USA > Iowa > The blue book of Iowa women; a history of contemporary women; > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19
71
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT
For more than twenty-five years Mrs. Carrie Chap- man Catt who is president of the International Woman's Suffrage Alliance, lived in Iowa. She was state lecturer ond organizer of the Woman's Suffrage Association of Iowa in 1890-'92. To her is due in a large measure the marked impetus which equal suffrage received in Iowa at that time. She was born in Ripon, Wis., the daughter of Lucius and Maria Clinton Lane. She was educated in the State Industrial College of Iowa. Later she took a special course in law, which knowledge has been of the greatest aid in promoting suffrage measures. For several years she was princi- pal of the high school at Mason City and later was elected superintendent of the schools. In 1884 she was married to Lee Chapman who died two years later. She was married in 1890 to George William Catt, a prominent civil engineer, who died in 1905. No other woman in the United States has a wider reputation in the work for equal suffrage than Carrie Chapman Catt. She served in various capacities in the state work in Iowa, then became president of the National Woman's Suffrage Association and is now president of the Inter- national Association. She has lectured in every state in the union. She went to Colorado, Idaho, and Louisi- ana during the campaign and was an active agent in bringing about the passage of suffrage bills. She has gone again and again to Europe in the cause of suf- frage and has lectured in many countries. She has worked for the passage of laws in various states to give women the right to vote on tax levying questions. She has a remarkable mind, which reasons questions with the greatest logic. As a platform speaker she has few equals.
72
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. A. H. FORTUNE
Effie Caroline Law was born March 31, 1863, in Bloomfield and has lived there all her life. Her father, William James Law, was born in Frederic county, Va., in 1826. Her mother, Caroline Catharine Brunner, was born in Somerset, Ohio, in 1827. They were married in Ohio in 1845, and ten years later came to Iowa, moving to Bloomfield, where they resided the remaind- er of their lives. Their daughter was educated in the public schools and in the Southern Iowa Normal School. On May 10, 1888, she was married to A. H. Fortune, a cashier in the Davis Co. Trust Co. Bank. Mrs. Fortune has unusual business ability and ex- perience. She was in the money order department of the post office for four years and has had experience in bank book keeping. She has aided many clubs by starting the books in a business like way. She has been a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood since her girl- hood days and has received many honors from them. She has filled most of the local chapter offices, was cor- responding secretary and president of the Iowa grand chapter and for four years was on the Supreme Board as treasurer and custodian of supplies. She is a mem- ber of the Conversational Club and of the Chautauqua Club, having received two diplomas and having to her credit several years of reading. In religious faith she is a Presbyterian. She has contributed to local papers and to the P. E. O. Record and appeared on many con- vention programs. She is a woman having a wide acquaintance in the State, as well as among the women of other states with whom she has been associated in club and society work.
73
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
SUSAN GLASPELL
Davenport has been the home of many people of tal- ent, particularly in a literary way. Society there is marked by the unusual cultivation of the men and women who live in that city. Among the literary women is Miss Susan Glaspel, who was born in Daven- port, July 1, 1882. She is the daughter of Elmer S. and Alice Keating Glaspell. She received her preparatory education in the public schools of Davenport. She was graduated from Drake University at Des Moines with the degree Ph. B. Following her graduation she took a post graduate course in the University of Chicago. For a number of years she lived in Des Moines and did newspaper work of a high order, on the staff of the Des Moines Capitol and News. Through several general assemblies she was State House and Legis- lative reporter. She has written articles and short stories for Harper's Monthly Magazine, the American, the Atlantic and other periodicals. She is the author of "The Glory of the Conquest" and of "The Vision- ing," both of which have been widely read. Miss Glas- pell is a woman of delightful personality, interested in society and in club life, although she is first of all de- voted to the profession in which she has met with sig- nal success. Her friends believe that the future holds for her still greater success as an author.
