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Title
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Gene's [Georgine E. Upshur [Willis]] Coming Out Party
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Description
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This photograph features Georgine “Gene” Elizabeth Upshur Willis and 15 other graduates of Philadelphia High School for Girls in June 1939. They are smiling and dressed up.
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Georgine “Gene” Elizabeth Upshur-Willis (September 3, 1921-December 30, 1998) was born to William Arthur Upshur Jr. (January 8, 1984-May 5, 1963) and Agnes (née Chew) Upshur (1896-June 28, 1984). The Upshurs were a prominent, affluent African-American family with connections in Philadelphia politics, community, education, and culture.
Upon graduation (Ancestry.com 2010), Gene’s parents had a coming out party for her and her peers that was featured in the newspaper. Coming out parties, similar to debutantes, are when affluent or upper-class young women “make a first formal appearance in fashionable society at a ball or similar social occasion” (Oxford English Dictionary, n.d.). The item “Mrs. Gene Upshur Willis news clippings” in the Black Joy & Resilience collection includes a newspaper article entitled “Mr. And Mrs. W. Upshur Entertain For Daughter” detailing the affair thrown by Gene’s parents at O. V. Catto Hall (see “Mrs. Gene Upshur Willis news clippings” below).
The Philadelphia High School for Girls, or simply “Girls High” was first established in 1818 solely to train women as teachers (The Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls 2025). It evolved to become “The Girls’ Normal School” in 1848, which was the “first public secondary school for girls in the state, as well as the first municipally supported normal school in the nation” (The Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls 2025). The school broadened its academic offerings to the fields of liberal arts, classical studies, business, and eventually medical studies by 1898 (The Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls 2025). The school moved around and expanded multiple times, but the location that Gene attended was at 17th and Spring Garden Streets.
The school’s mission is to provide an “education of all the faculties” wherein “the whole girl is put to school. She is trained mentally, physically, ethically, and is fitted to enter upon her life work without loss of time, and without error in the choice of occupation… training the girls for womanhood” (The Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls 2025).
Noted to be very popular, Gene was the second girl of color to be inducted into the Sophrosyne student honor society (The Library Company of Philadelphia 2025).
The Library Company of Philadelphia's (2025) has a collection entitled the "Georgine E. Upshur Willis Collection." This photograph is on page 84 of the digitized collection, and page 85 shows the back of the photograph wherein Gene's classmates names are written. They are as follows: (Back row left to right) Marie Harvey, Ursula Curd, Mila Trent, Ada Davis, Gene Upshur, Juanita Sheet, Mariel Lewis, Florence [Juse]; (Front row) Elizabeth Miranda, Vida Timbers, Marjorie Nichols, Elizabeth Wingate, Ada Wright, Gloria Truitt, "Virgie" Lewis, Audrey Cheeks.
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BJ&R Collection: “Mrs. Gene Upshur Willis news clippings”
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Photos of Philadelphia High School for Girls at 17th and Spring Garden Streets
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Discover Mrs. Gene Upshur Willis’ family history as a descendant of the Stevens-Cogdell-Sanders-Venning family (see “Biography/History”)
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The Library Company of Philadelphia's Georgine E. Upshur Willis Collection
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Contributor
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The Library Company of Philadelphia
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Date Created
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(1939)
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Creator
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Willis, Georgine Upshur
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Rights
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This work is not in copyright, but commercial uses of this digital representation are limited. For more information, contact printroom@librarycompany.org and see http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/
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Identifier
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P.2022.16.51
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Language
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eng
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Format
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Image
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Extent
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1 image
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Spatial Coverage
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Philadelphia, PA
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Publisher
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The Library Company of Philadelphia
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Is Part Of
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Stevens-Cogdell/Sanders Venning Collection - Upshur Willis Collection_Georgine E. Upshur Willis collection_P.2022.16.51
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Subject
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Photography
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Parties
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High School girls
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Graduation ceremonies
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African American women
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Upper class African Americans
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Philadelphia
Gene's [Georgine E. Upshur [Willis]] Coming Out Party 