Griffin, Emma K.
Birth Year : 1868
In 1900, Emma K. Griffin was one of the 46 African Americans from Kentucky who were living in Portland, OR, according to the U. S. Federal Census. She was born in Frankfort, KY, the daughter of Charles and Louisa Miner. Emma was the wife of Adolphus D. "A. D." Griffin (1867-1916), owner and publisher of the New Age newspaper. The Griffins were married in 1897. A. D. was from Louisiana and had lived in Washington (state), where he was editor of the Spokane Northwest Echo newspaper. While there, he met Emma and her son, Eugene Miner, who was born in 1890 in Washington. In 1910, Emma and her son were living on 21st Street with three lodgers, according to the U.S. Federal Census. Emma is listed as single and head of the house, where she had her hairdressing business. Less than a 1,000 African Americans lived in Portland in 1910, and 52 were from Kentucky. For more on A. D. Griffin see "Editor A. D. Griffin: Envisioning a New Age for Black Oregonians (1896-1907)," by K. Mangun, a paper presented in 2007 to the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) [available online at allacademic.com].
Subjects: Cosmetologists, Beauty Shops, Hairdressers, Beauty Supplies, Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, Music Publishers, Migration West
Geographic Region: Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky / Washington / Portland, Oregon