Mary Williams Dewson (1874-1962) — Social Reformer, Suffragist, Government Official, and Organizer of Women for the National Democratic Party. Introduction: Mary Williams Dewson, commonly known as “Molly” Dewson was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on February 18, 1874, the youngest of six children. Because of her father’s poor health, her mother became the backbone…
Continue Reading »Edward T. Devine (1867-1948) – Economist, Child Welfare Advocate, Educator, Author and Pioneer Social Worker Introduction: Edward Thomas Devine was born May 6, 1867 on a farm near Union, Iowa. His parents were John and Laura (nee Hall). Devine attended local schools and later enrolled in Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa where he…
Continue Reading »Homer Folks (1867 – 1963) – Social Work Pioneer, Advocate for Child Welfare and Public Health and Long Time Secretary of the State Charities Aid Society of New York Introduction: In his position as an active leader in New York’s largest aid society, Homer Folks was an advocate for social reform on a major scale….
Continue Reading »Stanton Coit (1857-1944) – Founder of Neighborhood Guild, the First Settlement House in the U.S. in 1886 and Founder of the South Place Ethical Society in London in 1887. Introduction: Stanton Coit was born in Columbus, Ohio on August 11, 1857. He studied at Amherst College, Massachusetts, 1879, and became an aide of Felix…
Continue Reading »Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch — (September 8, 1867 – November 15, 1951): Social Worker, Progressive, Social Reformer, Academic and Founder of Greenwich House in New York City. Introduction: Mary Melinda Kingsbury was born in Chestnut Hill, MA, a suburb of Boston. Her parents were: Colonel Isaac Franklin Kingsbury and Laura Davis Holmes Kingsbury. She entered…
Continue Reading »John Lovejoy Elliot (December 2, 1868—April 12, 1942): Founder of Hudson Guild Settlement House and Ethical Culture Society Leader. John Lovejoy Elliot was born in Princeton, Illinois, the son of Isaac Elliot and Elizabeth (nee Denham) Lovejoy. He attended Cornell University, where he was elected as class president. In 1889 he attended an event…
Continue Reading »Robert Archey Woods (December 9, 1865—February 18, 1925) — Settlement House Pioneer, Founder of South End House the First Settlement in Boston, Social Reformer, Author and Educator Introduction: Robert A. Woods was born in Pittsburgh, PA., on Dec. 9, 1865, the fourth of five children in a family of Scottish-Irish immigrants. His father, Robert, was…
Continue Reading »Southern segregation policies were granted legitimacy by the Supreme Court’s “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. The alternatives for former slaves were limited. They could work for white farmers as tenants or sharecroppers, barely a step above slavery, or they could leave the South. Many opted to migrate and moved north to find a better life. Two people stepped forward at this time to provide leadership and help build an organization dedicated to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream – one Negro, one white; one man, one woman – and together, they founded the National Urban League.
Continue Reading »Ballington Booth (July 28, 1857 – October 5, 1940) – Evangelist, Social Welfare Advocate and Co-Founder of Volunteers of America NOTE: This entry is about the life and contributions of Ballington Booth, a co-founder of Volunteers of America. It was excerpted from the booklet “Maud and Ballington Booth: The Founding of Volunteers of America –…
Continue Reading »Maud Ballington Booth (September 13, 1865 – August 26, 1948) – Co-founder of Volunteers of America, Advocate for Prisoners and Their Families and Inaugurator of the Volunteer Prison League NOTE: This entry is about the life and contributions of Maud Ballington Booth, a co-founder of Volunteers of America. It was excerpted from the…
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