Items

• Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School charter and certificate of incorporation
  This charter and certificate of incorporation legitimized the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School in Philadelphia on April 10, 1896. The charter includes the hospital and school’s purpose, leadership, and articles and conditions. The Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School was a Black owned and operated institution existing to serve the Black community (National Library of Medicine, n.d.).
• From Acorn Great Oaks Grow - Letter
  Letter about Joseph E. Hill Public School. The letter was revised in 1950 but the original date was January 20, 1939 (Willis-Lowry, Leslie 2025). The letter offers a short history of the founding of the Hill School.
• A Survey of Witherspoon YMCA of Princeton N.J. May and June 1930
  This 104-page report entitled “A Survey of Witherspoon Young Men’s Christian Association of Princeton, N.J.” was produced in May and June of 1930 by Director Joseph Van Vleck, Jr of Montclair, NJ.
• Letter. Paul B. Moses to Violette de Mazia
  This correspondence from Paul Moses to Violette de Mazia on January 21, 1951 details an acceptance from Moses to begin teaching art appreciation for Lincoln University students at the Barnes Foundation.
• Gene's [Georgine E. Upshur [Willis]] Coming Out Party
  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.
• Mrs. Gene Upshur Willis news clippings
  This collection of news clippings are about Upshur family achievements, including: Georgine Upshur and a Y.W.C.A. baby contest, her Philadelphia High School for Girls graduation and coming out parties, and passing of the state mortician’s exam circa 1949.
• National Honor Society news clippings
  A 1938 news clipping about Georgine E. Upshur being nominated and elected to the honor society at the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Upshur was the second colored girl in the school's history to be nominated.
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction Bureau of Professional Licensing Pre-Professional Qualifying Certificate
  This certificate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction’s Bureau of Professional Licensing Pre-Professional Qualifying Certificate was granted to Georgine E. Upshur for completion of a four-year secondary school course in 1941. This was a modified certificate given to Black educators.
• The Philadelphia High School for Girls commencement announcement
  The 157th Graduating Class: June 16, 1939. The Girls Normal School, aka, Philadelphia High School for Girls was established in 1848 as the first publicly supported high school for girls in Pennsylvania (The Alumnae Association of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, 2025).
• Invitation to the graduation of the University of Pennsylvania classes of 1943
  This invitation card is part of a collection that also includes “Diary of the Women of the Class of 1943, University of Pennsylvania, The 1943 Almanack” containing inserts of correspondence, documents, and programs related to Georgine E. Upshur’s college education at University of Pennsylvania (Georgine E. Upshur Willis Collection n.d.). Georgine 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. Georgine Upshur became a licensed mortician and planned to join her father as partner in his business. Her father ran a funeral home (“The William A. Upshur Funeral Home” at 21st and Christian Street) in addition to being a recording secretary for the Republican City Committee, republican leader of the 30th ward, a member of the NAACP and Urban League, and an active alumni member of the University of Pennsylvania (The Philadelphia Inquirer 1963). Georgine married Dr. William Shedrick Willis Jr. (July 11, 1921-August 8, 1983) in 1949 (The Library Company of Philadelphia 2025).