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The Newark Experience

Notable Newarkers

The Famous, the Familiar and the Forgotten : 350 Notable Newarkers
Guy G. Sterling. Xlibris Corporation, 2014. Available?
Rise Up Newark: Profiles
"Brief biographies, video interviews, flyers, photographs, and other documents that provide insights into the experiences of local people who fought for freedom, equality, and justice in Newark, the nation, and the world."
Newark Women
Women who lived, work, went to school or were otherwise connected to Newark.
Defying the Odds: Triumphant Black Women of Newark. 
Barbara J. Kukla. West Orange, N.J., Swing City Press, 2005.
Connie Woodruff; Gladys St. John Churchman; Dr. E.Alma Flagg; Dr. E.Mae McCarroll; Viola Wells (Miss Rhapsody); Wynona M. Lipman; Mary Beasley Burch; and Marion A. Bolden. Available?
Newark's Literary Lights
Newark Public Library, 2016.
Newark Jewry: A History of the Jews of Newark, Their Institutions and Leading Personalities
Isaac Unterman. Newark, N.J., 1939 [c.1934]. 2 volumes. Available?
Gl'Italiani di Essex. Note storiche e biografiche, con l'aggiunta di un business directory
Olindo Marzulli. Newark, N.J., P.Matullo & Son, 1911. Available?
Men of Newark: A Collection of Portraits
Charles Albert Gasser. Newark N.J., Schultz and Gasser, 1904. Available?
Biographical and Genealogical History of the City of Newark and Essex County, N.J.
New York, Lewis Pub Co., 1898. 2 volumes. Volume 1; Volume 2

Newark People

Louis V. Aronson

Louis V. Aronson, From Matches to Lighters...
Inventor of the Ronsons lighters and founder of the Art Metal Works.
Newark Inventor Who Set the World on Fire
Robert Wiener. New Jersey Jewish News. April 22, 2015.
The Story of a Life: A Tribute to Louis V. Aronson
Arthur Oliver. Newark, N.J., Colyer Printing Co., 1929. Available?
Ronson, the World's Greatest Lighter: Wick Lighters, 1913-1966
Urban K. Cummings. Palo Alto, CA., Bird Dog Books, 1992. Available?

Louis Bamberger

Louis Bamberger: Department Store Innovator and Philanthropist
Linda B. Forgosh. Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life. Waltham, Mass., Brandeis University Press, 2016. Available?
"Louis Bamberger"
William Starr Myers. IN Prominent Families of New Jersey. Baltimore, Clearfield Company, 2000, Vol. 1. pp.46-47.
Reprint of the 1945 edition. Available?
Louis Bamberger: A Record of His Benefactions to His Community and HIs Country
Newark, N.J., The Newark Museum, 1934.
"Published on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the incorporation of the Newark Museum." Available?
Louis Bamberger, Honorary President of the Newark Museum: A Tribute to His Memory by His Fellow Trustees
Newark, N.J., Newark Museum Association, 1944. Available?

James Miller Baxter

James Miller Baxter, Newark Principal
Wilson Moorman. Thesis (M.A.), Newark State College, 1961.
James Miller Baxter (1845-1909), the first African-American school administrator in the Newark school system, served as the principal of the Colored School of Newark between 1869 and 1873. Available?
James M. Baxter, Jr. (1845-1909)
Part of an online exhibit about Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth from which Baxter graduated in 1864.
"Colored Instructor Dead: J.M. Baxter Was Dean of Newark School Principals
New York Times, December 29, 1909.

Stephen Congar

Stephen Congar and the Establishment of the Newark Public School System
Donald Raichle. Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries 38(2), 1976, 57-84.
Dr. Stephen Congar was superintendent of the Newark school system from 1853 to 1859. Available?

Jack Cudjo

Jack Cudjo: Newark's Revolutionary Soldier and First Black Businessman
Kofi Ayim. New Jersey, Reedbuck, Inc., 2011. Available?
Cudjo Banquante: African Enslaved Soldier Business Owner
New Jersey Historical Society. March 21, 2023.
Jack Cutjoe or Cutjoe Banquantus
Miriam Studley. February 1976.
Record of Jack Cudjo's services in the American Revolution. Accompanied by Studley's handwritten notes on her research.
Newark As It Was--No. 19
Centinel of Freedom 65(40), April 12, 1864, p. 2 Rutgers-restricted Access

