cooper was Newark’s first elected councilwoman, in the South Ward from 1957-1962. Photo from Newark Public Library. … More

Bernice Bass

1926-2000 Bernice Bass (right) had a major presence in the city’s music, radio, & political scenes. She had a Sunday … More

Hilda Hidalgo

1928-2009 Hilda Hidalgo (second from right) was a Newark activist. In Newark, she co-founded Aspira of New Jersey, La Casa … More

M. Bernadine Johnson Marshall

1923-1997 Marie B. Johnson, of Newark, was one of the first African American women in NJ to be admitted to … More

E. Alma Williams Flagg

1918-2018 Alma Flagg was the first African American principal of an integrated school in Newark in 1964, in 1967 she … More

Jennie Levell Lemon

1913-1982 Married to Tom Lemon in Newark in 1950. Listed as a waitress in 1930, and a WPA Investigator on … More

Emily Miles

1910-1999 Fashion designer. Known for her hats and for frequent fashion shows in Newark. Image from: Newark Library. Bibliograpjy “History … More

Louise Scott

1927-1983 Founder of the Scott School of Beauty Culture. Known as Newark’s first Black woman millionaire. Scott was married briefly … More

Louise Bullock

1910-1974 Louise Bullock graduated from the University of Newark’s College of Arts & Sciences in 1937. She may be the … More

Sarah Vaughan

1924-1990 Sarah Vaughan described as having “one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century.” Vaughan grew up in … More

Marie Siconolfi Villani

1921-2021 Marie Villani was the first women in Newark elected to citywide office. She served as Councilwoman from 1973-1993. Lived … More