Dates

• Existence: 1898 - 1986

Biography

Azalia Hogan was born on March 15, 1898 in Arkansas. Her mother died when she was three years old and her aunt, Adeline Miller, took Hogan to Atlanta, Georgia to live. Hogan graduated from Atlanta University in 1917 and became a registered pharmacist. On December 25, 1917 Azalia Hogan married James Wardlow Mitchell in Des Moines, Iowa where he was in the Officers Training Corps of the United States Army at Fort Des Moines. Upon graduation from officers training, the couple moved to Camp Dixon, New Jersey. From 1918 to 1919, Azalia Mitchell was active in helping soldiers and their wives while her own husband served in France. Following World War I, the Mitchells returned to Des Moines and purchased the Community Pharmacy, which they operated for twenty-five years. After selling the business, Azalia Mitchell worked for the City of Des Moines Recreation Department and retired as a secretary.

Azalia Mitchell was a member of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was a charter member of the Beta Gamma Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Mitchell was also a board member of the Des Moines branch of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), a lifetime member of the NAACP, a board member of Wilkie House, Inc., a charter member of the Lincoln Post No. 126 Auxiliary of the American Legion, and a charter member of Des Moines Links, Inc.

Mitchell died July 21, 1986.

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