Myra Smith Kearse (May 18, 1899 – February 14, 1982) was an American physician and community leader in New Jersey.
Myra Smith Kearse | |
|---|---|
 Myra Lyle Smith, from the 1917 yearbook of Howard Academy. | |
| Born | Myra Lyle Smith May 18, 1899 |
| Died | February 14, 1982 (aged 82) |
| Children | Amalya Lyle Kearse |
| Parent | T. Parker Smith |
Early life edit
Myra Lyle Smith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, the daughter of T. Parker Smith and Clara Alexander Smith. Her father was an educator, and founded a business college in Richmond. Her mother was also an educator.[1]
She graduated from Howard Academy in 1917,[2] earned a bachelor's degree at Howard University in 1922,[3] and was the only woman in the 1925 graduating class[4] of the Howard University College of Medicine.[5] She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®.[6]
Career edit
Kearse was the first African American woman physician in Union County, New Jersey when she began to practice there in 1938.[6] She joined the staff of a Newark hospital during World War II.[7] She held a patent on a "pocket calendar device with punch means" for tracking one's menstrual cycle.[8] She retired from medical practice in 1966.[5]
In 1964,[9] Kearse and Vera Brantley McMillon began collecting and sharing oral histories of African-American life in New Jersey, to mark the state's tercentenary; their work culminated in the publication of Negroes of New Jersey, 1715-1967: A Bibliography.[10] She served on the executive committee of the Union County Anti-Poverty Council,[11][12] until she retired from the council in 1970.[13] She was a founding member of the county's College Women's Club.[14]
Personal life edit
Myra Lyle Smith married Robert Freeman Kearse, postmaster of Vauxhall, New Jersey.[15] They had a son Robert A. Kearse, and a daughter Amalya Lyle Kearse, who became a federal judge.[16] Her god-daughter, Gene-Ann Polk Horne, was a noted pediatrician at Harlem Hospital for many years.[17] The Myra Smith Kearse Community Center in Union County, and a scholarship fund, were named in her honor.[18] She died in 1982, aged 82, from a heart attack at her home in the Vauxhall section of Union Township, Union County, New Jersey.[7][19]
References edit
- ^ "Clipped from Winston-Salem Journal". Winston-Salem Journal. 12 October 1911. p. 7.
- ^ Crescat Scientia (Howard Academy Yearbook, 1917).
- ^ The Morgue (Howard University College of Medicine yearbook, 1925): 68.
- ^ "Love is Urged as Life Guide for Graduates at Howard U." Evening Star. 1925-06-06. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Hunter-Gault, Charlayne (1977-11-16). "Black Women M.D.'s: Spirit and Endurance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ a b "Kearse, Myra Smith". AKA's Pioneering Sorors Open Doors. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ a b The Women's Project of New Jersey Inc (1997-05-01). Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women. Syracuse University Press. pp. 222, 336. ISBN 978-0-8156-0418-1.
- ^ Kearse, Myra Smith. "Pocket Calendar Device with Punch Means" U.S. Patent application filed May 10, 1956; patent number US2868293A, granted January 13, 1959.
- ^ "Negro-History Group Adopted". The Record. 1965-02-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Afro-American Culture: Historical Meeting Topic". The Montclair Times. 1975-02-20. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Poverty War Aide Sought". The Courier-News. 1966-04-29. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "City Lawyers to Serve on Poverty Unit". The Courier-News. 1967-07-10. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dinner Scheduled". The Courier-News. 1970-04-10. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Washington, Ethel M. (2004). Union County Black Americans. Arcadia Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7385-3683-5.
- ^ "He's Postmaster". The Afro American. August 30, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved June 12, 2020 – via Google News.
- ^ United States Congress Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1980). Selection and Confirmation of Federal Judges: Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, First Session ... U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 124.
- ^ Savage, Lauren (Summer 2015). "A Doctor's Living Legacy". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ "Union Students Offered Aid". The Courier-News. 1970-08-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ "Obituary for Myra L. KEARSE". The Courier-News. 1982-02-16. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
