Marian Regelia (Alexander) Spencer (1920 - 2019)

Born 28 Jun 1920 in Gallipolis, Gallia, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Donald A Spencer — married 12 Aug 1940 in Gallia County, Ohio, United States

Died 9 Jul 2019 at age 99 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

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Biography

Marian (Alexander) Spencer is Notable.

Marian (Alexander) Spencer is one of twins.

Marian (Alexander) Spencer is known for being a Civil Rights activist and a politician in Cincinnati, Ohio. There is a statue of her in Smale Riverfront Park in Cincinnati. There is also a street, a University of Cincinnati residence hall, and a Cincinnati Public Schools magnet school named after her.^[1]

Marian was born in 1920, along with her twin sister, Mildred. She is the daughter of Harry Alexander and Rosanna Carter. In 1930^[2] and 1940^[3], the family was living in Gallipolis, Gallia, Ohio. They lived with her grandfather, Henry Washington Alexander, who was one of her influences in her later activism. She recalled that "Every morning, he preached that we should never fail to vote, we should get our education and speak up when we saw wrong being done."^[4]

Marian married Donald A Spencer on 12 Aug 1940 in Gallia, Ohio.^[5] They met while they were both students at the University of Cincinnati. They had a strong marriage and Donald adored Marian, supporting her in her political career. They had two sons.^[6]

One of her first major fights for Civil Rights, and the one she ranked as her top achievement, was the campaign to desegregate Coney Island, a water park in Cincinnati. She started this campaign in 1952, after her sons saw a TV commercial advertising the park by saying that "Everyone comes to Coney Island." When they asked to go, Marian called the park and found that she and her sons would not be allowed to go because of their race. She then began organizing by recruiting mostly mothers and grandmothers - homemakers who wouldn't be at risk of losing jobs. Most of the park was desegregated in 1955, but the main attraction, Sunlite Pool, was not desegregated until 1961.^[4]

Marian went on to become a well-known "... American politician who served as Vice Mayor of the Cincinnati City Council in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the first African American woman to be elected to the Council. The granddaughter of a former slave, she was active in the civil rights movement to desegregate schools and end discrimination, and became the first female president of the Cincinnati NAACP chapter. She also served on the University of Cincinnati board of trustees."^[7]

Marian passed away in 2019 at 99 years of age. Her body was cremated and her ashes spread at Fox Lake in Indiana where she summered.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Quinlan Bentley, "Statue honors civil rights activist's work," The [Cincinnati, Ohio] Enquirer, 29 Jun 2021, p. 4A; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92706162/ : accessed 16 Jan 2022).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X47Z-BM7 : accessed 18 February 2021), Marian Alexander in household of Henry Alexander, Gallipolis, Gallia, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 7, sheet 5B, line 100, family 157, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1803; FHL microfilm 2,341,537.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWXJ-774 : 9 January 2021), Marian Alexander in household of Harry Alexander, Gallipolis Township, Gallia, Ohio, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 27-8, sheet 6B, line 42, family 128, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3072.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Mark Curnutte, "Civil Rights icon led battles to integrate schools, pools," Marian Spencer obituary, Cincinnati [Ohio] Enquirer, 11 Jul 2019, p. A1, A4, and A5; image copy at Newspapers.com]
5. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QCH-QGT : 26 August 2019), Donald A Spencer and Marian Alexander, 12 Aug 1940; citing Marriage, Gallia, Ohio, United States, , Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.
6. ↑ Dan Horn, "Rights pioneer lived a love story," Donald Spencer obituary, The [Cincinnati, Ohio] Enquirer, 6 May 2010, pages A1 and A7; image copy at Newspapers.com].
7. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Spencer
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 18 February 2021), memorial page for Marian Alexander Spencer (28 Jun 1920–9 Jul 2019), Find A Grave: Memorial #201734184; Maintained by Grave Detective 970 (contributor 49806756); Cremated, who reports a Ashes to Fox Lake, Indiana.