Nina (Gomer) Du Bois (abt. 1870 - 1950)

Born about 1870 in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois, United States

Wife of William Edward Burghardt (DuBois) Du Bois — married 12 May 1896 in Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, USA

Descendants

Died 26 Jun 1950 at about age 80 in Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland, USA

Biography

Nina (Gomer) Du Bois is a part of US Black heritage.

Nina Gomer was born in Quincy, Illinois, on 4 July 1870,^[1] a daughter of Charles S. Gomer and his wife Jeanette (possibly Henriette) Pease. Her father, who was typically described as mulatto, was a cook by occupation. He appears to have been born in (probably) New Jersey, and later lived in Michigan. Her mother is inferred to have come from Alsace, based on the places identified in census records for Nina. The genealogical pedigree that W. E. B. Du Bois sketched for himself, his daughter, and his grand-daughter around 1932 described Charles Gomer as mulatto and Nina's mother (name uknown) as white Alsacian.^[2]

Nina lived most of her childhood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her mother appears to have died before about 1876, when her father's wife was identified as Mary (Schneider) Gomer, and certainly before 1882, when her father married Winnie Phillips as his third wife.

Langton states that Nina's parents, Charles S. Gomer and Mary J. Schneider Gomer, moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when Nina was 6 years old.^[1] Mary J. Schneider must be Charles Gomer's second wife (i.e., not Nina's mother).

The 1885 Iowa State Census recorded Nina as Nannie Gomer, 16, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, living in the household of Chas. Gomer, age 53 (her father) and his wife Winnie Gomer, 21. Other's in the household were Bennise (handwriting unclear -- is this a variant spelling of Bernice?) Gomer, female, 10; and Phillip Gomer, male, 1. All were described as colored.^[3]

Some time in the early 1890s, Nina enrolled in Wilberforce University in Ohio. At Wilberforce she met Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, a young professor.^[1] Nina Gomer was married to W. E. B. Du Bois in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on 12 May 1896. According to the marriage record, she was a resident of Cedar Rapids and was born in Quincy, Illinois, a daughter of C. S. Gomer and Jeanette Pease, and she was to be 26 years old at her next birthday. W. E. B. was 28 years old, born in Barrington, Massachusetts, a son of Alfred DuBois and Mary Burghardt. He was a resident of Wilberforce, Ohio, and a "Teacher Prof of Latin." It was the first marriage for both. Both bride and groom were described as "Color: Black" and "Race: African." Witnesses to the marriage were C. S. Gomer and Winnifred Gomer.^[4][5]

After their marriage, Nina Du Bois and her husband moved to Philadelphia, where W.E.B. Du Bois undertook research on black lives and reforms for the poor in association with the College Settlement Association and the University of Pennsylvania. When Nina was pregnant with her first child, she moved to her husband's home town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to await the birth while he remained in Philadelphia, working on his book The Philadelphia Negro.^[1] The baby, son Burghardt Du Bois, arrived on 2 October 1897.^[6] A few months after the baby's birth, the family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where W.E.B. Du Bois joined the faculty of Atlanta University as a professor of history, sociology and economics. Young Burghardt died in Atlanta in 1899 after his parents were unable to obtain medical treatment for his illness because white doctors in Atlanta would not treat a black child.^[1] The couple's second child, Nina Yolande Du Bois was born in Great Barrington on 21 October 1900.^[7]

The 1910 U.S. Census recorded William E. Du Bois, 42, in ward 1 of Atlanta, Georgia, with wife Nina G. Du Bois, 38, and daughter Nina Y. Du Bois, 9. William was born in Massachusetts to a father born in Connecticut and a mother born in Massachusetts. He worked as a teacher in a university. Nina G. was born in Illinois to a father born in Michigan and a mother born in Germany. She and William were both in their first marriage and had been married 14 years; she had had two children, of whom only one was living. Nina Y. was born in Massachusetts to a father born in Massachusetts and a mother born in Illinois. All were recorded as mulatto.^[8]