74
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MISS RUTHANA PAXSON
When a friend once asked Miss Paxson to tell her the secret of the success of her wonderful life of ser- vice she replied : "I got from my mother, who was God's own kind of mother, a love for service to others ; I got from the beautiful spirit of my Quaker father a belief in the guidance of the Holy Spirit in which I have found that there is power sufficient to meet the requirements of all true service." Ruthana Paxson, daughter of Charles and Mary Jane Williams Paxson, was born in Manchester, Ia., Nov. 19, 1876. At the age of sixteen she was graduated with honors from the Manchester High School, and in 1898 was graduated from the State University of Iowa, with a record for scholarship of a high order. In the University Miss Paxson showed her capacity for work and service for others which has since characterized her life. She was president of her class, president of the Y. W. C. A., a member of the leading literary societies, a star basket ball player, a member of two sororities, the Kappa Kappa Gamma, and the Phi Beta Kappa. Shortly after her graduation she entered Moody Ins- titute in Chicago. In 1900 she was made state secre- tary of the Iowa Young Women's Christian Associa- tion. So successful was her work in the State that she was called to the national work and became the nation- al secretary of the student Y. W. C. A. In this capacity she visited the leading educational centers of this country and it was many times said of her that she was the best known and best loved young woman in Amer- ica. She represented the American Board at the Inter- national Y. W. C. A. conference in Switzerland and went later as a delegate to China and Japan. In Feb-
75
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
ruary, 1911, a life long wish was realized, when she sailed for China to engage in her chosen work in a nation of great possibilities. Her success among the Chinese has been marvelous, and she holds today per- haps the most important position held by an American woman in North China. She is national student secre- tary and in that position maps out the religious and educational policies followed in the colleges and cities where there are Y. W. C. A's. She devotes much time to a study of the language and to understanding the character and life of the Chinese people. Miss Paxson was one of the seven women who were delegates in 1913 to the famous conference at Shanghai, conducted by John R. Mott. She organized and conducted the first summer conference for young women in North China and secured as speakers many leading men of China. At Tien Tsin she established the first city as- sociation for young women. Her work in China is truly that of a pioneer but she loves it all, its hard- ships, its responsibilities and its pleasures. She has a gifted pen and has written many magazine articles, and her morning prayer has been a guide in the de- votions of hundreds of women of many nations. No words can place an estimate on such a life of service.
76
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MISS HARRIETT SOLOMON
"Let the soldier be abroad if he will, he can do noth- ing in this age. There is another personage abroad, a personage less imposing perhaps-the school master, and I trust to him armed with his primer, against the soldier in full military array." Harriett Eliza Solo- mon of Keokuk was born in Oregon, Ill. Her father was Henry Christopher Solomon, born in Gustrow, Mecklenberg Schwerin, and served in the regular army of Mecklenberg. Her mother, Mary Louisa Burmeister, was born near Gustrow. They were mar- ried in 1849 and came to America in 1854, the sea voy- age taking six weeks. They came overland to Oregon, Ill., and lived there until 1870, when they came to Iowa. Few women have had a wider influence in their home city than Miss Solomon has had. For thirty-seven consecutive years she has taught in the Keokuk schools, twenty-one of which have been in the high school; and through those years she has left a lasting impression for good upon the lives of hundreds of young people. She is a charter member of the Iowa Association of mathematic teachers, is a prominent member of the Teachers' Club, secretary of the Art Club, leader of the Travel Class and a P. E. O. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Y. W. C. A. and one of the most useful and efficient members of the association. She is president of the Parent-Teacher Association of Keokuk. She is a Presbyterian in religious faith and serves the church in many capacities. She is a woman of the greatest culture and educated along broad lines. While professionally her specialty is mathematics, she has a technical knowledge of art and of the many schools of painting and sculpture. She is a Bible scholar above the average and is widely read on other lines.
77
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. VICTOR GURNEE COE
Mrs. Ernestine Kent Coe was born in Roscoe, Ill., Sept. 6, 1862. She is of Puritan ancestry, the daughter of George H. S. Kent and Belinda Smith, who came from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1844. Her great- grandfather had a thrilling experience in the early days of Pennsylvania, fighting the Indians to protect his home. Later he fought in the Revolutionary War for American Independence. Her grandmother, Char- lotte Cray Smith, was one of the first pupils in Miss Emma Willard's school in Troy, N. Y. Mrs. Coe, after having graduated from the high school, took a course in music in the Kimball Conservatory in Chicago. In 1887 at Roscoe, Ill., she was married to Victor Gurnee Coe of Rock Rapids, Ia. In 1891 they moved to Iowa City, where Mr. Coe completed his law course. In 1893 they moved to Clinton where they now reside. They have three sons, Leonard Gurnee, Allan Kent, and Floyd Herman. She is an active member of the Congregational church. She is a charter member of the Harmonic Club, a musical organization and of the Woman's Club. During the time she was president of the Sunoida Club, through its influence, the Civic As- sociation was organized and the public rest room estab- lished. She is a member of the Library Extension Com. I. F. W. C. She has traveled a good deal in this country and in 1910 traveled in Europe and witnessed the Passion Play. Notwithstanding an interest in the outside world she believes that
"Home keeping hearts are the happiest
Home loving hearts are the best."
