Newark Women

Alphabetical List of Posts

  • Joan Whitlow

    c. 1949- Joan Whitlow, now retired, has been called the first full-time Black woman reporter at the Star Ledger. She was also the first Black woman to be medical editor in the country. Joan wrote on health, education and the Newark city government. Joan worked for the Ledger from at least 1973-2011 and she had…

  • Josephine Belle Janifer

    1925-2018 Born in Montclair, Josephine Janifer was appointed executive director of the Newark Preschool Council in 1972, after serving with the Council since the 1960s. In 1979, she became the first Director of the Newark Private Industry Council, an employment and training group for disadvantaged residents. According to a 1976 article, Josephine also worked as…

  • Josephine Lawrence

    1889-1978 Josephine Lawrence was Newark Sunday Call Children’s and Household Editor. She was also the Newark Sunday News women’s page editor and a weekly columnist. Josephine wrote around 100 children’s books, many with the Stratemayer firm and over 30 adult books. She also contributed to the New York Times Book Review, until she retired from…

  • Julia A. Mason Voorhees

    c. 1867-May 4, 1915 Julia Mason was the only student from the Colored School to test into the High School in 1880 with an 82.7%, higher than many other students. She was the first Black student to graduate from the High school, directly from the Colored School, since 1877. When she graduated in 1884, the…

  • Julia Baxter Bates

    c. 1917-2003 Julia Bates was the first African American student at Douglass College, followed by a career of teaching and research. A coworker said, “She was truly a pioneer and an unsung heroine.” Julia Baxter Bates was the first African-American student admitted to Douglass College. Douglass admitted her without realizing her race, but accepted her…

  • Julia Sabine

    1905-1990 Julie Sabine was head of the Art and Music Department at Newark Library. She worked at the library for over 40 years. She was a specialist in rare books, printing and fine prints. At the library, Julia was editor of the Newark Library newsletter for many years and organized the Great Books program. She…

  • Justina Eller

    1886-1939 Justina Eller was the third policewoman appointed in 1918 with Margaret Dugan and Etta Fallon. They were the first and for many years only policewomen. Justina worked interviewing women prisoners, catching shoplifters, and was assigned to the casualty squad and the censor bureau. She died on duty in 1939 with the Deputy Chief stating,…

  • Kate Louise Roberts

    1861-1941 Kate Roberts was editor of Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. She got the job through JK Hoyt editor of the Newark Daily Advertiser who was a family friend. Kate’s first publication was in 1922. Kate also worked in the Newark Public Library reference section under Frank Hill and John Cotton Dana for 15…

  • Katherine Bell Banks

    1912-2008 Katherine Bell Banks was born in Tennessee. The Banks family shared a home with the WEB Dubois family in New York before moving to Newark in 1922. Katherine graduated Barringer in 1929 and was one of the first African Americans to graduate Montclair State Teacher’s College. She then received a Masters from Columbvia University.…

  • Katherine Coffey

    1900-1972 Katherine Coffey was director of the Newark Museum from 1949-1968. During her tenure she expanded education programs and programs for the visually impaired & apprentice training . The Museum established an endowment Fund in her honor. Katherine was born in New York, graduated Barnard and joined the museum staff in 1925. She was one…

  • Kathleen P. Galop

    1946-2024 Kathleen Galop was an attorney who was instrumental in preserving Branch Brook Park and founding the Cherry Blossom Festival. She served on the Essex County Parks Advisory Council and later became County Executive Historic Preservation Officer and Acting Director of the Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. She was president of the New Jersey…

  • Kitty V. Kearney Taylor

    1926-2008 Kitty Taylor was a senior citizen activist and radio host on WNJR with “The Kitty Taylor Show” and “Senior Citizens in Action”. She was named to the Mayor’s Senior Citizen Commission in 1963 by Addonizio and served as public relations for director for the Commission, and later as assistant director. She later served on…

  • Laquetta C Nelson

    1955- Advocate for gay and lesbian rights. Co-founder of the Newark Pride Alliance. Awarded the 2004 Community Service Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Founder of the NJ Stonewall Democrats. Bibliography Queer Newark “Awards Honor Unsung Heroes and Future Leaders” Star Ledger Apr 21, 2005 The Advocate “In a Progressive State Where…

