4 Generations of Merrill Park Women
Recently featured on the West End episode of Around the Corner with John McGivern, Merrill Park resident Jacqueline Hughes-Powell sat down with Community Outreach Specialist Darrian Davis to share the story of her family’s move to Milwaukee.
This is the story of four generations of women to live in Merrill Park and the strides they made as the first African Americans in the neighborhood. This amazing bloodline begins with Lucille Harris, she was the mother of Susan Bailey, who was the mother of Mary Lucille Hughes, who was the mother of Jacqueline Hughes-Powell.
In the early 1930’s, upon Susan divorcing her husband, she took her daughter Mary Lucille and her brothers and moved in with Susan’s mother Lucille. It was then that Lucille told Susan that they were all moving from Kansas City to Milwaukee. The family settled in the Merrill Park where they were the first African Americans to live in the neighborhood. They continued to cross the color lines as Mary Lucille and her brothers were the first African- Americans to attend at St. Rose school and church.
323 N 32nd,was the address of their first home in Merrill Park, that Lucille would later purchase in 1940. This triplex would be the first of several homes, she purchased from one of the renowned brewing family, the Millers. After speaking to a few Miller family relatives, we are unable to corroborate which Miller would have sold the homes. However the relatives do not believe that it is implausible that one of the Millers did in fact sell Lucille the properties. It is suspected by Lucille’s great grandchildren, that because she was a known party girl she could have befriended or worked for one of the Millers.
After owning the 32nd street property for close to 20 years the family moved to 35th and Mt Vernon. Then, in 1960, the family made another significant stride and opened the first owned and operated African American nursing home in Milwaukee called The Blessed Martin Nursing Home.
Lucile continued to buy properties in the Merrill Park neighborhood on 31st street, Clybourn, and St. Paul. At one point Lucille owned 5 Merrill Park properties including the one housing the nursing home, one for her daughter Susan, and three additional homes for her grandchildren including Mary Lucille.
A few years after opening the nursing homes, in 1964 Susan passed away from an appendicitis. Lucille, so stricken with grief passed away the following year in 1965. However, Mary Lucille continued to run the nursing home until 1970 when the increase of commercial nursing homes took a toll on the viability of The Blessed Martin Nursing home and they closed their doors. Mary Lucille continued to live in Merrill Park until she passed away peacefully in her home 3117 W. Clybourn, in the summer of 2014.
Jacqueline who had moved away from Merrill Park moved back after meeting and marrying her husband, Greg Powell. They currently live in a home that was once Jacqueline's childhood best friend’s home. It would appear that Merrill Park is in Jacqueline's blood and the Near West Side is sure happy to have her as a resident!
