Zella McBerty

Zella McBerty (née Helwick; 1879 – 24 May 1937), was an American businesswoman and engineer, a “better mechanic than any of the other men that she worked with” at Packard Electric.[1]

Zella McBerty
A newspaper photo of a white woman wearing a dark hat and a fur stole
Zella McBerty, from a 1923 newspaper
Born
Zella Helwick

1879
Mineral Ridge, Ohio, US
Died24 May 1937
Ohio, US

Early life

Born Zella Helwick in 1879 to a couple from Mineral Ridge, Ohio who died shortly after her birth, she later moved to Warren, Ohio where she married Fred McBerty. They met while working for Packard Electric.[2]

Career

Together the couple bought 'The Federal Machine and Welder Company'.[3] McBerty held the position of chief financial officer of the company and represented it internationally at conferences.[2] In 1923 article the New Castle (Pa.) Herald, commented that “when you hear Mrs. McBerty talk ohms and amperes as well as any electrical engineer, there’s hardly a business realm that a capable woman cannot invade.”[4]

She was the first woman to attend the International Association of Electric Welders conference, which she did when it was held in London in 1924. McBerty was the president of the local Business and Professional Women's Club and an international member of the Women's Engineering Society.[5][6][7]

McBerty was also one of very few women to be members of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.[8][9][10]

She died of a heart attack on 24 May 1937.[11][1][4][12]

Sources
  1. "County women who left mark highlighted". tribtoday.com.
  2. "Zella Mcberty, Source: Muncie Evening Press (Muncie, Indiana) 29 Dec.1923, Sat. Page 10". Muncie Evening Press. 29 December 1923. p. 10.
  3. "Talk of Man's Job!". The Central New Jersey Home News. 1923-12-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Society profiles extraordinary Warren women". tribtoday.com.
  5. "Toledo BPW notes".
  6. "Zella Mcberty Speaker: Women : Topic of discussion at banquet of B. and P.W. Club". The Circleville Herald. 16 February 1925. p. 8.
  7. "History of IEEE Since 1984 - Engineering and Technology History Wiki". ethw.org.
  8. "List of Women Members of the AIEE". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 53 (5): 835. May 1934. doi:10.1109/T-AIEE.1934.5056723.
  9. "Zella Mcberty will be president of State Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 31 May 1924. p. 6.
  10. "10 best business women oct 30 1923 Zella Mcberty listed as #5". Santa Maria Times. 30 October 1923. p. 3.
  11. "Zella Mcberty: Heart Attack Fatal to Executive of Company". The Piqua Daily Call. 25 May 1937. p. 7.
  12. "Ladies' Home Journal 1930-04: Vol 47 Iss 4". Meredith Corporation. April 1930.
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