  • Larrie West Stalks

    1925-2015 Larrie Stalks was Essex County Register from 1974-1994. Larrie worked at Western Electric and for Local 1286, before she started at City Hall in 1946. She worked her way up through City Hall while also working for Congressman (later Mayor) Addonizio. In 1950, Stalks protested against Far Eastern Restaurant, a downtown Chinese restaurant, for…

  • Laura Champenois Wright Hedden

    c. 1860-1950 Laura Hedden was a pioneer in the boys club movement in the 1930s and 1940s, establishing the first Boys Club on Halsey Street in 1908. In 1908, Star Eagle called her “one of the best known philanthropic women among the leaders of Newark’s social set.” Laura helped establish Excelsior Boys Club and the…

  • 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…

  • Laura Thompkins

    c. 1850 – 1942 In 1941, the Newark Sunday Call featured Laura Thompkins, a former slave, born in Georgia. Laura lived at 104 West St., Newark, and the article claimed she was 96 years old, having lived in Newark for more than 50 years. Laura spent her time knitting Bundles for Britain to help soldiers…

  • Leah Adele Neuhut

    1877-1908 Leah Neuhut, born to a rabbi in Newark, was blind from birth and deaf from 1904. She was called, “one of the most remarkable blind women in the country”. Neuhut had a reputation as a pianist, author, and speaker. She advocated on behalf of the blind to the state government. She also advocated for…

  • Leila Gardner

    1914-1993 Leila Gardner was executive director of the Newark Traveler’s Aid Society. She was the first African-American in the nation to head a Travelers Aid unit. She later worked for Family Services as a social worker for many years. The unit helped vulnerable travelers like children, immigrants and senior citizens at Newark Penn Station and…

  • Lem See Wong

    1880-? Mrs. Willie Hong, was called “the only Chinese woman in the city” in 1909 and “the only woman in Chinatown” in 1911. The Star Eagle wrote, “She is very nice indeed. Mrs. Theresa E. Burnett…visits her every week and teachers her the English language and Christian principles.” Willie Hong was sometimes called the “mayor”…

  • Lettie Mae Mulford

    1883-1970 *sometimes listed as “Lettie Mulford” or “May Mulford” Lettie Mae Mulford was a eacher in the Newark Public School System for 42 years. She was a daughter of the first African American Newark High School student Clara Mulford, and sister of nurse Eva Mulford. Lettie graduated Newark High School in 1901. In 1904, she…

  • Lilian McNamara Garis

    1873-1954 Lilan McNamara wrote for the Newark News in charge of “Women’s Work”, their first female reporter (“the first woman to be given regular salaried employment”). She married Howard Garis and wrote hundreds of books for the Stratemayer syndicate, some under pen names. Born in Ohio to Irish immigrants Winifred and Edward, she moved to…

  • Lillian B Huff Stewart

    1909-2007 Social writer, social editor of the New Jersey Herald News in Newark. Reporter who covered all kinds of stories according to Robert Queen. He says she was working as a waitress when she began to write for the Herald. On the 1930 census she is listed (at age 23) as a private family nurse.…

  • Linda H. Morley and Adelaide C. Kight

    1885-1972, 1889-1972 Linda Morley was head of the business branch of Newark Public Library after Sarah Ball and before Marian Manley from 1917(1919?)-1926. With Adelaide Kight she wrote “2400 business books and guide to business literature” (1920) and “Business books 1920-1926” (1927). The Wilson Bulletin called Kight and Morley the “moving spirits of Newark’s Business…

  • Loraine White

    c. 1947 In 1980, Loraine White became a football coach at Weequahic High. She was New Jersey’s first female coach and was said to be the first Black woman to become a high school football coach in the United States. She has been inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame. Loraine (often misspelled Lorraine)…

  • Louise A Stewart Spencer

    1916-1971 Louise A Spencer was director of the (combined) Newark Parent Teachers Associations. She was vice President of the Newark March of Dimes and served on the Essex County PTA. She was a member of the Baxter Terrace Youth Organization, Baxter Terrace Tenement League and North District Public Commission Council. Louise A Spencer Elementary School,…

  • Louise Bullock

    1910-1974 Louise Bullock graduated from the University of Newark’s College of Arts & Sciences in 1937. She may be the first Black female graduate of a school affiliated with Rutgers. Louise served as a director of “Negro work” in United Service Organizations (USO) club activities for the Young Women’s Christian Association (YMCA). She was play…

