1 10 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1882? Death Date 1992-09-11 Occupation Civic Leader Domestic Worker Source of File Attached Lauer, Evelyn. "Almost a century of giving to others." The Record, 15 Aug. 1990, p.NV-2. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Davis, Maria Cheney (1882?-1992) Subject The topic of the resource Activism, Social Welfare Health Care Description An account of the resource Maria Cheney Davis was one of Englewood’s most enduring community builders. Over the course of nearly half a century, she helped shape the city’s Black civic life through health advocacy, volunteer leadership, youth mentorship, and sustained service to Englewood Hospital and local institutions. Davis was best known as the founder and longtime president of the Dr. William F. Willoughby Auxiliary at Englewood Hospital. Established in 1953 to honor the hospital’s first Black physician, Dr. William F. Willoughby, the auxiliary became a vital fundraising and service organization at a time when African Americans were often excluded from formal hospital leadership. Under Davis’s guidance, the group raised thousands of dollars to support hospital facilities and patient care, including furnishing and maintaining the Dr. Willoughby Room, contributing equipment, and later supporting additional service spaces within the hospital. Her leadership style emphasized continuity and intergenerational responsibility. Recognizing the importance of passing civic values forward, Davis helped inspire the creation of a Junior Auxiliary, composed of daughters and granddaughters of senior members. Through garden parties, community events, and hands-on service, young members learned philanthropy by example—an approach that ensured the auxiliary’s mission would endure beyond its founders. Beyond the hospital, Davis was deeply involved in Englewood’s civic and social organizations. She was active in the Urban League of Bergen County, the Leonard Johnson Day Nursery, and several women’s professional and civic groups serving Black residents in Englewood and Teaneck. Her service bridged faith, politics, and community life: she was a longtime member of Galilee United Methodist Church, participated in church guild work, and also served as a Republican committeewoman in Englewood. In recognition of her decades of service, Davis received numerous honors, including an Urban League community service award in her nineties. Even in advanced age, she remained publicly engaged, continuing to raise funds and attend community events well into her late 90s. When Maria Cheney Davis died at the age of 100, tributes emphasized not only her longevity, but the infrastructure of care and service she helped build. Her legacy lives on in Englewood’s medical, civic, and faith institutions—and in the generations of young people who learned public service by following her example. Davis was also Leroy McCloud's mother-in-law. Lauer, Evelyn. "Almost a century of giving to others." The Record, 15 Aug. 1990, p.NV-2. "Young Auxilians Follow Elders' Example." The Record, February 23, 1971. "Maria Cheney Davis, 100." The Record, September 13, 1992. "Urban League Salutes 3." The Record, May 16, 1987. "Maria Cheney Davis." The Record, 13 Sept. 1992, p. 22. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle Activism Community Work Health Social Work Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1894 Birthplace Apalachee, Georgia, USA Death Date 1966-01-10 Occupation Civic Leader Source of File Attached "Burge U. Davis of Englewood Is Dead At 71." The Record, 11 Jan. 1966, p.37. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Davis, Burge Upshaw (1894-1966) Subject The topic of the resource Sports, Baseball Description An account of the resource Burge Upshaw Davis (1894–1966) was a longtime Englewood, New Jersey resident whose life blended family devotion, church leadership, and sustained commitment to youth and community life. Born in Apalachee, Georgia, in 1894, Davis moved north during the Great Migration and settled in Englewood in 1924, making the city his home for more than four decades. Davis was a devoted member of Galilee Methodist Church, where he was widely respected for his steady presence and service. His connection to the church extended beyond worship: after his death, his family and friends donated an illuminated outdoor sign in his memory, a public marker of the esteem in which he was held by the congregation and neighborhood. Perhaps Davis’s most enduring legacy was his work with young people. For 15 years, he financed and supported local sandlot and youth baseball, most notably the Englewood Cubs, helping provide opportunities, equipment, and structure for generations of young athletes in Englewood and Bergen County. He also assisted in organizing the baseball team of American Legion Post 58, further underscoring his belief in sports as a vehicle for discipline, mentorship, and community pride. In 1912, Davis married Marie Cheyney of Farmington, Georgia. The couple raised a large family and became well known locally. In 1962, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a renewal of vows at Galilee Methodist Church, an event attended by hundreds of friends, relatives, civic leaders, and city dignitaries, reflecting their deep roots in Englewood’s social and religious life. Burge Upshaw Davis died at his home at 167 William Street in 1966 at the age of 71. His funeral was held at Galilee Methodist Church, with burial in Brookside Cemetery in Englewood. Remembered as a quiet but steadfast community builder, Davis left behind a legacy defined less by titles than by decades of service—particularly to the city’s youth, its churches, and its families. Davis was also Leroy McCloud's father-in-law. "Burge U. Davis of Englewood Is Dead At 71." The Record, 11 Jan. 1966, p.37. