Charity Edna (Adams) Earley (1918 - 2002)

Ancestors

Biography

Lt. Colonel Charity Adams Earley, the first African-American officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later WACs), headed the only company of African-American WACs overseas during WWII; by the end of the war, she was the highest ranking Black woman in the U.S. military.^[1]

6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Monument

In the summer of 1942, she enlisted in the U.S. Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), later known as the Women's Army Corps (WACs), and was the first Black woman WAC officer. In March 1945, she was appointed commanding officer of the first battalion of African-American women to serve overseas, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, stationed first in Birmingham, England, then Rouen, France, then Paris. Her battalion included 832 enlisted women and 31 officers. By the end of the war, Major Charity Adams was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest-ranking African-American woman in the military.^[2][1]

Charity Edna Adams, daughter of Eugene Adams and Charity Nash, was born in Kittrell, North Carolina on December 5, 1918.^[3]

After her service in the Army, Charity earned a master’s degree in psychology from Ohio State University. She started her civilian career at the Veterans Administration in Cleveland, Ohio, but soon left to work in education.

Charity Adams met and married Stanley A. Earley in South Carolina in 1949.^[4] They moved to Switzerland for a time while Stanley completed medical school. They returned to the U.S. in 1952 and settled in Dayton, Ohio, where they had two children.^[5]

Charity Edna (Adams) Earley died in Dayton, Ohio, on January 13, 2002. She was 83 years old. She was buried at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio. ^[6]

Among other awards, Charity was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, and the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame. Fort Gregg-Adams (formerly Fort Lee) in Virginia was named after Charity and Arthur J. Gregg in 2023.^[7]

Research Notes

1. Year of Birth: 1917
   1. A FamilySearch birth record states Charity Adams was born December 5, 1917 in Kittrell, Vance, North Carolina.^[8]
   2. A second FamilySearch birth record says 05 Dec 1917 with just Vance, North Carolina.^[9]
   3. An Ancestry.com record from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, has Birth 5 Dec 1917, Death 13 Jan 2002. (No direct link included).
2. Year of Birth: 1918
   1. A 1930 U.S. Census record estimates she was born in 1918 in North Carolina.^[10]
   2. Wikipedia says Charity Adams Earley was born December 5, 1918 Columbia, South Carolina.^[1]
   3. Her online memorial, says Birth: 1918, Death: 2002.^[11]
   4. Seventh and last, from Ancestry.com, is the Social Security Applications and Claims Index, showing Charity Edna Adams, Birth 5 Dec 1918, but location is Kittrell Van, North Carolina. (No direct link).^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia contributors, "Charity Adams Earley," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charity_Adams_Earley&oldid=1198425615 (accessed February 4, 2024).
2. ↑ Samantha L. Quigley, "Veterans Affairs Honors Military Women of Past, Present," American Forces Press Service, U.S. Department of Defense, Washington D.C., March 27, 2009, https://web.archive.org/web/20150415034443/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53679
3. ↑ Several sources say 1917. Please see Research Notes section for those; but note photo of her tombstone with the dates "1918–2002" engraved, located on right side of profile.
4. ↑ Marriage: Web: Richland County, South Carolina, Marriage Index, 1911-2010 Birth, Marriage & Death Name Stanley Armstead Jr Earley. Spouse Charity Edna Adams. Marriage Abt 1949, in Richland, South Carolina, United States.
5. ↑ Carol Sears Botsch, Political Science, USC Aiken, Charity Edna Adams Earley biography.
6. ↑ Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/22/us/charity-adams-earley-black-pioneer-in-wacs-dies-at-83.html.
7. ↑ Emma Sánchez, "Fort Lee, Virginia, named for a Confederate general, will be renamed to honor Black Army pioneers," NBC News, 24 Apr 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/fort-lee-will-renamed-fort-gregg-adams-honor-black-army-pioneers-rcna81170 : accessed 14 Jun 2023.
8. ↑ Birth, 1917: "North Carolina, Births and Christenings, 1866-1964," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FZRG-98Z : accessed 01 Sep 2014), Charity Edna Adams, 05 Dec 1917; citing Kittrell, Vance, North Carolina, reference p 1; FHL microfilm 543339.
9. ↑ Birth, 1917: "North Carolina, Birth Index, 1800-2000," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VCWV-K99 : accessed 01 Sep 2014), Charity Edna Adams, 05 Dec 1917; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," index, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 4, p. 349, Vance, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
10. ↑ Census, 1930: "United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/SPZC-PJF : accessed 01 Sep 2014), Charity E Adams in household of Eugene A Adams, Columbia, Richland, South Carolina, United States; Birth Year (Estimated) 1918, citing enumeration district (ED) 0024, sheet 1A, family 5, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2210.
11. ↑ Online memorial page: Find A Grave: Memorial #61205558.
12. ↑ Social Security Index: Ancestry.com, "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007" Birth, Marriage & Death Name Charity Edna Adams, Father Eugene A Adams, Mother Charity A Nash, Birth 5 Dec 1918 - Kittrell Van, North Carolina, Death 13 Jan 2002, SSN [removed for security reasons], Gender Female, Race Black.

See also:

• The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

• http://blackhistorynow.com/charity-adams-earley/

• https://www.facebook.com/usarmywomensmuseum/videos/1789039591106950/

• https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/charity-edna-adams.html

• Charity Edna Earley, pioneer soldier in the WAAC

• U.S. Army’s all-black, all-female WWII battalion may receive a Congressional Gold Medal Ref: Connecting Vets URL: https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/kansas-senator-jerry-moran-introduces-legislation-award-congressional-gold-medal-members?fbclid=IwAR38OwHPpRJRl4vkt9x52cBrVfFqKmNCb2bwemT9oDsMKQ3Qqigo4853iPQ

• https://blog.theveteranssite.com/charity-adams/?utm_source=vet-vetfan&utm_medium=social-fb&utm_content=Link&utm_term=20180104&utm_campaign=charity-adams

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Women%27s_Army_Auxiliary_Corps

• Wikidata: Item Q5074495