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Mae Massie Eberhardt (Mary Graves)
1915-2007 Union leader and activist for nearly 35 years. During most of her union work from the 1950s to 1970s she is listed as being a Newark resident. Born in Virginia as Mary Graves, she moved to Orange after her marriage. Working at the Orange Domestic Laundry, she joined AFL 284, where she became a…
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Georgianna Franklin Brennan
1936- Early Star Ledger writer, born in Newark, daughter of Parks and Property Director Pearce Franklin. In June 1953, when she would have been about 17, a photo of Georgianna judging Miss Newark Marine Corps listed her as “Miss Georgianna Franklin of the Star Ledger”. In August, Georgianna had what may be her first byline,…
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Myrtle L. Bruton Hartsfield
1934-2001 First woman to be named to Newark’s Alcohol and Beverage Control Board in 1981. She said, “I am very proud to be the first woman on the Board. We do have a lot of lady tavern owners here and I welcome the challenge.” She served until at least 1984. At the time she was…
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Sylvia Guarino
26 Dec 1945- First woman deputy mayor in Newark, appointed by Mayor James in 1986. The full time position paid $28300 and the purpose was to “serve as a conduit between the government and its citizens” and “assist the day-to-day operation”. She envisioned improving quality of life, working with the community and working with various ethnic…
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Melba Moore
1945 (1941?)*- Internationally known singer and actress. Attended Arts High School as “Beatrice Melba Smith (Moorman)” and lived at 283 Rose St. She also attended Waverly Avenue Elementary School and Cleveland Jr. High. Her stepfather was Newark musician Clem Moorman. Melba graduated from Montclair State (Newark Normal) and taught music at Peshine Avenue School from…
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Mary Cartin Kelley Howard
1889-1951 Pioneer in the Marines, one of the first three women to be enlisted nationally, and first in Newark. She did general office work in the Marine Corps offices in Washington DC, assigned to the Publicity Bureau. In Nov 1918, she was part of an official visit to Quantico and, later, she participated in a…
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Alice W. Kendall
c. 1885-1959 Worked at the Newark Museum as an assistant to Beatrice Winser and John Cotton Dana from 1911-1949. Served two years as director of the museum from 1947-1949, preceded Katherine Coffey. Previously served as a curator and assistant director. Lived on Milford Ave. Born in Concord, Mass. and died there in 1959. Bibliography The…
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Sheila D Banks
1956-1992 Sheila Banks was 2nd in the Class of 1974 at Weequahic High School. She was the first Black women to graduate from Steven’s Institute of Technology in 1978 (the school began admitting women in 1971). She received an engineering degree, with a concentration in chemical engineering. In 1974 she completed a Cornell University program…
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Huldah Clark
1947- Huldah Clark made international news in 1961. Her family lived in the Christopher Columbus Housing Projects, with 6 children. Her father could not afford living expenses for the whole family, and also believed schools in Newark were segregated “Jim Crow schools”. When he received an offer from Nikita Khrushchev that would cover his daughter’s…
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Gloria Del Toro
1920-2011 Founding director of Newark Public Schools bilingual program. She was supervisor of the Chapter 1 program for English proficiency which served 5000 students and operated in 23 schools. Eugene Campbell, former superintendent stated that she pioneered bilingual and bicultural education in the district. She initiated campaigns that spurred the availability of a GED in…