Edna Thomas was born in Lawrenceville, Virginia, on November 1, 1885. She is often credited as being one of the earliest African American stage actors and a participant in the Harlem Renaissance in New York. In 1937 she became a case subject for Dr. George Henry’s reports on homosexuality in women. Using the name “Mary Jones,” he discussed her life and her “adjustments” to the “homosexual lifestyle.” Thomas died on July 22, 1974. You can read about Dr. Henry’s case study here: Edna Thomas ("Mary Jones"): "A Tenderness I Have Never Known," 1937, by Jonathan Ned Katz.