Mildred Louise (Johnson) Edwards (1914 - 2007)

Born 25 May 1914 in Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Hedley Vivian Edwards Sr. — married about 1951 in New York City, New York, United States

Died 11 Aug 2007 at age 93 in New York, United States

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Biography

Mildred (Johnson) Edwards is a part of US Black heritage.

Mildred was born about 1914. She was the daughter of J. Rosamond Johnson and Nora Floyd. She passed away in 2007.

Marriage

New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995: Name: Hedley Edwards; Event Type: Marriage; Event Date: 1951; Event Place: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States; Event Place (Original): Manhattan, New York City; Sex: Male; Spouse's Name: Mildred L Johnson; Spouse's Sex: Female^[1]

They had one daughter

Census

United States Census, 1920: Name: Mildred L Johnson • Event Type: Census; Event Date: 1920 • Event Place: New York City, New York, United States • Event Place (Original): New York, New York; Sex: Female; Age: 5; Marital Status: Single; Race: Mulatto; Race (Original): Mulatto; Birth Year (Estimated): 1915; Birthplace: Florida • Father's Birthplace: Florida; Mother's Birthplace: Georgia; Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter; Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Daughter; Sheet Letter: A; Sheet Number: 9; Household, Role, Sex, Age, Birthplace:

• John R Johnson, Head Male 46 Florida
• Nora E Johnson, Wife Female 27 Georgia
• Mildred L Johnson, Daughter, Female, 5, Florida

United States Census, 1930: Name: Mildred Johnson; Event Type: Census; Event Date: 1930 • Event Place: Manhattan (Districts 0751-1000), New York, New York, United States • Sex: Female; Age: 16; Marital Status: Single; Race: Negro; Race (Original): Negro; Birth Year (Estimated): 1914; Birthplace: Florida • Father's Birthplace: Florida; Mother's Birthplace: Georgia; Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter; Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Daughter; Sheet Letter: B; Sheet Number: 2 ^[2]

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

• John R Johnson Head Male 55 Florida
• Nora E Johnson Wife Female 36 Georgia
• Mildred Johnson, Daughter Female 16 Florida
• Ruth Pasour, Lodger Female 12 North Carolina

United States Census, 1940: Name: Mildred Johnson • Event Type: Census; Event Date: 1940 • Event Place: New York City, New York County, New York, United States • Event Place (Original): New York, New York, New York City, Manhattan, Assembly District 19; Last Place of Residence: Same House; Sex: Female; Age: 25; Marital Status: Single; Race: Negro; Race (Original): Negro; Birth Year (Estimated): 1915; Birthplace: Florida; Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter; Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Daughter^[3]

Household Role Sex Age Birthplace

• Rosamund Johnson, Head, Male 66 Florida
• Nora E Johnson, Wife, Female 46 Georgia
• Mildred Johnson, Daughter Female 25 Florida
• Donald Mansfield, Lodger, Male 7 New York
• Yolande Dubois, Lodger Female 5 Pennsylvania

Articles

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94727700/mrs-mildred-johnson-edwards-1959-nyc/

"During the pageant of roses with music by Mrs. Elmorist Y. Yancey, and staged by Mrs. Mildred Johnson Edwards. Miss Phyllis Ann Murphy danced. The "Ball of Roses," marks the first time in New York City that debutantes have been presented in a purely social setting. Mrs. Hale Woodruff is president of the sponsoring chapter and Mrs. Mildred Johnson Edwards was ball chairman while Mrs. Henri Younge served as co - chairman." ^[4]

Death and Obituary

Vineyard Gazette, August 23, 2007

Long-time Cottager and Vineyard resident Mildred Louise Johnson Edwards, 93, died in New York city on August 11 after suffering a stroke.

Founder and director of Harlem's prestigious The Modern School, Ms. Johnson Edwards also was a member of one of Harlem's most prominent families.

Her father, composer/musicologist J. Rosamond Johnson, brought Mildred to Shearer Cottage where she slept in a dresser drawer. The following summer she learned to walk on the beach with the help of literary lion-to-be Dorothy West. Her uncle, James Weldon Johnson, was a poet and co-creator with his brother of the Black National Anthem: Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing.

Ms. Johnson Edwards was born May 25, 1914 in Jacksonville, Fla., to Nora Ethel Floyd and J. Rosamond Johnson. The family returned to New York shortly after her birth where Mildred not only attended Ethical Culture and its high school, The Fieldston School, she was the first black student to graduate from the teacher training department of Ethical Culture.

Upon graduation in 1934, she founded The Modern School at West 152nd Street in Harlem. One of the few secular, independent schools in New York serving black children, the school operated until 2007. In addition to the school, Ms. Johnson founded and ran Camp Dunroven from 1933 till 1965. Located in Pine Bush, N.Y., the camp gave black children an experience that the segregation of the times would not otherwise have afforded middle-class children of color.

While Mildred's father is best known for composing "Lift Ev'ry Voice And Sing," he also wrote "Under the Bamboo Tree" and "Lazy Moon" while his compilation of Negro spirituals is still referenced. He also enjoyed success as an actor and director of quartets and choral groups. Her uncle, James Weldon Johnson, not only enjoyed theatrical success with his brother and Bob Cole, he was the first black person to be admitted to the Florida bar since Reconstruction, was the first secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was consul to Nicaragua and Venezuela. His published works included God's Trombones, Autobiography of an Ex Colored Man, Black Manhattan and The Book of American Negro Spirituals.

Continuing the tradition, Ms. Johnson Edwards wrote and produced over fifty musicals and two books of poetry, both volumes published by daRosas of Oak Bluffs. The recipient of many awards including an award from President Reagan, Mildred was an active member of the Cottagers, the Girls Club, Jack and Jill of America, Inc. and the New York Chapter of Girl Friends Inc.

Ms. Johnson's marriage to Headley V. Edwards of Nassau, British West Indies, ended in divorce. She was predeceased by her brother Donald McQuivey Johnson, but is survived by her daughter, K. Melanie Edwards, and the warm memories of a beautiful life on a beautiful Island.

A memorial service will be held in New York city in October.

Sources

1. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLSR-99HJ : 19 June 2017), Hedley Edwards and Mildred L Johnson, 1951, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States;Marriage, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, from Reclaim the Records, The NYC Marriage Index (http://www.nycmarriageindex.com : 2016); citing New York City Clerk's Office.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4LQ-5PG : accessed 11 February 2022), Mildred Johnson in household of John R Johnson, Manhattan (Districts 0751-1000), New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 926, sheet 2B, line 61, family 41, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1574; FHL microfilm 2,341,309.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7MV-RHG : 7 January 2021), Mildred Johnson in household of Rosamund Johnson, New York City, New York County, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 31-1686, sheet 6A, line 31, family 47, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2664.
4. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94727700/mrs-mildred-johnson-edwards-1959-nyc/