  • Louise Connolly

    1862-1927 Louise Connolly was longtime educational advisor to the Newark Library and Museum. She wrote many publications and trained museum apprentices. The Newark News wrote, “She made many important contributions to the problems of education…She was considered to be an inspiring teacher, a remarkable organizer of though, a writer and speaker of extraordinary facility and…

  • Louise Epperson

    1908-2002 Louise Epperson was key in the protests against UMDNJ in the 1960s & helped negotiate the Medical School Agreements. The Star Ledger stated she was credited with saving the neighborhood from demolition. Louise was also the first African American appointed to the Board of Health & helped elect Mayor Gibson and Irvine Turner.  Mayor…

  • Louise Scott

    1927-1983 Louise Scott was the founder of the Scott School of Beauty Culture. Born in the South, she came to New York from the South as a domestic & then to Newark where she opened her first beauty shop in 1944. This expanded into five shops and then a school. Louise was known as Newark’s…

  • Louise Shugard

    1870-1951 Louise Shugard was known as “the most prominent woman in Newark”. Her obituary said she was, “long a leader in welfare work in Newark.” She said, “Why it is not work for me, it is a joy to do things for those adorable babies down at the nursery…I would probably be a discontented, sour…

  • Lucy Karr Millburn

    1895-1998 Lucy Karr Millburn was a suffragist who marched on Washington, DC in 1913. She was a New Jersey delegate of the National Woman’s Party to the Mass Meeting for Equal Rights in Industry at the US Department of Labor’s Industrial Conference and a Member of the New Jersey division of the National Woman’s Party.…

  • Lydia Gelston Spring Osborne

    1876-1958 The Star Ledger wrote “A tiny woman bubbling with good cheer Mrs. Osborne had become a familiar figure in almost every important civic enterprise since the 20s”. She said, “I love Newark, I remember Newark when you would greet everybody in town when you went out marketing. It’s very changed today”. Lydia was very…

  • Lydia Young Hayes

    1871-1943 Lydia Young Hayes was the first director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind which had offices in Newark at 14 James St (now Audible). She became director in 1910 and served until 1937, when she served as a consultant until her retirement in 1942. As director she organized home teaching, workshops, and…

  • 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 the NJ bar in 1949 with Martha Belle Williams. When they graduated they made the front page of the Newark News and Bernadine said she had “dreamed of this since I was a little girl…Oh…

  • Mabel F Thomas

    1887-1974 Mabel F Thomas was an early female dentist in Newark. She worked for Dr. C A Spahn and then practiced on her own. Mable began practicing on her own after graduating the Thomas Evans Institute of University of Pennsylvania as one of only five women in 1918. She was a specialist in orthodontic straightening,…

  • Mabel Irene Gilman

    c. 1897?-1943 Miss Mabel Irene Gilman who lived on Clinton Ave., was the first female detective appointed by Essex County in 1929, investigating various cases including desertions. She attended Barringer High School, and lived in Newark from 1906. She was a member of the Alma House Missionary Society of Grace Church. In her youth, she…

  • Mae Massie Eberhardt (Mary Graves)

    1915-2007 Mae Eberhardt was a 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, Mary moved to Orange after her marriage. Working at the Orange Domestic Laundry, she joined AFL 284,…

  • Mae T. Muldrow

    1909 -1977 Mae Muldrow owned LaVogue Beauty Salon (Beauty and Wig Center) for 37 years. Mae was one of the founders of the Modern Beauticians Association, a national organization, and former president of Modern Beautician Investment Corp. She was active with the Cordelia Greene Johnson Foundation (scholarships for beauticians) and general chairman of the Beauty…

  • Maggie Clay Beckett

    c. 1892-1972 Maggie Clay Beckett founded the James H. Beckett funeral home with her husband. Maggie was President of the New Jersey State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs 1943-1947, as well as former Vice President. She was the first advisor to the Junior Federation. She was instrumental in presenting a pageant with the group at…

  • Majorie M Sweet

    1892-1963 The Sunday Call claimed Marjorie Sweet was the first licensed woman automobile driver in NJ. She became a car saleswoman at a young age in Perth Amboy. She graduated business school and became a secretary but soon became an automobile statistician with the Standard Oil Company. Later, Marjorie she became head of the Research…

  • Malvina Sears & Elida Lowery

    First Black graduates of Newark High in 1877 Many people have heard of the first Black student to enter Newark High School, Clara Mulford. Clara entered in 1872, but did not graduate. Entering in 1873, two other students were the first Black graduates of Newark high school: Melvina (Malvina) Sears & Elida G Lowery. They…

