Locks Funeral Home Register Collection

MSA SC 6147
Dates	1934-2002
Medium	Originals
Restrictions	No restrictions
Storage	BC/21/04
Description
Founded in 1860 by John W. Locks, the family-run funeral establishment served the African American community of Baltimore City’s East Side. It was located at 1302-1310 N. Central Avenue. According to the records of the board that licenses undertakers, Edna Francis Locks was the first African American woman to be licensed as a mortician in Maryland. She ran the business in the early twentieth century. She was the widow of Joseph Garland Locks. Her son, Joseph G. Locks, Jr., took over from her and continued in this role for seventy years until his death in 2003. NOTE: This collection has been digitized is available for online browsing via the FamilySearch website. The originals are stored at the Baltimore City Archives; request an appointment to view them.