The 1920 U.S. Census recorded 51-year-old Wm E B Du Bois in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, with his 44-year-old wife Nina G Du Bois and 19-year-old daughter Nina Y. Du Bois. All were recorded as mulatto. According to the census sheet, Nina G Du Bois was born in Iowa to a father born in Michigan and a mother born in France. William was a magazine editor; he owned their home. Nina Y. had attended school within the year.^[9]

The New York State Census of 1925 recorded Burghardt Du Bois, 56, living at 606 St. Nicholas in Manhattan, with wife Nina Du Bois, 53, and daughter Nina Yolande Du Bois, 24. All were U.S. natives and described as colored. Burghardt was a magazine editor and Nina Yolande was at college.^[10]

The 1930 U.S. Census recorded 62-year-old William Du Bois, a magazine editor, on West 150th Street, in Manhattan, New York, with wife Nina G. Du Bois, 55, and daughter Nina Y. Du Bois, who was 29, divorced, and a public school teacher. All were described as Negro. Nina G. was born in Illinois to a father born in Illinois and a mother born in Alsace. William was born in Massachusetts to parents born in Massachusetts. He had been 28 at his first marriage, and Nina was 20 at her first marriage.^[11]

The 1940 U.S. Census recorded 60-year-old Nina G. DuBois on Montebello Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland, in the household of her daughter, Yolanda D. Williams, 37. Yolanda's daughter DuBois B. Williams was also living in the household. All were described as Negro. Nina G. DuBois was married and was educated through 2 years of college. In 1935 she had lived in New York. ^[12]

Nina (Gomer) Du Bois died on 26 June 1950.^[13] She is buried in Mahaiwe Cemetery, Great Barrington, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Langton, Diane. Time Machine: Woman who grew up in Cedar Rapids married civil rights leader. The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Feb. 16, 2019.
2. ↑ Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963. W. E. B. Du Bois family tree, ca. 1932. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries. http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b158-i173
3. ↑ Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1084/IA1885_221-0270
4. ↑ "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D1V9-3GP?cc=1805551&wc=M6TH-668%3A148934501 : 8 March 2016), 004321319 > image 1401 of 1575; county courthouses, Iowa.
5. ↑ "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XJDJ-2YF : accessed 27 April 2016), W. E. B. Dubois and Nina Gomer, 1896.
6. ↑ "Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DBP9-RWB?cc=1536925&wc=M61J-P68%3A76722401 : 31 January 2018), 004341222 > image 43 of 729; Massachusetts Archives, Boston.
7. ↑ "Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XCW7-RXH?cc=1536925&wc=M61J-5NL%3A76992201 : 1 March 2016), 004341231 > image 43 of 564; Massachusetts Archives, Boston.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJZ-CVY?cc=1727033&wc=QZZQ-GPF%3A133641201%2C137083101%2C139347301%2C1589089381 : 24 June 2017), Georgia > Fulton > Atlanta Ward 1 > ED 48 > image 47 of 52; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
9. ↑ United States Census, 1920. Enumeration sheet for Brooklyn Assembly District 17, Kings, New York; Roll: T625_1170; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 1018. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6061/4313893-00747
10. ↑ New York State Archives; Albany, New York; State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Election District: 15; Assembly District: 21; City: New York; County: New York; Page: 8. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2704/32849_b094297-00214
11. ↑ United States Census, 1930. Enumeration sheet for Manhattan, New York, New York; Page: 30B; Enumeration District: 1226; FHL microfilm: 2341313. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6224/4639127_00240?pid=41909056
12. ↑ United States Census, 1940. Enumeration sheet for Baltimore, Baltimore City, Maryland; Roll: m-t0627-01541; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 4-850. Accessed on Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-01541-00324
13. ↑ Du Bois, W. E. B., Announcement of the death of Nina Gomer Du Bois, June 1950. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, Amherst, Massachusetts.
14. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 August 2019), memorial page for Nina Gomer DuBois (1871–26 Jun 1950), Find A Grave: Memorial #37409689, citing Mahaiwe Cemetery, Great Barrington, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by J Alt (contributor 47085792) . Retrieved 13 August 2019.