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Emma was born in 1854 in Illinois. Her father was born in Virginia.
She was the daughter of Cynthia Coger.
Miss Coger was very light-skinned and often passed as white. She was rarely harassed and segregated as women of color were during the 19th century in the United States. On a return trip from a visit to Keokuk, Iowa, several steamboat personnel of the S. S. Merrill refused to sell her first class meal tickets on account of her "one drop" of African ancestry. She had a white gentleman purchase a first class ticket for her and sat at the first class table for dinner. A few women were not concerned, and a few objected. She refused to be removed, and was finally forcibly removed by the captain, who also struck her.
While none of the lawyers in Quincy would take her case, an elderly gentleman - one Daniel F. Miller - at the law firm of McCrary, Miller and McCrary in Keokuk, Iowa took on her case. Her Constitutional rights prevailed and she won $250 in damages which she gave to the lawyer who'd been willing to take on her case. The steamboat company appealed and filed a motion for a new trial, but the Iowa Supreme Court dismissed it.
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