  • Mamie White Bridgeforth

    1944- Mamie Bridgeforth was a City Council member from 1998-2006. She is a community leader, professor, Chairperson of the Division of Social Sciences at Essex County College, and an ordained minister. She is currently Pastor of the Faith Christian Center Ministries in Newark, New Jersey. Bridgeforth has worked for Essex County as a faculty member for…

  • Marcia King Stillwell

    c. 1846- Feb 13, 1929 Marcia King Stillwell was a daughter of Mary Thompson King and sister of Harriet and Ellen King. Marcia was First Assistant to James Baxter from at least 1865 (first year its listed in the Board of Education reports) until 1880, likely through 1882 so at least fifteen years. In Jan…

  • Margaret (Peggy) Officer Lista

    1913-2013 Margaret (Peggy) was inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 for being a basketball and track standout at Central High in the late 1920s. She also was a cheerleader and dancer. She was president of the Girls Athletic Association. As of 1930, she was the only girl at Central ever to…

  • Margaret Brydon Laird

    1871-1968 Margaret Laird was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and NJ’s first Assemblywoman, elected with Jennie C. Van Ness. She was born in Newark and lived there most of her life. She attended Newark schools and graduated the Newark City Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1895 and lived in Newark until the…

  • Margaret Coult

    c. 1859 -1930 Margaret Coult was head of the English department for the Newark high school system and a teacher at Barringer for many years. She was a trustee of the library and museum and author of several books on education. She was the sister and daughter of Eliza and Frances Coult. The Newark News…

  • Margaret Douglas Haines

    1884-1966 Margaret Haines was a lifelong resident of Newark. She was a member of the General Assembly from 1949-1953, taught at Garfield and Avon Ave Schools, was a canteen worker and ambulance driver in WWI and a Signal corps driver and USO Organizer in Newark in WWII. The Newark News called her “the antithesis of…

  • Margaret Kidney

    1814-1917 Margaret Kidney lived to age 103. She earned her own way after the death of her husband, when she was 35, by making clothes, which she embroidered. On the 1860 census her occupation is listed as “fancy store”. Margaret’s daughter died when she was 60, after this she fostered many girls, which she attributed…

  • 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…

  • Margaretta T Craven

    c. 1853-1935 Margaretta Craven founded Miss Craven’s School in Newark, which she opened in Spring 1875 and ran until 1915. When Margaretta retired in 1915, the school was taken over by Mrs. William Lamont. Mrs. Lamont acquired Prospect Hill School in 1918 and merged the schools to form Prospect Hill Country Day School which was…

  • Marguerite L. Gates

    1885-1965 Marguerite L Gates was born in Massachusetts, attended Mt. Holyoke College and then came to work at Newark Library in 1907 for John Cotton Dana. She became head of lending and then assistant librarian, the secondary position in the library to Beatrice Winser, from 1930-1942. Marguerite was briefly Acting Librarian after Winser left but…

  • Marguerite Marquart

    1884 – 1960 Marguerite Marquart was director of art for the Newark Public Schools for 23 years, after Sarah Fawcett, and with the schools for 40. She said, “I’ve always worked hard doing what I could to help increase the interest and application in art”, saying “the aim of art in the schools is to…

  • Maria DeCastro Blake

    1911-2001 Maria DeCastro Blake was a dean of admissions at Rutgers and recruited hundreds of Hispanic students. She was one of the founders of ASPIRA, a founding member of the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey, founder and president of the Association for Professional Education of Puerto Ricans, a founding member of FOCUS and involved…

  • Maria Jeritza Seery

    1887-1982 Renowned Czech soprano Maria Jeritza lived in the Newark Forest Hill from 1948 until her death in 1982, after her marriage to umbrella manufacturing Irving Seery, who died in 1966. Maria’s rapid rise to fame, beauty and personality earned her the nickname “The Moravian Thunderbolt”. She performed throughout Europe and the United States, and…

  • Maria Vizcarrondo-De Soto

    1951- Maria Vizcarrondo-De Soto had many important executive roles in the community. She served as director of ASPIRA for many years, was the first Hispanic elected Essex county official and then was the first woman and Latina President of United Way of Essex and Hudson, for 10 years. She also was the first director of…

  • Marian C Manley

    1892-1977 Marian C Manley ran Newark’s Business Library, a branch of the Public Library from 1926-1954. She retired in Oct 1954. Under her leadership the Business Library was known far and wide for excellent service. Said her employees when she retired, “Life was kind to have placed us under the supervision of Marian C Manley…there…

