Government House marked International Women’s Day with profiles of eight women in Virgin Islands history

Government House on March 8, 2019, published a historical feature for International Women’s Day and Virgin Islands History Month highlighting eight women it said helped shape the territory.

The article profiled Mary Thomas, known as Queen Mary, as a leader of the 1878 Fireburn labor uprising on St. Croix; Anna Heegaard, whom it said influenced social reforms affecting free and enslaved Black residents during her relationship with Gov. Gen. Peter von Scholten; and educator Bertha C. Boschulte, whom it credited with founding the first St. Thomas Teachers Institute and establishing the St. Thomas Evening School.

It also highlighted businesswoman and public servant Ansetta de Chabert; folklorist and writer Arona Petersen; former Sen. Ruby M. Rouss, whom it said became Senate president after serving as a St. Croix district senator; attorney Edith Bornn, described as the first woman to enter private law practice in the Virgin Islands; and former Sen. Lorraine Berry, a 12-term lawmaker and two-term Senate president.

The post was presented as a commemorative historical roundup rather than a policy announcement.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/8-women-who-changed-vi-history/