Biographical Database of Black Woman Suffragists
Biography of Elizabeth A. Mickens, 1876-1938
By Katie Pettine, student, Rosemont College
Census records contain conflicting information about Elizabeth Ann Mickens but the date of birth that seems most likely is September 1876 in New York. The 1900 and 1910 census places Mickens in Yonkers, Westchester, New York residing with her uncle Alfred McComb, aunt Mary J. McComb, and a niece. Her two sisters Julia Anna Mickens (b. 1873), a music teacher, and Mary Mickens (b.1871), a nurse, also lived with their uncle. Julia married James Benjamin Gant, a college-educated postal worker in 1905. After her aunt and uncle died, Elizabeth briefly lived with the Gant family in Manhattan. By the 1930s, Mickens lived in Harlem.
Miss Elizabeth A. Mickens was a delegate to the Empire State Federation of Women's Clubs in 1913 when the organization formally endorsed woman suffrage. Mickens was elected financial secretary of that organization at its third annual convention in 1911. In that capacity she was crucial to the efforts to support Harriet Tubman with club members' donations. By 1914 Mickens had been elected the corresponding and recording secretary of the organization, which was a position she held until at least 1916. Mickens also attended the eleventh annual convention of the Empire State Federation in 1919, where she was awarded a token of appreciation for her years of service.
Mickens was involved in suffrage since at least 1907 when she was the secretary of the Susan B. Anthony Association. In 1908, she attended the Northeastern Federation of Women's Clubs in Connecticut. She continued to be involved with this organization, serving as its assistant secretary in 1914. Mickens also worked to end lynching as part of the Northeastern Federation of Women's Clubs, serving in the Department for Lynchings and attending public protests.
Mickens never married. She worked as a clerk at the Grand Central Post Office for nearly twenty years. She died there on January 4, 1938 and a large crowd of her post office colleagues attended her funeral on January 7, 1938 at Christ's Church of Harlem.
Sources:
1900, 1910 and 1920 United States Federal Census, in Ancestry.com, 2002.
"Sunday School Picnic," New York Age (New York, New York), Aug. 31, 1905, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Albert McComb Dead," New York Age (New York, New York), Feb. 25, 1922, accessed via newspapers.com.
New York city directories, in U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, in Ancestry.com, 2011.
"Executive Board Acts," New York Age (New York, New York), Aug. 3, 1911, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Investigates Harriet Tubman's Condition," New York Age (New York, New York), Aug. 3, 1911, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Lively Interest is Shown in Work of Women's Clubs," Denver Star (Denver, Colorado), Jan. 31, 1914, accessed via newspaperarchives.com.
"Empire State Women Meet in Poughkeepsie," New York Age (New York, New York), June 6, 1916, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Eleventh Annual Convention of Empire State Federation—Mrs. Lawton Is Re-Elected," New York Age (New York, New York), Jul. 19, 1919, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Death of John I. Waller," New York Age (New York, New York), Oct. 24, 1907, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Yonkers, N.Y.," New York Age (New York, New York), Aug. 20, 1908, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Additional Report of the Norwich Convention," New York Age (New York, New York), Aug. 27, 1908, accessed via newspapers.com.
"New England Women Meeting This Week," New York Age (New York, New York), Jul. 23, 1914, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Women Give Roof Top Garden Party," New York Age (New York, New York), Jul. 24, 1913, accessed via newspapers.com.
"Protest Meeting at Bethel Church," New York Age (New York, New York), May 6, 1915, accessed via newspapers.com.
Robertson, Edythe, "Williamsbridge Social Notes," New York Age (New York, New York), Jan. 8, 1938, accessed via newspapers.com.
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