Ellen Ann Brathwaite Stryker Sandimanie was a Liberian city official. She was an ordained Presbyterian minister and the first woman mayor of

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

. She represented Liberia at an international gatherings of Presbyterian women in the 1960s and 1970s.

Early life

Ellen Ann Brathwaite was born in Liberia, part of a large

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people or Congo people or Congau people in Liberian English,Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of Afric ...

family. She graduated from

Liberia College The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...

and earned a diploma from Monrovia Bible Institute.

Career

In 1961, Sandimanie toured the United States for several months, attending the annual General Assembly of the

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of Ameri ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, the triennial meeting of United Presbyterian Women in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

, and lecturing at churches and women's groups. She also represented Liberian women at international meetings in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. In 1966 Sandimanie was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in Liberia, and served two rural churches, in

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and Fansehn Town. She was also president of the Presbyterian Women of Liberia. Sandimanie was deputy mayor of Monrovia in 1965. President

William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from 1943 Liberian general election, his e ...

appointed Sandimanie as Mayor-Commissioner of Monrovia in 1970. "I realize the job is a challenge to my sex, so I work hard to justify my appointment, to prove women are capable," she said. She visited the United States again in 1972, touring

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and other cities. She received the key to the city of

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

, and met

Sammy Davis Jr Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

. She made another lecture tour in the United States in 1980.

Personal life

Ellen Ann Brathwaite married twice. Her first husband was Richard Stryker, a carpenter. They had two sons, Jehu T. Stryker and H. Victor Stryker, before he died. Her second husband was Boymah Y. Sandimanie II, an engineer. In addition to her sons, she raised eight foster children.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandimanie, Ellen A. Americo-Liberian people Mayors of Monrovia Liberian Presbyterians Presbyterian ministers University of Liberia alumni Women mayors of places in Liberia 20th-century Liberian politicians 20th-century Liberian women politicians