Allegany County Maryland--Biography

Jane Avery Fiscus, M.D., 1934 - 2005

Dr. Jane Avery Fiscus was the first woman to serve as Allegany County Health Officer.

Born in Wilburton, Oklahoma, Dr. Fiscus received her undergraduate degree at Oklahoma State University in 1956 and graduated from the Baylor University College of Medicine with an M.D. in 1961. Her training and practice was in family medicine until 1977. It was in that year she accepted the position of Health Officer for the Allegany County Health Department, an office she held for twenty years, until 1997.

On August 1, 2006, the Judges of the Orphan's Court appointed Rebecca Drew as Register of Wills of Allegany County to fill out the term of Retiring Register of Wills, William Lashbaugh, Jr. She was elected to the post later that year. Prior to her appointment as Register of Wills Rebecca served as the Deputy Register of Wills, PC System Administrator, Auditor, Personnel Officer and Property Officer for the Allegany County Office of the Register of Wills. She is the first female in the history of Allegany County to hold this office. Drew ran unopposed in the elections of 2010 and 2014.

Cumberland City Clerks – Wolford, Clark, Woodring and Layton.

The City of Cumberland was officially chartered by an Act of the Maryland State Legislature on January 20, 1787.

Audrey C. Wolford is considered to be the first woman appointed as City Clerk for the City of Cumberland. Wolford served in this capacity from 1978 until her retirement in 2000. Wolford is depicted above from a May 1, 2000 Cumberland Times-News photo displaying one of the voting machines to be used in an upcoming election.

In 1956 the City of Cumberland hired its first “Police Women”. These six female officers were Margaret A. Buzzard, Hazel M. Himmler, Vera L. Twigg, Mabel Z. Green, and Bettie A. Williams, and Mildred A. Mattingly.

The photograph is of Mildred A. Mattingly.

Seven women have served on the City Council of Cumberland. These include Lucile Roeder (1950-1952, 1952-1954, 1958-1962, 1962-1966), Josephine Edwards (appointed 1958), Dellann Campbell (appointed 1986, elected 1988-1992), and Ursula Ann Franklin (1988-2000).

Mary Susan (Sue) Cerutti

Born in Frostburg and a graduate of Beall High School, Sue Cerutti would go on to become a leading Cumberland businesswoman, preservationist, and community activist. She was also an outstanding public servant.

“Jo” Beynon was Allegany County’s first Tourism Director and served in this capacity from 1973 to 1988. She later became President of the Allegany County Historical Society and for many years wrote a history newspaper column entitled, “This n’ That” for the Cumberland Times-News until 2003.

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CUMBERLAND —Josephine Lee (Darrah) Beynon, 86, of Cumberland, passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011, at the Western Maryland Regional Medical Center.

Margaret Barkman, 1924 -

Margaret graduated from Terra Alta, West Virginia High school in 1941, and the Catherman's Business School in Cumberland, Maryland in 1943.

Margaret Barkman is believed to be the first woman Congressional District Assistant in the 6th Congressional District of Maryland. She opened the District Office on January 1, 1971 when Congressman Goodloe Byron took office. Upon Congressman Byron's sudden death in 1978, she continued in this capacity under Congresswoman Beverly Byron. Margaret Barkman retired in 1989.

Since 1931 three women have been elected to the Maryland House of Delegates from Allegany County. They were:

Lulu W. Boucher, Republican, from Barton(1931-1946),

Elizabeth B. Doub, Republican, from Cumberland, (1939-1942), and

Betty Workman (1924-2018) served as a Delegate representing District 1B for three terms from 1987 to 1999. She was also a mathematics teacher at Allegany High School for twenty years.

In 1921 the Cumberland Mayor and City Council voted to have a woman, Anna McCleave, fill the position of Cumberland Police and Fire Commissioner. This was to fill a vacancy created by the death of the elected councilman and would be the first time since the 1835 establishment of a Cumberland City Council that a woman would serve in this position.