Ida Mae Hampton Wassell

by Nicolleta Perna

Ida Mae Hampton Wassell, born in Hammonton, New Jersey in 1910, was an early pioneer in the world of women’s aviation, a not-at-all common practice for women to pursue during her time.

During the Great Depression Ida Mae had worked various jobs in order to save up her own money to afford plane rentals and flying lessons. In 1928 when she was 18 years old, Wassell received her pilot’s license from Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey after less than ten hours of training and some tutoring by Philadelphia pilot Jack Ruffley. In addition to being the first woman to earn her pilot’s license from Bader Field, Ida Wassell was in fact the first woman in South Jersey to earn her wings at all. 

In 1929, only a year after earning her pilot’s license, Ida Mae joined the newly formed Ninety-Nines, a group of female-only aviators founded by 99 out of the then 117 women that were licensed pilots. The group, initially run by Amelia Earhart as their president, was dedicated to helping further the field of female aviation and supporting the women within it.

Just a few short years later, Ida was asked to co-pilot on the 1932 flight the “American Nurse.”  The “American Nurse” was slated to be the first non-stop transatlantic flight, traveling from New York City to Rome. It never made it to its destination and was ultimately never found, presumably lost at sea. Luckily, Wassell had declined to co-pilot this flight, and when asked about it by local papers she told the Atlantic City Press, “I think cross-country flights are fine and should be encouraged. But I do not believe in spectacular ocean flights.”. It is because of this that Ida Mae Hampton Wassell avoided what would have been to this day, a tragic and unsolved fate. 

The following year, in 1933, Ida married William Stanley Wassell, founder and owner of Wassell Bakery. They lived in Philadelphia together, eventually having two children; after the birth of her two children Ida began flying less in order to spend time with her family. 

In the midst of World War II, while she was living in Philadelphia with her husband, Wassell volunteered her services for the Civil Air Patrol, flying courier service between Philadelphia and Washington. This service entailed the transportation of people as well as important documents. 

Apart from earning her pilot’s license, Ida Mae Hampton Wassell was an educated woman attending schools such as: Ogontz School for Young Ladies in Abington, PA, Mill Road School in Northfield, NJ, and St. Leonard’s in Atlantic City, NJ. Additionally, Ida was even a part of Tucson Arizona Watercolor Guild when it was formed in 1947, serving on board of directors alongside Margaret Sanger.

On October 10, 2009, at the age of 99, Ida Mae Hampton Wassell died of dementia in her nursing home, Hebrew Home at Riverdale, located in Riverdale, New York. 

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References:

McKelvey, Wallace. “Northfield Woman First to Fly Solo From Bader Field.” Press of Atlantic City, August 13, 2012. 

Ida Mae Wassell Obituary. November 4, 2009. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/pressofatlanticcity/name/ida-wassell-obituary?id=25515806

Naedele, Walter F. “Ida Mae Hampton Wassell, 1910-2009: Early Aviatrix Dodged a Doomed Flight in 1932.” Philadelphia Inquirer. November 8, 2009. 

Perez, Heather. “Fearless Flyer: Ida Mae Hampton Wassell.” The Atlantic City Experience, August 12, 2011. https://www.atlanticcityexperience.org/?view=article&id=22&catid=11.

Suggested Citation:

Perna, Nicolleta. (2024, Oct). Ida Mae Hampton Wassell. New Jersey Women’s History, Rowan University Libraries Digital Scholarship Center. https://njwomenshistory.org/biographies/ida-mae-hampton-wassell/