Blind Ellen, Somerville’s Mary Ellen Staats #19
A Remarkable African American Woman (1855 -1927)
In 1927, Mary Ellen Staats’ personal wealth, valued at more than $7,000 in today’s economy, was impressive. This accomplishment was all the more astonishing considering Mary Ellen Staats was a blind African American woman. When an illness caused her blindness, only about 300 New Jersey residents, 30 of which were African American*, were living with the condition (*listed as color or slave in the 1850 Census). Affectionately called Blind Ellen, she was a fixture in the Somerville section of Lottery Field. Local news articles reporting her illness and death- noted that she was a, “woman who has earned the respect of colored and white in a wide circle of acquaintances.” Staats’ history, wealth, and stature within the community makes her life story worthy of knowing. Courier-News Bridgewater, NJ Mar 11, 1927
An Extraordinary and Ordinary Woman
Local news articles capture Mary Ellen Staat’s extraordinary and both ordinary life. Her movement through life was extraordinary-as it held the challenges of a disability. Attributed to an unknown childhood illness, the condition did not hinder her learning. She read the Bible with ”raised words”, or Braille. The teaching of the new writing and reading form for the blind was not universal. Education and training of the blind in New Jersey would not be available until 1910. The source of Staat’s training is unknown, making her reading ability all the more remarkable. NJ Department of Human Services nj.gov
Mary Ellen’s movement through life was ordinary. She, like many African Americans, had to operate within imposed social boundaries. Tribute articles fondly recall Staat’s, “[t]apping her way through town,” without assistance and her devout attendance at the Second Reformed Church. While each article conveys reverence for her accomplishments, they also uniformly include a “colored” descriptor. The one-sided perspectives of these articles require us to read across the lines-in order to understand the ordinary experiences of Mary Ellen Staats’ life as an African American woman.
An Ordinary Somerville Story
The life of everyday people like Mary Ellen Staats are recorded in census data. Across the years, she is listed as Ellen Staats, Mary Staats, and Mary E. Staats. In 1860, 8 year old Mary Ellen lived with her mother Sarah S. Staats, a widow, in Bound Brook at the home of Mary Williamson. In 1880, 27 year old Mary E. and with her mother resided on Cliff Street, in Somerville. Sometime during those years, Sarah was employed in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Aaron V. Garretson of Green Knoll. By 1910, the family had moved to Spring Street in the Lottery Field section. That year Sarah hosted boarders: Minnie Hall-a dressmaker and shop owner, and her husband, Edward-a couchman for a physician. “No income” was recorded for Mary E. Five years later in 1915, mother and daughter remained in the same home, then recorded as 84 Spring Street-Lottery Field. “United States Census, 1860”, FamilySearch; “United States Census, 1880 “, FamilySearch; “United States Census, 1910 “, FamilySearch
A Woman of Faith
Removal and Redevelopment
Historically, the reimaging of Somerville’s business district and residential areas have displaced African American residents. Like the generation before, Mary Ellen Staats’ original homestead was appropriated. The 1880 census recorded that residence on Cliff Street.
While the original lot location of her “little cottage” is unknown, it is likely that its removal and relocation coincided with the building of the homes opposite Somerville Middle School-on West Cliff street. By 1910, Mary Ellen and her mother resided on Spring Street in the Lottery Filed section. “Members of the older generation recall how she would sit beneath a lilac bush in front of her home on Davenport street and read to them.” This detail places the home’s relocation at the corner of Spring Street and Davenport Street. Later enumerated as 84 Spring Street, the home carried no mortgage. Sarah’s work as a domestic servant and earnings from hosting boarders likely maintained the household.
A Remarkable Legacy
According to the 1920 census , 66 year old Mary Ellen Staats was the literate the Head of Household on Spring Street-Lottery Field. With her occupation listed as “no trade”, questions remain about the source of her personal wealth. Upon her death, Staats bequeathed $200 to the Second Reformed Church and $200 to Somerset Hospital. The estate held a value of more than $6,800 in today’s ecomony.
Mary Ellen Staats was a remarkable Somerville resident.