78
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MISS JENNIE COULTER
"These are her fruits, kindness and gentleness, And gratefully we take them at her hands; Patience she has and pity for distress And love that understands."
Born and reared in the City of Burlington is a young woman who in a way has done more for her home city than any other citizen in it. Her name in that city is synonymous with good works. Jennie Coulter is the daughter of F. J. and Ida M. Coulter. Since childhood she has been a member of the First Presbyterian church and has all her life been a practical Christian. Realizing that there were neglected children in the city whom the church did not reach, she opened a Sunday school in June, 1901, in the Miller Block, in the tenement district, in one room. The school called this place home for over ten years, adding more rooms as the attendance of children increased. It was called "The Children's Mission." Many people saw and ap- preciated the work done here by Miss Coulter and The City Mission Association was formed. In October, 1911, the school was moved to an old but large build- ing in Division street and was named the "Jennie Coulter Mission." Settlement work is being done there now under Miss Coulter's supervision. The Sunday school is still maintained, a girls' club of a do- mestic science nature, a boys' club to counteract the attractions of the street, a mother's club and an emer- gency day nursery are features. A branch Sunday school is conducted in the cabin boat settlement. Look- ing after all these interests and visiting the homes of the people fill the heart as well as the hands of this city mission worker.
79
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. HIRAM J. CHITTENDEN
Mrs. Lou Miksell Chittenden, daughter of Powel Garner Miksell and Mary Kline Watts, was born in a log house, Jany. 7, 1863, near Red Rock (now Cordova) in Marion county, Ia. Her grandfather, John Huff Mikesell, came to Marion county, Oct. 18, 1842. Promi- nent among pioneers he had a very large share in the upbuilding and progress of that part of the state. Mrs. Chittenden is a direct descendant of William Ashley of Rochester, Mass., who rendered heroic service in the War of the Revolution. She was educated in the Coun- cil Bluffs High School and in Drake University. For eighteen years she taught in the schools of Council Bluffs, being a ward principal six years of that time. She was married Jany. 30, 1905, in Denver, Colo., to Hiram Jonah Chittenden. They lived in Colorado for a short time, then came to Sioux City where they still reside. She is a member of St. Thomas Episcopal church and an officer in the parish Guild. She is a member of the Sioux City Woman's Club and for two years was chairman of the Household Study class; is a member of the National Society D. A. R., of the Mid- lothian Golf club, and of the Boat Club. She has four sisters, all residing in Council Bluffs. Mrs. Anna Burtch Mikesell, Mrs. Adolph George Henning, Mrs. Richard Harry Harris, Mrs. Patrick Henry O'Donnell.
80
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MISS EMMA KATE CORKHILL
Emma Kate Corkhill, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Thomas E. Corkhill, was born in Burlington. Reared in a Methodist parsonage she was an earnest Christian from early childhood. With a keen mind, eager for knowledge she was a tireless student. She graduated from the Iowa Wesleyan College and at once decided to devote her life to teaching. She taught in the college at Mt. Pleasant for a few months, then went to Bos- ton to take her degree. This she did in two years-re- ceiving the degree of Ph. D. from this school. She then accepted the chair of English in Simpson College, where for seven years she taught with great success. She then spent one year in the University of Edin- borough, from which she received the "highest hon- ors," as this school does not confer degrees upon women. On her return she was called to fill the chair of English in the Lawrence College at Appleton, Wis. Here she brought into action this finely educated and well developed mind-to such an extent as to rank her among the best of women instructors. Aside from her teaching she was gifted as a writer, and had contribu- ted generously to church periodicals. Her idea was not to teach her students how to learn books but rather how to apply what the books said to their own lives, thereby enlarging and enriching them. She sought the highest ideals in every line of work. And "she was so true to her ideals, which were pure and high, so sweet and strong, so akin to the Christ whom she loved above all else on earth, so clear and positive in her devotion to truth and so constant as a friend." Her life, though not long in years, was rich in deeds. She died in Chicago, Dec. 13, 1913, and sleeps in Forest Home Cemetery at Mt. Pleasant.
