Emma
Coger
aka Lane
Born in Quincy, Adams, Illinois, United States
Daughter of [father unknown] and Cynthia Coger
Sister of
Benjamin Coger, Lucy Ann (Coger) Clark, Gertrude (Coger) Pickett, Ellen (Coger) Fountain, Zenobia C. (Coger) Brent, Louisa Coger, Joseph Shoots and George Coger
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died
at age 71
in Quincy, Adams, Illinois, United States
Profile last modified
| Created 2 Apr 2018
This page has been accessed 441 times.
Contents |
Biography
Emma was born in 1854 in Illinois. Her father was born in Virginia.
She was the daughter of Cynthia Coger.
Occupations
- Teacher
- Church organist
Activism
Miss Coger was very light-skinned and often passed as white. She was rarely harassed and segregated as women of color were during the 19th century in the United States. On a return trip from a visit to Keokuk, Iowa, several steamboat personnel of the S. S. Merrill refused to sell her first class meal tickets on account of her "one drop" of African ancestry. She had a white gentleman purchase a first class ticket for her and sat at the first class table for dinner. A few women were not concerned, and a few objected. She refused to be removed, and was finally forcibly removed by the captain, who also struck her.
While none of the lawyers in Quincy would take her case, an elderly gentleman - one Daniel F. Miller - at the law firm of McCrary, Miller and McCrary in Keokuk, Iowa took on her case. Her Constitutional rights prevailed and she won $250 in damages which she gave to the lawyer who'd been willing to take on her case. The steamboat company appealed and filed a motion for a new trial, but the Iowa Supreme Court dismissed it.
Census
- 1870: White
- 1860: Mulatto
Sources
- 1860 United States Federal Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Quincy Ward 2, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M653_154; Page: 76; Family History Library Film: 803154
- 1870 United States Federal Census Year: 1870; Census Place: Quincy Ward 2, Adams, Illinois; Roll: M593_187; Page: 431B; Family History Library Film: 545686
- 1880 United States Federal Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Quincy, Adams, Illinois; Roll: 174; Page: 412C; Enumeration District: 024
- Find a Grave: Emma Coger
- Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. "Emma Coger vs. The Northwestern Union Packet Company by Heather Bangert" 6 July 2016.
- “Supreme Court of Iowa. Emma Coger v. North Western Union Packet Company.” The American Law Register (1852-1891), vol. 22, no. 3, 1874, pp. 162–174.
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