Evalyn France
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Evalyn Smith Nesbitt Tome France (1855 – April 22, 1927) was the first woman president of a national bank.
1855
Woodlawn, Maryland
Evalyn France | |
|---|---|
| Born | Evalyn Smith Nesbitt 1855 Port Deposit, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 1927 (aged 71–72) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
Resting place | Hopewell Cemetery Woodlawn, Maryland |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan Female College Wilmington, Delaware |
| Occupations |
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| Spouses | |
Early life
Evalyn Smith Nesbitt was born in 1855 in Port Deposit, Maryland, to Henry C. Nesbitt, a merchant who owned a general store in Port Deposit and branch stores in Harford County, Maryland.[1][2][3][4] In 1873, she received a degree in English literature from Wesleyan Female College in Wilmington, Delaware.[2]
Career
With her husband Jacob Tome, she co-founded the Tome School in Port Deposit.[2] After it opened in 1894, she served as the president of the board of trustees.[5][4]
She served as president of the Cecil National Bank of Port Deposit from 1898 to 1906 and of the National Bank of Elkton, Maryland, from 1898 to 1906.[1][2]
Personal life
She married Jacob Tome, a millionaire and philanthropist, on October 1, 1884.[6] He died in 1898.[4]
She married Dr. Joseph I. France, a teacher at the Tome School, in June 24, 1903.[1][5][7] After he was elected as a U.S. senator in 1916, she helped form the Ladies of the Senate group, later called the Senate Spouses, in Washington, D.C.; she also entertained First Lady Grace Coolidge.[1][5] Joseph France would run for U.S. president in 1932, after Evalyn France's death.[7]
Death
She died on April 22, 1927, from complications from an operation for a goiter at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.[2] She was interred at Hopewell Cemetery near Woodlawn, Maryland.[8]
