Evangelyn Barsky
Evangelyn Barsky was, along with Sybil Ward, one of the first two women lawyers regularly admitted to practice in Delaware.Biography
Barsky was born on March 31, 1894, in Wilmington, Delaware, one of four children, to parents Nathan Barsky and Rose Barsky. Nathan, a successful dry goods merchant and realtor, left Barsky in relative financial security her whole life. Her parents were founders of Temple Beth Emeth and donors of a cottage to the Brandywine Sanitarium. They also worked with the Jewish Home for the Aged. After going to Wilmington High School, she graduated with a M.A. in 1918 from Goucher College, and received her L.L.B. four years later. She joined, during World War I the women’s motor car corps, in which she drove trucks and ambulances. Delaware had allowed women to practice law in 1923, and in February 1923, Barsky and Sybil Ward applied to become lawyers. They were admitted into the bar on March 26, 1923, and Barsky practiced law with her brother until July 2, 1935, when she was appointed Assistant City Solicitor, in charge of delinquent taxes.
In 1936, Barsky was killed by a speeding car. Her funeral was attended by hundreds, including Walter W. Bacon, the mayor of Wilmington. Throughout the town, flags were flown at half staff.
Barsky was a member of the League of Women Voters, New Century Club, American Association of University Women, and the New Castle County Bar Association, Delaware State Bar Association, and American Bar Association.