  • Mariana Higbie Barker

    1880- April 24, 1967 President of the Board of Babies Hospital, Mariana was a founder or very early member of the Babies Hospital Guild, and quickly became President. In that capacity she helped plan children’s diets, and with purchasing, hiring and firing for the hospital. She also advocated for clean milk laws. She received a…

  • Mariazinha (Maria) Coutinho

    c. 1946- Maria Coutunho was born in Portugal and settled in Newark in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, her and her husband established Coutinho’s Bakery, which spread to multiple storefronts in Newark and Harrison. A 1995 profile stated she supervised every cake before it left Newark and sat down with every client. The bakery…

  • 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 Schools, before retiring in 1991. Marie also served on the board of St. Michael’s Medical Center, the affirmative action committee of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, the executive board of the Newark Principal’s Association,…

  • Marie Antoinette Quinby

    1848-1909 Marie Quinby was very active in Newark civic life, the Newark News called her a “leader in Newark society”. She was founder and President of the Women’s Branch of the NJ Historical Society. Marie also managed or was on the board of various organizations including the Colonial Dames and the Daughters of the American…

  • Marie E Gonzalez

    c. 1915-2006 Marie E Gonzalez was called the “Puerto Rican Mayoress of Newark”. She was a specialist on Puerto Rican Affairs with the Newark Human Rights Commission from 1963-1981. She was Chairman of the City’s Advisory Council on Bilingual Programs and a founder of FOCUS. She is credited on “The Puerto Ricans in Newark, NJ:…

  • Marie Foster Whigham

    1923-2006 Marie Whigam helped her husband Charles Whigham to found Citi National Bank (1973) and Whigham Funeral Home. Mayor Sharpe James called her “the queen of our city”, saying “she was a role model for young and old”. Marie also founded the Women’s League, which raised money for scholarships and was active in the Boys…

  • Marie Siconolfi Villani

    1921-2021 Marie Villani was the first women in Newark elected to citywide office. She served as Councilwoman from 1973-1993. In 1973, after her husband Ralph Villani resigned due to illness, she was appointed for the remainder of the term, and then was elected. She said she believed a “woman’s touch” on the council would be…

  • Marie Wolfs

    1885-1986 Marie Wolfs was a Vice Principal of South Side High School for more than 30 years until her retirement in 1951. However, she had a very exciting life outside the school. In 1914, she and her sister Helen, who also worked at South Side, were caught in the bombing of Liege, Belgium. According to…

  • Marion Alexander Bolden

    1946- Marion Bolden was superintendent of the Newark Public Schools from 1999-2008. In 2009, Marion founded the Newark Public Schools Historical Preservation Committee, to preserve Newark school history. Marion was born in Newark and is a graduate of South Side High School, where she was president of the National Honor Society and Clinton Place Jr.…

  • Marion Roberson Kidd

    1928-2012 Marion Kidd was a community activist working for welfare rights, who also worked many years with the North Jersey Community Union. In 1966, she led a group of welfare mothers to complain about welfare issues to the Essex County Welfare Board. In 1967, she was chairwoman of the UCC Welfare Committee, for Area Board…

  • Marion Thompson Wright

    1902-1962 Marion Thompson Wright was a graduate of Barringer High and the first African American woman in the US to earn a PhD in History, according to most sources. There is a Rutgers annual lecture series named in her honor. Marion wrote, “The Education of Negroes in New Jersey” and other works. Marion was one of…

  • Marleny Franco

    1955- Marleny Franco is the founder of the Greater Newark Conservancy. She was executive director of the Conservancy for many years. She was previously director of the Rutgers Urban Gardening Program in Newark. Marleny was born in Colombia. She lived in Newark from the early 1980s to about 2000. She came to Newark, after attending…

  • 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…

  • Mary and Louise Curcio

    c. 1901-1973? , c. 1904-1987 The featured photo (above) is Mary Curcio, Daily News, 1931. Mary and Louise Curcio were two blind sisters born to Eva Bender and Paul Curcio in Newark. They lived on Morris Avenue. Mary entered school for the first time at Washington St. Public School when the first class for the…

  • Mary Beasley Burch

    1906-2001 Mary Beasley Burch founded the Leaguers non-profit focused on the development of African American youth & was the first African American woman to serve on the Newark Board of Ed. & NJ State Parole Board. She was on the board of Essex County College and contributed to its founding. The theater at ECC is…

