Myra Smith Kearse

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Myra Smith Kearse
A young African-American woman, in an oval frame.
Myra Lyle Smith, from the 1917 yearbook of Howard Academy.
Born
Myra Lyle Smith

May 18, 1899
Lynchburg, Virginia
DiedFebruary 14, 1982 (1982-02-15) (aged 82)
Vauxhall, New Jersey
ChildrenAmalya Lyle Kearse
Parent(s)T. Parker Smith

Myra Smith Kearse (May 18, 1899 – February 14, 1982) was an American physician and community leader in New Jersey.

Early life[]

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. She graduated from Howard Academy in 1917,[1] earned a bachelor's degree at Howard University in 1922,[2] and was the only woman in the 1925 graduating class[3] of the Howard University College of Medicine.[4] She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[5]

Career[]

Kearse was the first African American woman physician in Union County, New Jersey when she began to practice there in 1938.[5] She joined the staff of a Newark hospital during World War II.[6] She held a patent on a "pocket calendar device with punch means" for tracking one's menstrual cycle.[7] She retired from medical practice in 1966.[4]

In 1964,[8] 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.[9] She served on the executive committee of the Union County Anti-Poverty Council,[10][11] until she retired from the council in 1970.[12] She was a founding member of the county's College Women's Club.[13]

Personal life[]

Myra Lyle Smith married Robert Freeman Kearse, postmaster of Vauxhall, New Jersey.[14] They had a son Robert A. Kearse, and a daughter Amalya Lyle Kearse, who became a federal judge.[15] Her god-daughter, Gene-Ann Polk Horne, was a noted pediatrician at Harlem Hospital for many years.[16] The Myra Smith Kearse Community Center in Union County, and a scholarship fund, were named in her honor.[17] She died in 1982, aged 82, from a heart attack at her home in the Vauxhall section of Union Township, Union County, New Jersey.[6][18]

References[]

  1. ^ Crescat Scientia (Howard Academy Yearbook, 1917).
  2. ^ The Morgue (Howard University College of Medicine yearbook, 1925): 68.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b "Kearse, Myra Smith". AKA's Pioneering Sorors Open Doors. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Kearse, Myra Smith. "Pocket Calendar Device with Punch Means" U.S. Patent application filed May 10, 1956; patent number US2868293A, granted January 13, 1959.
  8. ^ "Negro-History Group Adopted". The Record. 1965-02-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Afro-American Culture: Historical Meeting Topic". The Montclair Times. 1975-02-20. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Poverty War Aide Sought". The Courier-News. 1966-04-29. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "City Lawyers to Serve on Poverty Unit". The Courier-News. 1967-07-10. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Dinner Scheduled". The Courier-News. 1970-04-10. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Washington, Ethel M. (2004). Union County Black Americans. Arcadia Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7385-3683-5.
  14. ^ "He's Postmaster". The Afro American. August 30, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved June 12, 2020 – via Google News.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Savage, Lauren (Summer 2015). "A Doctor's Living Legacy". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  17. ^ "Union Students Offered Aid". The Courier-News. 1970-08-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  18. ^ "Obituary for Myra L. KEARSE". The Courier-News. 1982-02-16. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-06-13 – via Newspapers.com.
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