John Cotton Dana

"The Librarian as Secular Minister to Democracy: The Life and Ideas of John Cotton Dana"
Kevin Mattson. Libraries and Culture 35(4), 2000, 514-534.
The work and ideas of John Cotton Dana within the context of the Progressive Era.
John Cotton Dana: A Life
Frank Kingdon. Newark, The Public Library and Museum, 1940. Available?
John Cotton Dana
Frank Kingdon. An address given over station WOR on John Cotton Dana Day, October 6, 1935. Newark Public Library, 1935. Available?
John Cotton Dana, A Sketch
Chalmers Hadley. American Library Pioneers 5. Chicago, American Library Association, 1943. Available?
The History of a Hoax: Edmund Lester Pearson, John Cotton Dana, and The Old Librarian's Almanack
Wayne A. Wiegand. Pittsburgh, Beta Phi Mu, 1979. Available?
John Cotton Dana, 1856-1929
Beatrice Winser, compiler. Newark, N.J., 1930.
Tribute published upon his death. In addition to a biography, includes text of the service, excerpts from letters received, resolutions, and excerpts from the press. Available?

See also the section on John Cotton Dana and the Newark Museum

Frederick Frelinghuysen [1848-1925]

Frederick Frelinghuysen, a Biographical Sketch: An Address Delivered January 26, 1924
William R. Ward. Newark, N.J., Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, 1924.
A prominent Newark businessman, Frelinghuysen served as president of the Howard Savings Institution, and the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. Available?

Frederick T. Frelinghuysen [1817-1885]

The Life, Character & Services of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
John F. Hageman. Newark, N.J., Advertiser Printing House, 1886.
The Newark City Attorney, Frelinghuysen became a U.S. Senator and the Secretary of State under Chester A. Arthur. Available?
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, 1817-1885: The Politics and Diplomacy of StewardshipRutgers-restricted access
John Williams Rollins. Thesis (Ph.D.), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1974. Available?

Edgar Holden

Edgar Holden, M.D., of Newark, New Jersey: Provincial Physician on a National Stage
Sandra W. Moss. Xlibris, 2014. Available?
Dr. Edgar Holden [Obituary]
Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society 1, ns, 1916, pp. 106-107. [Transcribed].

Sharpe James

Political Prisoner: You can be Indicted, Arrested, Convicted and Sent to Prison Without Committing a Crime: A Memoir
Sharpe James. Newark, N.J., Nutany Pub. Co, 2013. Available?
The Paradox of African-American Mayoral Leadership and the Persistence of Poverty in the African-American CommunityRutgers-restricted access
Kirk Edward Harris. Thesis (Ph.D), Cornell University, 1992.
Utilizes three detailed case studies of three black mayors: Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore; W. Wilson Goode of Philadelphia; and Sharpe James of Newark. Available?
Sharpe James
"News about Sharpe James, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

John A. Kenney

Guide to the Papers of John A. Kenney
Finding Aid to the collection at Tuskegee University.
"John A. Kenney, MD, and the North Jersey Medical Society. Taking on Jim Crow,"
S.W. Moss. New Jersey Medicine: The Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey 100(4), April 2003, 37-41. Available?
Beacon on the Hill: A Novel
Linda Kenney Miller. Marietta, Ga., Harper House Publishers, 2008.
Fictionalized account of Dr. John Kenney's life and work by his granddaughter. Available?
Beacon on the Hill: Photo Album
Some photographs relating to the life and work of Dr. John Kenney; includes several Kenney Hospital photographs. From the book on Dr. Kenney by his granddaugher, Linda Kenney Miller.
"John Andrew Kenney,"
Journal of Negro History 35(2), April 1950, 229-230. Rutgers-restricted access

Frank Kingdon

Frank Kingdon Collection
Archival collection at the Newark Public Library. Dr. Frank Kingdon was a Methodist minister, radio commentator, and President of Dana College (1934-1936) and then President of the University of Newark (1936-1940).
Jacob's Ladder: The Days of My Youth
Frank Kingdon. New York, I.B.Fischer, 1943. Available?
Dr. Frank Kingdon, Educator, Author and Commentator, Dies
New York Times February 25, 1972, pp. 42. Rutgers-restricted Access
Being American in Wartime
Frank Kingdon. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 222(1), July 1942, pp.32-37. Rutgers-restricted Access

