Elizabeth Coleman White

Elizabeth Coleman White
Born	October 5, 1871 New Lisbon, New Jersey
Died	Whitesbog, New Jersey
Parent(s)	Mary Fenwick Joseph J. White
Relatives	Barclay White, grandfather

Elizabeth Coleman White (October 5, 1871 – November 11, 1954) was a New Jersey agricultural specialist who collaborated with Frank Coville to develop and commercialize a cultivated blueberry.

Biography

Elizabeth Coleman White was the oldest of four daughters of two Quaker parents, Mary A. Fenwick-White and Joseph J. White. She was the only one to remain unmarried to pursue the family's agricultural interest. After 1887, White worked in the bogs helping to supervise cranberry pickers during the fall harvest and was soon deeply involved in the farm's operations. During the winters, White continued her education with courses in first aid, photography, dressmaking, and millinery at Drexel University. White belonged to several organizations, including being the first woman to become member of the American Cranberry Association and the first woman to receive a citation from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

White died of cancer in Whitesbog, New Jersey, on November 27, 1954, at the age of 83. She was cremated at Ewing Crematory in Ewing Township, New Jersey. Her ashes were distributed by airplane over the headwaters of Whitesbog in accordance to her will.

Child Labor Controversy

In 1910, a controversy arose when an agent of the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) issued a report of child labor in the cranberry industry. As one third of the cranberry farms was harvested by J.J. White Inc., Elizabeth White wrote letters and spoke out against the report, defending her father's company and industry. The argument of NCLC investigators was that parents recruited their children under the age of 14 to work ten-hour shifts. White argued and reported that children played in the clean air and would gladly work at the request of parents. The controversy continued for four years until the NCLC printed a retraction in The Trenton Times and acknowledged White's efforts as peacemaker. White also conceded that children missed school between the months of September and October due to the harvest, and believed in an informal education for those who missed school due to this reason. White worked with the Women's Home Mission Council to provide babysitting services for younger children and informal educational and recreational programs for older ones.

Further reading

• (Digitized by the University of California Library)

External links

• Whitesbog Preservation Trust
• August 4, 2015 NPR report about White's role in encouraging blueberry cultivation: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/08/04/428984045/how-new-jersey-tamed-the-wild-blueberry-for-global-production