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Colman, David Ludder, Rachelle Sports Youth Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People People An individual. Metadata for a person provides detailed biographical information to describe the life of a historical figure. Birth Date 1917? Birthplace Jackson, Mississippi, USA Death Date 1984-06-16 Occupation Politician Government Official Clergyman Source of File Attached Corcoran, David. "Two-Year Rise to Top Surprises Mayor-Elect." The Record, 4 Nov. 1971, p.C-3. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Taylor, Walter (1917?-1984) Subject The topic of the resource Religion, Christianity Politics, Englewood Description An account of the resource Walter Scott Taylor (1916–1984) was a minister, civil-rights leader, publisher, and politician whose career bridged the pulpit, the streets, and City Hall during one of Englewood’s most turbulent eras of racial change. Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Taylor was educated at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta and later earned a master’s degree in religious education from New York University. After serving in several southern congregations, he moved north and settled in Englewood in 1952, where he became pastor of Galilee United Methodist Church, a position he would hold for more than three decades. Under his leadership, Galilee emerged as both a spiritual anchor and a civic hub for Black residents navigating segregation, housing discrimination, and unequal schooling in a predominantly white suburb. By the mid-1950s, Taylor had become a prominent figure in local and regional civil-rights organizing. He served for seven years as president of the Bergen County branch of the NAACP, played a key role in legal challenges to discriminatory school zoning, and was a leading voice in efforts to integrate Englewood’s public schools and expand access to public housing. His activism combined moral persuasion, legal pressure, and institutional negotiation—an approach shaped by his identity as a Methodist minister as much as by his political instincts. Taylor was also a founder and publisher of The Torch-Bearer, a Black-owned community newspaper that documented discrimination in northern New Jersey while amplifying local Black voices often ignored by the mainstream press. Through the paper, he articulated a vision of civil rights rooted in coalition-building, democratic process, and sustained civic engagement. During the early 1960s, Taylor emerged as one of the principal leaders of the Englewood Movement, a broad coalition formed to confront racial discrimination in housing, employment, and education. While he worked closely with attorney Paul Zuber, the movement’s most visible and confrontational figure, Taylor represented its more moderate wing. He supported direct action and mass mobilization but was openly uneasy with Zuber’s endorsement of militant tactics and rhetoric, fearing they could fracture interracial alliances and undermine long-term institutional gains. This ideological tension—between moral suasion and militancy—shaped the movement’s internal dynamics and reflected larger debates within the northern civil-rights struggle. Taylor’s stature in the community eventually translated into electoral success. In 1971, he won a closely contested three-way race to become Englewood’s first Black mayor, taking office in 1972. He served until 1975, governing during a period marked by intense debates over housing integration, municipal services, and the city’s changing racial and economic landscape. Even after leaving office, he remained an influential public voice, including on international issues, notably defending the rights of Libyan diplomats to reside in Englewood during a highly charged controversy in the early 1980s. Rev. Taylor died of cancer in 1984 at Englewood Hospital at the age of 67. He was remembered as a bridge-builder—firm in his opposition to racism, deeply committed to civil rights, yet consistently seeking change through institutions, dialogue, and democratic pressure rather than confrontation alone. His legacy endures in Englewood’s political history, its religious institutions, and the generations of activists shaped by his insistence that justice and community stability need not be opposing goals. He married Odella Wynkle. He had three children, Walter Taylor Jr., Mary Overton, and Susie England. Toolen, Tom. "500 mourn Rev. Walter Taylor." The Record, 21 June 1984, p.C-15. Corcoran, David. "Two-Year Rise to Top Surprises Mayor-Elect." The Record, 4 Nov. 1971, p.C-3. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ludder, Rachelle Politics Religion https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/files/original/f7320bb1977b65d04a881bd8de6c0b41.jpg cba272ad7bd07eaa8ea733affea07253 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Events Event A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Metadata for an event provides descriptive information that is the basis for discovery of the purpose, location, duration, and responsible agents associated with an event. Examples include an exhibition, webcast, conference, workshop, open day, performance, battle, trial, wedding, tea party, conflagration. Date Started 1958-01-18 Date Ended 1958-01-18 Source of File Attached "Churchless Congregation Has Services in Memorial House." The Record, January 20, 1958, p.17. Type of Event Fires Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Galilee Methodist Church Fire Subject The topic of the resource Fires Religion, Christianity Description An account of the resource In 1958 the Galilee Methodist Church burned down. The building was built in 1916. It was estimated that the damage was equivalent to 25,000 dollars. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Churchless Congregation Has Services in Memorial House." The Record, January 20, 1958, p.17. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Ludder, Rachelle Disasters Religion