Gottfried Krueger

Gottfried Krueger: Epitome of a German-American Brewer

Effa Manley

Effa Manley: A Major Force in Negro Baseball
Gai Ingham Berlage. IN Out of the Shadows: African American Baseball From the Cuban Giants to Jackie Robinson. Bill Kirwin, ed. University of Nebraska Press, 2005, pp. 128-146. Rutgers-restricted Access
Interview with Effa Manley, October 19, 1977
Part of the A.B. "Happy" Chandler: Desegregation of Major League Baseball Oral History Project at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Queen of the Negro Leagues : Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles
James Overmyer. Lanham, MD., Scarecrow Press, 1998. Available?
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story
Audrey Vernick. New York, HarperCollins, 2010. Available?
The Most Famous Woman in Baseball: Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues
Bob Luke. Washington, D.C., Potomac Books, 2011. Available?
Effa Manley and the Politics of Passing
Lisa Doris Alexander. Black Ball: A Negro Leagues Journal 1(2), September 1, 2008, pp.83-94.
"This article examines the issue of passing within professional baseball using Manley as an example, discusses the differing implications of Manley passing for white or passing for black and places Manley's racial identities within the greater context of passing within baseball specifically and American culture more broadly." Rutgers-restricted Access
"A Black Woman and Proud": Effa Manley and Racial Self-Identification
Lawrence H. Rushing. Black Ball: A Negro Leagues Journal 4(2), September 1, 2011, pp.17-35.
"This paper explores how Manley viewed her racial identity throughout her lifetime. The larger issue of the paper is to shed light on the meaning and definition of race in American society." Rutgers-restricted Access
From both sides of the plate : Negro league baseball's Effa Manley disrupts the American mythology of race and ethnicity, 1897-1948
Marta Notai Mack-Washington. (Ph.D. Thesis) University of Iowa, 2015.
"This study examines the way Effa Manley performed identity at the boundaries of blackness and whiteness from the turn of the 20th century through 1945."
Racial Attitudes towards Jews in the 'Negro Leagues': The Case of Effa Manley
Rebecca Alpert. IN Beyond Stereotypes: American Jews and Sports Edited by Lisa Ansell, Ari F. Sclar, and Bruce Zuckerman. Purdue University Press, 2014. pp.19-42. Rutgers-restricted Access
Negro Baseball--Before Integration
Effa Manley and Leon Herbert. Haworth, NJ, St. Johann Press, 2006. Available?
Effa Manley Private Business Papars (1933 - 1942)
Newark Public Library Collection.

Jocko Maxwell

Maxwell, Sherman Leander (Jocko) 1907-2008
Donna L. Halper IN The Biographical Encyclopedia of American Radio New York, Routledge, 2011, pp.258-259.
Jocko Maxwell is often considerd to have been the first African American radio sportcaster and was the first African American radio station sports director. Rutgers-restricted Access
Jocko Maxwell
Donna L. Halper. Society for American Baseball Research.
Remembering Jocko Maxwell
Coley Harvey podcast.

E. Mae McCarroll

E. Mae McCarroll, A.B., M.D., M.S.P.H., 1898- . First Lady of the NMA
W. Montague Cobb. Journal of the National Medical Association 65(6), November 1973, pp. 544-545.
Mae McCorroll, who practiced medicine in Newark for 44 years, was the first African American doctor to be appointed to the staff of Newark City Hospital.

Mary Philbrook

"Mary Philbrook: The Professional Woman and Equal Rights"
Barbara Petrick in Women in New Jersey History, edited by Mary R. Murrin. Trenton, NJ, New Jersey Historical Commission, 1985. Available?
Mary Philbrook: The Radical Feminist in New Jersey
Barbara Petrick. Trenton, N.J., New Jersey Historical Commission, 1981. Available?

Clement Alexander Price

Clement Alexander Price, 1945-2014
Photos, tributes, news stories, and videos commemorating Clement A Price, Rutgers Newark historian and the official historian of the City of Newark.

Joachim Prinz

Joachim Prinz, Rebellious Rabbi: An Autobiography: The German and Early American Years
Michael A. Meyer, Editor. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2008. Available?
Prinz' 1963 March on Washington Speech
. Transcript and Audio File.

 

Beatrice Winser

Beatrice Winser: Librarian, Museum Director, and Advocate for Women's Equality
Timothy Crist. New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 6(1), 2020, 21-34.

Abner Zwillman

Gangster #2: Longy Zwillman, the Man Who Invented Organized Crime
Mark A. Stuart. Secaucus, NJ, Lyle Stuart, 1985. Available?
FBI Records: Abner Zwillman
7 volumes of digitized documents (newspaper articles, reports, memoranda) spanning the 1930s to the 1950s.
Abner 'Longy' Zwillman-Kefauver Hearings
Short video clip of Zwillman during the Kefauver Crime Committee hearing.
Investigation of Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce
Hearings before a Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, United States Senate, Eighty-first Congress, 2nd Session. 1950.
Zwillman testimony before the Kefauver Committee, pp. 588-628.