Ella P. Stewart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ella P. Stewart
Ella P. Stewart, circa 1920
Born	Ella Nora Phillips March 6, 1893
Died	November 27, 1987
Nationality	American
Other names	Ella Nora Phillips Stewart
Alma mater	University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
Occupation	Pharmacist
Awards	Ohio Women's Hall of Fame

Ella Nora Phillips Stewart (born March 6, 1893 – died November 27, 1987) was a pioneering African American woman. She became one of the very first African American female pharmacists in the United States. Beyond her work as a pharmacist, she was a strong leader who fought for civil rights and helped communities.

Ella Stewart's Early Life and School

Ella Nora Phillips was born in 1893 in Stringtown, a small village in Virginia. She was the oldest of four children. Her parents, Henry and Eliza Phillips, worked as sharecroppers, meaning they farmed land owned by others.

When Ella was six, she went to live with her grandmother in Berryville to attend school. She was a very bright student. She finished at the top of her class in grade school.

Her excellent grades earned her scholarships to Storer Normal School (later called Storer College). She started college at the young age of 12.

Moving to Pittsburgh and Becoming a Pharmacist

Ella left Storer to marry Charles Myers, a classmate. They moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sadly, their only child, Virginia, passed away at age three from whooping cough. After this, Ella and Charles divorced.

In Pittsburgh, Ella began working as a bookkeeper in a local pharmacy. This job made her interested in becoming a pharmacist herself. Even though it was hard for women and African Americans to enter this field, she was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1914.

She earned her degree in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1916. This made her the first black woman to graduate from Pitt's pharmacy program. That same year, she passed the state exam. She became the first African American female pharmacist in Pennsylvania and one of the first in the entire country.

Ella Stewart's Career and Pharmacy Business

Ella Stewart first worked as an assistant pharmacist for the Mendelsson Drug Company. Later, she owned and ran her own drugstore at the General Hospital in Braddock, Pennsylvania. In 1918, she moved back to Pittsburgh and started her own business, Myers Pharmacy.

In 1920, she married William Wyatt Stewart, who was also a pharmacist and a graduate of the Pitt pharmacy program. The couple moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where Ella worked as a pharmacist at Youngstown City Hospital.

After a short time, they moved to Detroit, but only for a little while. In 1922, they decided to move to Toledo, Ohio, to open their own pharmacy.

Stewarts' Pharmacy in Toledo

Ella and William Stewart opened Stewarts' Pharmacy in July 1922. It was located at the corner of Indiana and City Park Avenues in Toledo. They ran the business until 1945, when they sold it.

Their pharmacy was in Toledo's Pinewood district. This area was home to many African American families. The pharmacy became a popular place for people in the neighborhood to gather. The Stewarts owned the building and lived in the large apartment above the pharmacy. They often welcomed famous visitors from out of town, like singer Marian Anderson and civil rights leaders Mary McLeod Bethune and W. E. B. Du Bois.

Ella Stewart's Community Work

By the 1930s, Ella Stewart became a very important member of community groups in Toledo. She was active in the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). She also joined the Enterprise Charity Club, a social-service group run by African American women.

From 1944 to 1948, she was the president of the Ohio Association of Colored Women. Then, from 1948 to 1952, she led the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC). As the leader of the NACWC, Stewart spoke out strongly against segregation, unfair treatment, and racist ideas.

In 1961, she became a founding member of the Toledo Board of Community Relations. This group worked to improve race relations in the city. They also made sure that civil rights laws were followed.

International Efforts for Change

Ella Stewart's community work grew to include international efforts. In 1952, she was chosen as an American delegate to the International Conference of Women of the World in Athens, Greece.

Throughout the 1950s, she traveled as a goodwill ambassador for the United States. In 1954, she went on a U.S. State Department tour to several countries in Southeast Asia, including India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In 1963, she was appointed to the United States commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Ella Stewart spent the rest of her life in Toledo. She continued to be active as a volunteer and gave money to good causes. Her husband, William Stewart, passed away in 1976. Ella moved into a retirement home in 1980 and died in 1987 at the age of 94.

Ella Stewart's Lasting Impact

Ella Nora Phillips Stewart is remembered for many reasons. She was one of the first African American female pharmacists. She also bravely fought against discrimination and made a big difference in her community and around the world.

Awards and Honors

• 1961: A new school in Toledo was named in her honor: the Ella P. Stewart Elementary School (later called Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls). Ella Stewart often volunteered there. In 1974, the school created a museum to display her awards and items she collected from her international travels.
• 1969: She was named a Distinguished Alumna of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
• 1974: She received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Toledo.
• 1978: She was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame.
• 1999 (after her death): She was one of the first people inducted into the Toledo Civic Hall of Fame.