Lucy Ross Henson

Lucy Jane Ross Henson (June 1879 – March 12, 1968) was an American singer, bank clerk, music director, and clubwoman based in Harlem. Much of her life was occupied as the wife and later the widow of Matthew Henson. She spoke about his work, represented him at events, and preserved his effects.

Lucy Ross Henson
An African-American woman wearing a hat with a wide brim, and a striped dress with a lace collar
Lucy Ross Henson, from a 1911 newspaper
Born
Lucy Ross Henson

June 1879
New York, New York, US
DiedMarch 12, 1968 (aged 88)
SpouseMatthew Henson

Early life

Lucy Jane Ross was born in New York City in June 1879,[1] a daughter of Mediator Ross and Susan Randolph.

Career
Tombstone with the words "Matthew Alexander Henson/Co-Discoverer of the North Pole/August 8, 1866-March 9, 1955/"The Lure of the Arctic is Tugging at my Heart; To Me the Trail is Calling, The Old Trail, The Trail that is Always New"/and his beloved wife/Lucy Ross Henson"
Grave of Matthew Henson and Lucy Ross Henson, at Arlington National Cemetery (2011)

Lucy Henson was a soprano singer known in Baptist women's circles.[2] In 1909, Henson's husband Matthew Henson reached the North Pole with fellow American Robert Peary and four local guides. By the following year, she was already speaking to audiences, resisting the erasure of Henson's role in the expedition.[3] She preserved and collected his Arctic expedition effects, including his knife, ice pick, saw, camera and lantern slides, and donated them to Morgan State University.[4]

Henson was active at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem[5] for over fifty years.[6] In 1913, she was president of the Church Choirs Club.[7] During World War I, she led a team of Black women war workers at the church.[8] In the 1930s, she was the church's music director.[9] She was vice-president of the Adam Clayton Powell Crusaders Club.[10]

She was the first Black clerk employed at the Manufacturers' Trust Company.[10] She belonged to the Harlem Club, the Negro Business and Professional Women's Club,[11][12][13] and The National Council of Negro Women.[14]

In 1954, she visited President Eisenhower with her husband, for the 45th anniversary of the Peary-Henson expedition.[15] In 1959, she attended the unveiling of a commemorative postage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the expedition, held in Peary's hometown Cresson, Pennsylvania.[16] Later that year, a group of New York City lawmakers, including Adam Clayton Powell Jr., sought to secure a federal pension for Lucy Henson, in consideration of her husband's contributions and her own straitened circumstances.[17][18]

Personal life

Lucy Ross was the second wife of Matthew Alexander Henson; they married in 1907 when she was 27 years old.[19] He died in 1955.[20] She died in 1968, aged 79 years,[21] at a hospital in New York.[14] Her remains were originally buried in New York's Woodlawn Cemetery; since 1988, her grave is in Arlington National Cemetery.[22][23]

References
  1. U.S. Census Bureau (1900). "Borough of Manhattan, Election District 16 New York City Ward 11, New York County, New York, United States; enumeration district (ED) 267, sheet 1B, family 15, NARA microfilm publication T623". United States Census. FamilySearch.org.
  2. Dodson, N. Barnett (1911-07-01). "Banner Year for Baptists". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Says Peary Has Forgotten His Ally". San Francisco Chronicle. 1910-03-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Jones, Ida E. (March 2016). "Matthew Henson Collection" (PDF). Beulah M. Davis Special Collections, Morgan State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 Jan 2021.
  5. "Abyssinian Baptist Church". The New York Age. 1918-02-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Their More than Fifty Years' Faithful Service". The New York Age. 1956-11-24. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Abyssinian Baptist Church". The New York Age. 1913-07-31. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Workers for the Red Cross Roll Call". The New York Age. 1918-12-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Untitled item". The New York Age. 1932-07-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Williams, Sadye J. (1955-04-30). "Notes & Quotes". The New York Age. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Business, Professional Women to Honor Two". The New York Age. 1955-04-30. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women Hold Largest Convention in Ga". The New Pittsburgh Courier. November 19, 1960. p. 18 – via ProQuest.
  13. Williams, Sadye J. (1955-05-14). "Notes & Quotes". The New York Age. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Mrs. Matt Henson, Widow of Aide to Peary in Arctic". The New York Times. March 15, 1968. p. 39 – via ProQuest.
  15. "Explorer Visits President". Dayton Daily News. 1954-04-07. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Widow of Polar Explorer at Stamp Ceremony". Jet: 3. April 9, 1959.
  17. "Seek U. S. Pension for Mrs. Matthew Henson". Jet: 3. July 2, 1959.
  18. "Ticker Tape U. S. A." Jet: 10–11. July 23, 1959.
  19. New York City Municipal Archives (5 Sep 1907). "Marriage Record of Matthew Henson and Lucy Ross". New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940. FamilySearch.org. p. FHL microfilm 1,452,205.
  20. "Matt Henson, Who Reached Pole With Peary in 1909, Dies at 88". The New York Times. March 10, 1955. p. 27 – via ProQuest.
  21. "Mrs. Matthew A. Henson". Daily News. 1968-03-15. p. 55. Retrieved 2021-02-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "Matthew Henson". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  23. Ayres, B. Drummond Jr. (1988-04-07). "Matt Henson, Aide at Pole, Rejoins Peary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
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