Women’s History: Leading Figures of Cambridge

There are a number of women who have been leaders of Cambridge as well as groundbreakers in the community. Some are lifelong residents while others made Cambridge just one stop on their journey. They are as varied as are people in general, but all stand out from the crowd. Here are a few of the more prominent.

Dr. Lida Meredith
(1895 – 1952)

Born in Bucktown, Lida Orem Meredith earned her degree at Western Maryland College. After teaching for some years, she studied medicine in England, then returned to practice in Cambridge. The first female doctor to practice in Dorchester County, and the only one in her lifetime, she opened Cambridge-Maryland Hospital’s prenatal clinic in 1935. She treated poor African Americans free of charge.

Elsie McNamara
(1910 – 2002)

Elsie Conway McNamara worked for the Daily Banner newspaper for 56 years as an award-winning reporter, editor, and columnist. Besides covering fires, accidents, criminal news, and “anything exciting,” she penned “The Rocking Chair” column for 45 years. She became managing editor in December 1942 and remained in that position until retirement. As an early preservationist, she waged a campaign that blocked paving over High Street’s bricks.

Bea Arthur
(1922 – 2009)

Bernice Frankel moved to Cambridge with her parents and two sisters in 1933. Dad Phillip opened the P. Frankel clothing store, where Bernice worked while attending Academy School and then Cambridge High. Though tall and shy in school, Bernice developed a great Mae West impression and was named Wittiest Girl at CHS. She worked at Phillips Packing Company for a while after graduation but finally left for New York, where she became a stage and TV star.

Carolyn Long
(1915 – 1991)

Born Carolyn Elizabeth Creighton in Cambridge, Long studied piano as a child but switched to vocal studies at 18. She sang with most of the major American symphony orchestras, appearing at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Among her many opera performances were Faust, The Barber of Seville, Aida, and Carmen. She sang at the White House for President Harry Truman, and in 1954 she was the “Gershwin Girl” for Rose and Ira Gershwin’s show.

Elsie Chase
(1906 – 1992)

Elsie Harris Chase was the first African American woman to own a photography business in the Cambridge-Dorchester County area. Her studio was located on Cedar Street. She once said, “We cannot overestimate the value of photography to modern civilization, for it touches the lives of each of us and plays an important role in every phase of human activity.”

Addie Travers
(1910 – 1994)

Back before Harriet Tubman was celebrated as she is now, Cambridge native Addie Clash Travers worked hard to bring the proper recognition to her distant ancestor. She began by organizing the first Harriet Tubman Day in 1967, when there were no monuments, markers, or tours dedicated to Tubman and her time in Bucktown. Travers served as the first vice president of the Harriet Tubman Association of Dorchester County, which was founded in 1983.

Effa Horseman
(1892 – 1994)

Effa Aritha Murphy Horseman earned her cap and pin as a nurse in 1918, the same year her spouse, Sgt. Carl Horseman, earned the Distinguished Service Cross in France. She worked seven-day, twelve-hour shifts at Cambridge-Maryland Hospital during the Influenza epidemic that killed more than 500,000 Americans in one year. She became a private duty nurse in her 50s.

Gloria Rojas
(1939 – 2022)

Born in New York City, Gloria Mercedes Rojas started her career at Channel 2 News in 1968 as NYC’s first Latina TV journalist. She was one of the few reporters to work for every major network affiliate in the metropolitan area. She retired in 2012 and moved to Cambridge, contributing to the Dorchester Banner from 2014 to 2018. Less than three months before her death, she published her only book, Fire Escapes: A Fictional Memoir.