81
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. ALBERT E. CONNABLE
Rose Florida Franklin, the daughter of Noah Arnold Franklin and Nancy Long, was born in Keokuk. The first home built by her parents in 1845 at 110 N. First St., still stands; as the town grew they moved to 319 Morgan St., later to 623 High St., which is still the home of the elder daughter, Mrs. J. C. Paradice. The Franklin family was a prominent one socially and in a business way. Mrs. Connable was educated in Miss Lawrence's private school and in the convent of the sisters of the Visitation; later she graduated from the Oakland Female Seminary at Hillsborough, Ohio. She was married Nov. 6, 1872, to Albert E. Connable. Their home for 35 years was at "Rose Dale," a beau- tiful home surrounded by 300 acres, a mile east of Hamiton, Ill. Here three children were born to them- Saidee Perry, now the wife of Ira W. Wills, president of the Kellogg-Birge & Co. of Keokuk; Lucile Helen, the wife of Lewis C. Judd of Los Angeles, who is in- terested in the Imperial Valley and in Mexican Mines. Franklin Albert of Houston, Texas, is president of the Hot Well Co. Mrs. Connable is a member of the Uni- tarian church of which her father was a charter mem- ber and of which her father-in-law, A C. Connable, was a pillar for many years. For years she was presi- dent of the Montibello Floral Society of Hamilton, and belongs to several prominent Keokuk Clubs. She has traveled all over America and in 1909-10 she and Mr. Connable made a journey around the world. She has given many delightful addresses and travel talks be- fore clubs and societies and the written story of her journey furnishes material for an unusual book of travel, which she has been urged many times to have published.
82
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. D. N. COOLEY
Mrs. Clara Aldrich Cooley, widow of Judge D. N. Cooley, during her many years residence in Dubuque, has been a forceful leader in religious, literary and philanthropic circles. Her interests are wide and va- ried. The General Federation of Women's Clubs, at its biennial held in St. Paul, gave her the title of "Hon- orary Vice President," an honor as great as they could bestow. She is a member of the Pioneer Woman's Club of New York, the founder and first president of the Dubuque Woman's Club; one of the incorporaters and first president of The Home for the Friendless. Of colonial ancestry, Mrs. Cooley is a most enthusiastic member of the national organization, Daughters of the American Revolution. She founded the Dubuque Chapter, served as its regent and later served as State Regent ; she is now honored by the office of Honorary State Regent. This gifted woman at the age of eighty- four is presiding over and leading The Monday After- noon Club of fifty members, organized by her twenty- three years ago, and meeting at her home. Mrs. Cooley has won honors from the club women of our country because of her enthusiastic work in behalf of the club movement. Sorosis of New York has made her an hon- orary member of their organization. She is a member of the Mary Washington Association, of the American Economic Association, The Academy of Political Sci- ence of New York, and the National Geographical So- ciety. Mrs. Cooley is a Methodist and has a national reputation as a Bible teacher. Four children were born to Judge and Mrs. Cooley, all of whom are living -Mrs. Clara C. Becker, Chicago; Mrs. J. F. Douglas, New York; Mrs. C. W. Bassett, Baltimore; Mr. Harlan Ward Cooley, Chicago.
83
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. ROGER N. CRESAP
Elizabeth Borland Cresap of Bonaparte was born June 3, 1864, at Leavenworth, Kan., and is the daugh- ter of William Patterson Borland and Elizabeth Has- son of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Mrs. Cresap's father's ancestors were among the early settlers of Maryland, the Ogle branch of the family had in it several Revo- lutionary soldiers. She was was married July 2, 1886, to Dr. Roger N. Cresap, who is the third physician in the family to practice in Iowa. His grandfather, the first Dr. Roger Nelson Cresap, came to Bonaparte, Ia., in 1833 and a part of the town is platted from the grant of land he received from the government. The Cresap family line is recorded through seven genera- tions to Michael Cresap who is buried in Trinity church Yard, New York. Dr. Cresap is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, his ancestors having fought in the Maryland troops. The family has been a prominent one in Southern Iowa for more than eighty years. At the time of the arrival of Dr. Cresap I, the state contained only a few scattering settlements of white people. Two children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Cresap, Katherine Cresap-Hughes and Mary Elizabeth Cresap.
Mrs. Cresap is an active member of the Presbyterian church. She is president of the P. E. O. chapter which has done an unusual amount of civic work. They have aided in the building of churches, in installing beauti- ful stained glass windows and have made needed im- provements in the cemetery. She is a public spirited woman and while she has done much work along that line, she has not failed in her duties as the wife of a busy physician and in her home which claims her chief interest.
