Author/ Educator/ Artist

Birth: November 20, 1914 in Richmond, Indiana

Died: June 24, 2005 in Springfield, Ohio

Education: She graduated from Morton High School in Richmond, Indiana. In 1935, she received two BAs from Fisk University (Nashville, Tennessee) in Mathematics and Physics. In 1937, she received an MA in education from the same institution.

Career as an Educator: After graduating, she taught at the Tennessee State School for Delinquent Girls, the Sleighten Farm School in Pennsylvania, and the Ohio State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. After moving to Springfield, she couldn’t teach for twenty years due to racial bias. But, she was eventually able to teach Genealogy for Springfield Community Schools.

Career as an Artist: Ernestine turned to volunteering in her community and art when she could not teach. In addition to creating gifts for family, she also sold her art. She enjoyed making clothes, weaving, and creating ceramics.

Career as an Author: Ernestine was fascinated by genealogy. She liked to research local Black families from Springfield and her own family. From her research, she published two books: From Paris to Springfield, The Slave Connection, Basey-Basey, and Wider Window to the Past.