Barbara Boggs Sigmund (May 27, 1939 – October 10, 1990) was an American writer,
Democratic politician, and civic leader. She served as a
Mercer County Freeholder and mayor of the
Borough of Princeton, New Jersey
The Borough of Princeton was a borough until December 31, 2012, that is now one of the two former municipalities making up Princeton, New Jersey. It was located in Mercer County, New Jersey, and was completely surrounded by the former Princeton T ...
from 1983 to 1990. She finished fourth in the
primary for U.S. Senate in 1982 and a distant second in
the primary for Governor of New Jersey in 1989.
She was the daughter
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. (February 15, 1914 – disappeared October 16, 1972; declared dead December 29, 1972) was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the House ma ...
and
Lindy Boggs
Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs (March 13, 1916 – July 27, 2013) was a politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She was the first woman elected to Cong ...
, who both represented
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.
Biography
A graduate of
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart and
Manhattanville College
Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...
, she taught at the
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart (Princeton, N.J.), which, in honor of her life, now annually awards the Barbara Boggs Sigmund Alumnae Award.
Sigmund worked as a letter writer for President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, and served as a member of the
Mercer County, New Jersey
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...
. In 1982, she finished fourth out of nine in the 1982 New Jersey Democratic Senate primary, which was won by
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was orig ...
(who went on to serve nearly 29 years in the Senate). The other two candidates with more votes were former United States Congressmen. She was elected
Mayor of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton was founded by Europeans in the latter part of the 17th century. Because of a dispute over school taxes, the municipality split into the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township in 1894, and both became fully independent municipalit ...
from 1983 to her death in 1990.
Sigmund founded ''Womanspace'', a
Mercer County, New Jersey
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
agency that provides services — 24-hour hotlines, crisis intervention, emergency shelter, counseling, court advocacy, and housing — to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
In 1990, Sigmund died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, aged 51, following an 8-year battle. She had lost an eye to the disease, necessitating an
eyepatch
An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...
. The patch became
iconic when she attended events as the mayor, sporting an eye patch matched to her outfit.
Her siblings were
Cokie Roberts
Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...
and
Tommy Boggs
Thomas Winton Boggs (October 25, 1955 – October 5, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Texas Rangers (1976–1977, 1985) and the ...
. In addition to her mother and siblings, she was survived by her husband, Paul Sigmund, and their three sons, Paul Jr., David, and Stephen.
Though her political work was in New Jersey, Sigmund was inducted
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...
in 2005 into the
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame located in Winnfield, Louisiana. Created by a 1987 act of the Louisiana State Legislature, it honors the best-known politicians and political journalists in the state.
H ...
in
Winnfield
Winnfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield. . The Hall of Fame had earlier inducted her father and mother.
Notes
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigmund, Barbara Boggs
1939 births
1990 deaths
County commissioners in New Jersey
Women mayors of places in New Jersey
American people with disabilities
American politicians with disabilities
Deaths from cancer in New Jersey
Politicians from New Orleans
Manhattanville College alumni
Mayors of Princeton, New Jersey
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
Catholics from Louisiana
Boggs family
Claiborne family
Candidates in the 1982 United States elections