84
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. JOHN H. COLE
Mrs. Leulia Warner Cole was born July 29, 1854, at Meshoppen, Penn. She is the daughter of Riley and Rachel Dunlap Warner. Was married at Em- porium, Penn., Dec. 23, 1873, to John H. Cole, and shortly afterward moved to Keokuk, where they still reside. Mr. Cole for thirty-three years has been superintendent of the Carnegie bridge which spans the Mississippi River at Keokuk. He is a civil engineer, an architect of ability and a man of unusual mental caliber. They have three daughters, Emma L., Ora Belle, and Iva Valentine. Emma graduated from the University of Illinois, has taken post-graduate in the University of Chicago and has traveled and studied in Europe. She is now a teacher in the Chicago High Schools. She was mar- ried to William Allin Spain who died in 1909. The second daughter, Ora, graduated from the University of Chicago with a high rank of scholarship. Iva gradu- ated from the high school and shortly afterward was married to S. Chandler Carter and resides in Keokuk. Mrs. Cole has been a member of the First Westminster Presbyterian church for thirty-nine years, member of the Benevolent Union, was its president for six years. She is a charter member of the Travel Class and of the Wednesday Reading Club and belongs to prominent social clubs. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are both descended from Revolutionary ancestry. One of Mr. Cole's ancestors, Col. Phillip Cole, commanded the 4th Battalion of Northumberland Co. Associators, a Pennsylvania Regiment and was in the battle at Trenton, N. J., another was Gov. John Web- ber of Connecticut whose son was a Minute man.
85
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
DR. CARRIE BUTLER COLLIER
Prominent among the professional women of Iowa is Dr. Carrie Butler Collier, an unusually successful prac- titioner, secretary of the Iowa Osteopathic Association, a member of the American Osteopathic Asso., and one of the Board of Managers of the Still College of Osteo- pathy of Des Moines, she has had a wide professional experience. Her parents, Jacob and Martha Simonton Butler, came to Iowa in 1855. She was born in Clarin- da, Dec. 29, 1862. Was educated in the high schools, receiving her doctor's degree at the Dr. S. S. Still Col- lege of Osteopathy in Des Moines. She was married to Dr. C. H. Collier, Sept. 10, 1884, and together they practice their profession. She is a woman who not- withstanding her busy life has found time to aid in many social reforms and to take an active part in the M. E. church, in the Sunday school and in the Mission- ary society of which she has been president for several years. She has delivered many addresses in the inter- ests of missions, one in particular on "The Obligation of Christian Women," was published in booklet form. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood, the Shakes- peare Club, the City Federation of Women's Clubs, the Beta Delta Omega Sorority and other local clubs. Her parents were pioneers in Southwestern lowa and help- ed to build up that part of the state. Dr. Collier's great-great-grandfather, John Simonton, was a Lieu- tenant in Capt. James Fisher's Co., First Battalion, in Cumberland Co., Penn., during the Revolution. Her great-great-grandfather on her father's side was a member of the convention which adopted the Federal constitution. She is a worthy descendant of a long line of ancestors and kinsmen who have excelled in the professions.
86
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
MRS. JULIA CHAPIN GRINNELL
Mrs. Julia Chapin Grinnell (Mrs. J. B. Grinnell) was born in Springfield, Mass., Nov. 2, 1827, and died in Grinnell, Iowa, Dec. 11, 1907.
Mrs. Grinnell traced her descent from Deacon Samuel Chapin, the founder of Springfield, Mass., whose statue now stands in the public square of that city. Her grandfather was Judah Chapin, who enlist- ed in the Revolutionary War, December 25, 1776. Her father was Deacon Chauncey Chapin of the historical First Church of Springfield. The mother of Mrs. Grin- nell, Nancy Jones Lombard, numbered among her an- cestors Reverend John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indi- ans, and others holding positions of honor and trust in Colonial history; among these were Governor Thomas Dudley of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Governor Thomas Wells of Connecticut, Governor William Leete of Connecticutt and New Haven Colonies, and Gover- nor William Brenton of Rhode Island. Mrs. Grin- nell was a student at Mount Holyoke in the days of Mary Lyon. February 5, 1852, at Springfield, Mass., she was married to Rev. Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, then a Congregational minister in New York City, of May- flower ancestry and a native of New Haven, Vermont. Four children were born to them, a daughter and a son died in infancy. Two daughters are living: Mrs. Mary Grinnell Mears, the wife of Rev. David O. Mears, D. D. Pastor-Emeritus of the Fourth Presbyterian church, Albany, N. Y., and Mrs. Carrie Grinnell Jones, wife of Professor Richard Jones, Ph. D. of Tufts Col- lege, Massachusetts.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.