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Charlotte Emerson Brown

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Charlotte Emerson Brown
circa 1870-1890, photo by H.J. Brady
Born
Charlotte Emerson

(1838-04-21)April 21, 1838
Andover, Massachusetts, US
DiedFebruary 5, 1895(1895-02-05) (aged 56)
Newark, New Jersey, US
OccupationProgressive organizer
RelativesAntoinette Brown Blackwell, sister-in-law[a]
Signature

Charlotte Emerson Brown (April 21, 1838 – February 5, 1895) was an American woman notable as the creator and first president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC),[b] a progressive women's movement in America beginning in the 1890s.[3] During her presidency, membership expanded quickly from 50 cultural clubs to several hundred, and grew to representing tens of thousands of women.[3] She was instrumental in the GFWC's formation of state-level organizations.[3]

Early life and education

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Brown was born in Andover, Massachusetts[4] to Reverend Ralph Emerson[c] and Eliza Rockwell.[5] Brown's father was a professor of ecclesiastical history and pastoral theology at Andover Theological Seminary.[2]

Brown was an avid reader and student who spoke many languages.[4][2] She graduated from the Abbot Academy of Andover.[4]

Career

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Brown taught in Montreal with Hannah Lyman, Vassar's first female president,[2] and studied business in Chicago.[2] Brown's first clubs were a music club and a French club,[2] and her home in Illinois hosted literary, musical and artistic events.[6] She worked part time as a teacher; from 1879-1880, she served as Jane Addams's teacher of the German language.[6]

"A Woman of the Century"

She became president of the Woman's Club of Orange.[2] In 1890, she was elected president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, an organization which encouraged women to educate themselves and become advocates in their communities.[2] Members advocated for clean milk, street lights, and libraries,[7] as well as for regulations regarding child labor and child and maternal health.[7] According to one viewpoint, the exclusion of men in these clubs was helpful in allowing women to develop their own leadership skills.[8] Under Brown's leadership, the organization grew from an initial meeting of delegates from sixty-one clubs to 475,000 U.S. women from 2,865 clubs in the mid-1920s, and was notable for assisting the career development of advocates such as Eleanor Roosevelt. Membership peaked at 830,000 members in 1955.[7] Brown served as the organization's president until 1894.[9]

Personal life

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Brown married William Bryant Brown on July 20, 1880,[6] a congregational pastor who served parishes in several states.[6] The couple settled in East Orange, New Jersey.[2] Charlotte Brown died on February 4, 1895.

Notes

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  1. ^ Note: Blackwell was the first female ordained as a Protestant minister in the United States.[1]
  2. ^ Willard & Livermore (1893) refer to the organization as "General Federation of Women's Literary Clubs".[2]
  3. ^ Note: not Ralph Waldo Emerson.

References

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  1. ^ Teske, Robin L.; Tétreault, Mary Ann (2000-01-01). Conscious Acts and the Politics of Social Change. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781570033315.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary A. (1893-01-01). "Charlotte Emerson Brown". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Charles Wells Moulton. p. 125.
  3. ^ a b c "Charlotte Emerson Brown - American clubwoman". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  4. ^ a b c "Mrs. Charlotte Emerson Brown - Old News". oldnews.aadl.org. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  5. ^ Bryan, Mary Lynn; Bair, Barbara; Angury, Maree de; Addams, Jane (2010-10-01). The Selected Papers of Jane Addams: vol. 1: Preparing to Lead, 1860-81. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252090677.
  6. ^ a b c d Bryan, Mary Lynn; Bair, Barbara; Angury, Maree de; Addams, Jane (2010-10-01). The Selected Papers of Jane Addams: vol. 1: Preparing to Lead, 1860-81. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252090677.
  7. ^ a b c Mankiller, Wilma P. (1999-10-01). The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0618001824.
  8. ^ Goodwin, Lorine Swainston (2006-07-05). The Pure Food, Drink, and Drug Crusaders, 1879-1914. McFarland. ISBN 9780786427420.
  9. ^ Flower, Benjamin Orange; Ridpath, John Clark; Tyner, Paul; McLean, John Emery; Fanning, Neuville O.; Patterson, Charles Brodie (1897-01-01). The Arena. Arena Publishing Company.

Further reading

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  • Emerson, Benjamin K. The Ipswich Emersons (1900)
  • Houde, Mary Jean. Reaching Out: A Story of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (1989)
  • Swanson, Cynthia N. Brown, Charlotte Emerson American National Biography (2000) online
  • Wells, Mildred White. Unity in Diversity: The History of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (1953).
  • Wood, Mrs Mary I. Stevens. The History of the General Federation of Women's Clubs: For the first twenty-two years of its organization (History department, General federation of women's clubs, 1912). online
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