Edith Evans Asbury
Encyclopedia
Edith Evans Asbury was an award-winning journalist who spent nearly thirty years as a reporter with The New York Times
.
, she was the eldest of 16 children. After a summer job at the Cincinnati Times-Star at age 19, she left Western College for Women
with a passion for journalism that would last most of her life. She married Joe Evans when she was 20 and the couple moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
, where she attended the University of Tennessee
, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees in American history in 1932 and 1933 respectively. She took a job as a reporter with the Knoxville News Sentinel
from 1933 to 1937.
In 1937, at the height of the Great Depression
, she left Knoxville and her husband (whom she later divorced) and headed to Manhattan
despite the lack of any pre-planned prospects for work and wired her editor that she was quitting her job. In New York, she found a sequence of jobs with the New York Post
, the New York City Housing Authority
, the Associated Press
and the New York World-Telegram and Sun, where she served as assistant editor for women's news. While at the World-Telegram in 1952, Asbury was elected President of the New York Newspaper Women's Club.
She married journalist Herbert Asbury
in 1945; the two divorced in 1958. It was the second marriage for both. He husband was best known for his 1928 book The Gangs of New York, which was later adapted as a screenplay for the 2002 Martin Scorsese
film. Her 1971 marriage to Times assistant managing editor Robert E. Garst ended with his death in 1980.
held in Westchester County, New York
. Others among her earliest stories with the paper included items about holiday shopping on Fifth Avenue
, a lost canary, and the Fifth Avenue Easter Parade.
More serious work followed, including a 1955 series on the problems of the elderly. She was one of several reporters sent by the Times in 1956 to write about desegregation in the South following the Supreme Court's 1954 decision Brown v. Board of Education
, which was summarized in a special eight-page section published in March 1956 and made available to the public as a reprint. Her reporting in 1958 about an unwritten ban on counseling and prescription of birth control in New York City hospitals was credited with helping overturn the ban.
Asbury was known for her tenacity; New York City Mayor
John Lindsay
was said to have been so angered by her that he smashed his telephone after slamming down the receiver.
Even after her retirement from the Times in 1981, Asbury continued to write for the paper, including items about travel to Europe and China. Into her 90s, Asbury would call reporters at the paper, offering suggestions on potential stories that had been overlooked.
Asbury was also one of the first women allowed to join the Inner Circle Show in 1973.
Her health had deteriorated for two years, and she died at her home in Greenwich Village
in Manhattan
at age 98, on October 30, 2008. A specific cause of death was not disclosed.
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Biography
Born Edith Snyder on June 30, 1910, in New Boston, OhioNew Boston, Ohio
New Boston is a village in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,340 at the 2000 census. Apart from its southern boundary on the Ohio River, New Boston is entirely surrounded by the city of Portsmouth. It was platted on February 17, 1891, by James Skelton,...
, she was the eldest of 16 children. After a summer job at the Cincinnati Times-Star at age 19, she left Western College for Women
Western College for Women
Western College for Women was a women's college in Oxford, Ohio between 1855 and 1974.-History:Western College was founded in 1853 as Western Female Seminary. It was a daughter school of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Its first principal Helen Peabody and most of the early...
with a passion for journalism that would last most of her life. She married Joe Evans when she was 20 and the couple moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, where she attended the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees in American history in 1932 and 1933 respectively. She took a job as a reporter with the Knoxville News Sentinel
Knoxville News Sentinel
The Knoxville News Sentinel is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. It operates , an award-winning news website....
from 1933 to 1937.
In 1937, at the height of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, she left Knoxville and her husband (whom she later divorced) and headed to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
despite the lack of any pre-planned prospects for work and wired her editor that she was quitting her job. In New York, she found a sequence of jobs with the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, the New York City Housing Authority
New York City Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...
, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and the New York World-Telegram and Sun, where she served as assistant editor for women's news. While at the World-Telegram in 1952, Asbury was elected President of the New York Newspaper Women's Club.
She married journalist Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury was an American journalist and writer who is best known for his true crime books detailing crime during the 19th and early 20th century such as Gem of the Prairie, Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld and The Gangs of New York...
in 1945; the two divorced in 1958. It was the second marriage for both. He husband was best known for his 1928 book The Gangs of New York, which was later adapted as a screenplay for the 2002 Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
film. Her 1971 marriage to Times assistant managing editor Robert E. Garst ended with his death in 1980.
The New York Times
She accepted a position with The New York Times in 1952 with the proviso that she be assigned to the city room and not the women's department of the paper. Her first byline in the paper was a story from December 5, 1952, on a ceremony welcoming Saint NicholasSaint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
held in Westchester County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
. Others among her earliest stories with the paper included items about holiday shopping on Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
, a lost canary, and the Fifth Avenue Easter Parade.
More serious work followed, including a 1955 series on the problems of the elderly. She was one of several reporters sent by the Times in 1956 to write about desegregation in the South following the Supreme Court's 1954 decision Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
, which was summarized in a special eight-page section published in March 1956 and made available to the public as a reprint. Her reporting in 1958 about an unwritten ban on counseling and prescription of birth control in New York City hospitals was credited with helping overturn the ban.
Asbury was known for her tenacity; New York City Mayor
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
was said to have been so angered by her that he smashed his telephone after slamming down the receiver.
Even after her retirement from the Times in 1981, Asbury continued to write for the paper, including items about travel to Europe and China. Into her 90s, Asbury would call reporters at the paper, offering suggestions on potential stories that had been overlooked.
Awards and recognition
The Women's Press Club of New York City gave Asbury its Newspaper Award of Merit for "outstanding achievement in the field of journalism of benefit to the City of New York in 1964". Asbury was recognized in 1967 with the Page One Award from the Newspaper Guild of New York for a series about a family's successful battle to adopt a blind foster child.Asbury was also one of the first women allowed to join the Inner Circle Show in 1973.
Her health had deteriorated for two years, and she died at her home in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at age 98, on October 30, 2008. A specific cause of death was not disclosed.