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Title
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White, Elizabeth Coleman (1871-1954)
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birthday
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1871-10-05
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Birthplace
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New Lisbon, NJ
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Death Date
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1954-11-11
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Occupation
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Botanist
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Biographical Text
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Elizabeth Coleman White was a NJ agricultural specialist and botanist who developed the nation's first cultivated blueberry.
White was born the oldest of four daughters to Quaker parents. She graduated from the Friends' Central School in Philadelphia, PA, in 1887. From there she continued her education at Drexel Institute of Art, taking classes in a variety of studies. For work, she would supervise cranberry pickers at her father's farm. White became interested in cultivating and harvesting the wild blueberries growing around her families farm, and reached out to botanist Frederick Coville to assist in her research. Much care was taken in the collection, breeding, and selection bushes chosen for the final product. The first blueberry crop was successfully cultivated in 1916. In 1910, White got caught up in a issue of child labor in the cranberry industry. She spoke out against it, stating that children were glad to work. She acknowledged how the fall harvest can affect children's education, and worked with the Women's Home Mission Council to create baby sitting services and well as informal education programs to offset this. White was the first woman to become a member of the American Cranberry Association, and in 1927 she assisted in the organization of the New Jersey Blueberry Cooperative Association.
White passed on November 27, 1954, at the age of 83 from cancer. She was cremated at the Ewing Crematory and her ashes were distributed over the headwaters of Whitesbog as requested in her will.
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Contributor
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O'Neill, Iris
Elizabeth White, House