Mrs. E. Whittle
Known Name(s)
Mrs. E. Whittle (Secondary) Mrs. E. Whittle (Primary)
Address
46 Hempstead St. New London, CT (Secondary) (1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966)785 Bank St. New London, CT (Primary) (1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)
Establishment Type(s)
Tourist Home
Physical Status
Demolished
Detailed History
Born in Virginia in 1888, Eva C. Whittle was an African American woman who had immigrated north with her husband Robert; in 1920, they lived on West 140th Street in Manhattan. By 1923, the couple had moved to New London, where Robert worked briefly as a waiter before he died, still only in his mid-forties. To support herself, Eva worked in private homes as a 'houseworker' and offered furnished rooms in her home and at other locations.
According to city directories, she first offered rooms in her home and in the abutting property at 38 and 42 Mercer Street between 1932 and 1937. In Green Book editions from 1938 through 1954, her tourist home is listed at 785 Bank Street. She had lived at that address when first widowed but lived elsewhere during the years it was listed in The Green Book; either Whittle retained some connection to 785 Bank St. after moving or this was a Green Book error. Starting in 1955, The Green Book listed the Whittle Tourist Home at 46 Hempstead Avenue, where Whittle lived until 1958; again, either Whittle retained a connection or The Green Book was in error, as this listing continued until the end of The Green Book's run. Eva Whittle died in 1965 at the age of 77.
The building at 785 Bank Street no longer survives, but the house at 46 Hempstead Street does. Future research in New London's land evidence may determine whether Eva Whittle acted as an agent for tourist home owners, or if she in fact owned property in New London.
46 Hempstead St. is listed in the Hempstead National Register Historic District.
Source: 1920, 1940, 1950 federal census; cds from 1923 to 1965 (ancestry.com)