  • Mary Boland

    c. 1950- Mary Goretti Boland was director of the AIDs program at the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey in Newark. She co-founded the program with Dr. James Oleske and was honored internationally for her work with children with AIDs. She said, “I am very impressed with the deep strengths shown by families of AIDS victims…I…

  • Mary C McKeon

    1913-1997 Mary McKeon was the first woman president of the NJ Associations of Life Underwriters and the Newark-NJ Association of Life Underwriters. She was the first woman to be a division manager in Prudential Life insurance sales in 1952. She worked in Newark and Montclair. She said, “I was scared to death when I joined…

  • Mary Cartin Kelley Howard

    1889-1951 Mary Howard was a 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,…

  • Mary Colson Woody

    c. 1877-1966 Mary C. Woody became the first licensed female funeral director in NJ in Newark in 1913. She opened a funeral home that bears her name in Orange, which is open to this day. Mary was born in Virginia and moved to Washington DC and then Newark with her husband, where her husband established…

  • Mary Dennis Poland

    c. 1873-1947* Born in Ohio, Mrs. Poland was the wife of state superintendent Addison Poland. However, she was accomplished in her own right. She was the first woman to be award a doctorate in philosophy, which came from NYU. In Newark she was dean of girls in Newark High School (Barringer) for 26 years until…

  • Mary Depue Ogden

    1867-1960 Mary Depue Odgden was a member of a prominent New Jersey family, her father was a justice on the NJ Supreme Court. As a youth, the Newark News wrote, “she was one of the leaders of the young social set”. Mary was the editor of the Memorial Cyclopedia of New Jersey (4 volumes). Mary…

  • Mary E. Cary Burrell

    1866-1947 Mary Burrell was a strong member of NJ State Federation of Women’s Clubs from 1915, running the Legislative Department, while living in East Orange, working for causes including suffrage and prison reform (chairman of prison reform). Mary was born Mary E Cary, in Virginia. By 1920, she lived in Newark on Howard Street and…

  • Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge

    1831-1905 Mary Mapes Dodge was a children’s author best known for Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. She was the founding editor of St. Nicholas Magazine. Mary was born in New York. Sources vary for when she first came to Newark, however, her father, a chemist, agriculturist and professor, is shown in New York on…

  • Mary Hazard Avery Hine

    1821-1907 Mary Hine was active in Newark civil work, including as 18 year president of the YMCA. Mary was born in Connecticut and married Charles C Hine in St. Louis, MO in 1853. Charles was an insurance journalist, publisher and editor, also working in banking and teaching in his early career. The couple and their…

  • 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…

  • Mary Stilwell Edison

    1855-1884 Mary Edison was born in Newark to Nicholas Stilwell and Margaret Crane. Nicholas was a lawyer and in 1860, the family lived in the 5th Ward, today’s Ironbound. The city directories put Nicholas at 89 Jefferson St. (also listed as 75 and 92) through Mary’s marriage. Mary worked at the News Reporting Telegraph Company punching…

  • Mary Sue Sweeney Price

    1951- Mary Sue Sweeney Price was the director of the Newark Museum from 1993 to 2013. When she retired she was called, “inspirational, insightful, a keen politician, a cultural warrior” and “the grand dame of our arts community.” Mary Sue started working at the Museum in 1975 as supervisor in the public relations office, appearing…

  • Mary Thompson King

    c. 1806 – 19 Mar 1894 Mary Thompson married Jacob King on Oct 22, 1829. With her husband, she ran an Underground Railroad stop out of 70 Warren St. Jacob was treasurer of the Colored Anti Slavery Society of Newark. Marcia was the mother of Marcia King Stillwell, Ellen C. King, & Harriet A. King…

  • Mary Wheeler Willis

    1929-1987 Mary Willis was a founder of the Newark Day Care Council in 1967 and Springfield Avenue Community School in 1969. In 1987, she former Springfield Avenue Community school was renamed the Mary Wheeler Willis Day Care Center, in her memory. Mary was a lifelong resident of Newark. She was the sister of Newark power…

  • Mary Womble Spruel

    1906-1988 Mary Womple Spruel was an early Black teacher, hired in 1945 (see Timeline, bottom of page here). Mary was born and raised in Montclair and taught for a total of 48 years, mostly in Newark. She had a masters and doctorate of education from Rutgers. Mary received the Essex County Distinguished Service Award from the…

  • Maud “Peggy O’ Wing” Wingk Batsch

    Sept 1896 – early 1930s? Maud P Wingk lived with her mother Lena, her father a laundry dealer (William) and three sisters Janette/Lulu, Alma and Nora (names differ on census records). She was born in Brooklyn (some articles say China) but quickly moved to Newark and graduated from St. Bridget’s School, along with her sisters.…

  • Maud E Johnson

    1864-1947 Maud E Johnson was the librarian of the New Jersey Historical Society for over 25 years, when it was on West Park Street in Newark. Maud was a graduate of Pratt Library School 1899. She organized the library of poet William Cullen Bryant, before being hired by the NJ Historical Society in 1902. Maud…

  • Maude E Emery

    1888-1973 Maude Emery taught Latin and History at South Side High School for 41 years. In 1936, she won second prize in the New York Times syllabus contest. She was part of the NJ Association of Teachers of Social Studies. Maude was born in Boston, and came to Newark before 1905 and graduated from Newark…

  • May C. Korb Cronham McBath

    1892-1978 Soprano who performed throughout the United States and Canada at least through the 1930s. The Newark News called her a “church and concert soloist” and mentioned she performed at Aeolian Hall in New York in 1922. She also sang opera. She was a soloist in South Park Presbyterian Church and Second Presbyterian Church. She…

  • Melba Moore

    1945 (1940-1942*) – Melba Moore is a Tony award winning, Grammy nominated singer who had many top hits in the 1970s and 1980s. Melba Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith, in New York. When she was 9, her mother married Newark jazz pianist Clem Moorman and she moved to Newark. The family lived at 283…

  • Melinda Scott

    1876-1954 Melinda Scott was an English immigrant and President of a Hat Trimmers Union in Newark & worked for suffrage including being part of a delegation to President Wilson. She was also a key figure in the labor movement and later was a Newark tax commissioner, the first woman on the Newark Tax Board and…

  • Mildred C Crump

    1938-2024 Mildred Crump was Newark’s first African American councilwoman in 1994 and first female council President, from 2006-2010 and 2013-2021. She was also the first African American Braille teacher in NJ. Born in Detroit, as Mildred Coleman, Mildred came to Newark in 1965. In 1973, Mildred was a teacher at Newark’s Helen Keller School, for…

  • Mildred Lockett Lipscombe

    1922-2025? Mildred Lipscombe was one the library’s first Black librarians (possibly the third), hired 8 years after Theresa Moore, and after Elitea Allison. After graduating Virginia Union University, and then the University of Illinois (MLIS), she became a junior librarian in 1946. In 1949, she took place in a library course on “Great Books” and…

  • Mildred Miller Free

    1893-1939 Mildred Free was prominent in church and women’s circles. She was active in St. Philips Church and the NJ State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs of which she was Recording Secretary and Financial Secretary. She was active in the Phyllis Wheatly Society, where she was secretary, and the Lit-Muse Club. Mildred was also secretary,…

  • Mildred Morris Williams

    1905-1958 Mildred Morris was one of the early Black teachers in Newark. In 1938 the Herald News called her “one of Newark’s popular school teachers”, “charming” and a “member of one of New Jersey’s outstanding families”. She taught at Abington Ave School, in 1st grade, for most of her career, teaching briefly at Belmont Ave,…

  • Mildred Preen

    1918 – 1979 Mildred Preen, graduate of West Side High in Newark was the first woman to graduate in Electrical Engineering at Newark College of Engineering, was an Assemblywoman (the first woman to do so in Hunterdon County), private pilot, and served with the WAVES in WWII. Mildred graduated Newark College of Engineering in 1938.…

  • Mildred Roberts Helms

    1907-2002 Mildred Helms was a community activist, who encouraged the building of affordable housing in Clinton Hill. In 1972, she helped found the Clinton Hill Area Development Corp which built 151 units of housing in Clinton Hill Community Gardens. Mayor Sharpe James said, “She was a creative, wonderful, hardworking woman….With a ready smile, winning sense…

  • Mina Ginger Van Winkle

    1875-1933 Mina Van Winkle was a famous suffragist who organized the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women in Newark in 1908. In 1912, the League was re-named the Women’s Political Union of New Jersey (WPUNJ), with Mina as president, and remained based in Newark, headquartered on Halsey Street. Mina was born in New York City, but…