Following her sister’s experience with infertility, Florence Walrath (1877-1958) founded The Cradle adoption agency in 1923. At the time, adoption facilities had not changed much since the 19th Century. Walrath and The Cradle became leaders in the effort to dignify adoption and improve the quality of child care in these agencies. She and her staff […]
Alice Bunker Stockham (1833-1912) was a doctor who specialized in pediatrics and women’s reproductive health. She wrote pioneering books and pamphlets on female sexuality at a time when the subject was taboo, founded a publishing house to print them, and later was tried and found guilty of sending improper material through the mail. She came
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Edna Dean Baker (1883-1956) was a pioneering educator who helped develop standards for early childhood education in the U.S. She served as president of the National College of Education (now National Louis University) from 1920 until 1949 and, with her sister Clara, founded the Baker Demonstration School there. The two were early proponents of kindergarten
World renowned botanist and conservation advocate Margery Carlson (1892-1985) lived in Evanston from 1930 until her death in 1985. She taught botany at Northwestern University and was a research associate at the Field Museum, helping build its plant collection through her travels around the world. Later she was involved with the Illinois Nature Conservancy, helping
Lorraine Morton (1918- ) came to Evanston in 1941 to study for her Master’s Degree in Education at Northwestern University. In 1953, Morton took a position at Foster School, a segregated K-8 school in Evanston. Quickly she found herself challenging segregation. She was the first African-American teacher at Nichols Middle School and the first African-American
Catharine Waugh McCulloch (1862-1945) was an attorney, activist and suffragist. McCulloch was the first female Justice of the Peace in Illinois and the first woman to serve as a presidential elector. Deeply concerned about the family and women’s legal rights, McCulloch helped push the age of consent law in Illinois from 14 to 16 and
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World renowned social reformer Frances E. Willard (1839-1898) lived in Evanston all her adult life. Through her efforts, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union became the largest women’s organization in the U.S. before 1900, and mobilized countless women to take on a wider role in the world through temperance activism. Her “Do Everything” reform agenda included
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Alice Cushing Donaldson Riley (1864-1953) was an author and playwright who lived in Evanston from 1898 until 1931. She wrote children’s poetry and stories, and several one-act plays. Her best known work is “Slumber Boat,” a familiar children’s lullaby which she co-wrote with Dorothy Gaynor. Her home at 1822 Sheridan Road (now demolished) was the
Dr. Isabella Garnett (1872-1948) was born in 1872 to one of Evanston’s earliest African-American families. One of the first African-American female physicians in the state of Illinois, Garnett received her medical degree in 1901 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago. She returned to Evanston in 1904. Recognizing that hospital care for African-Americans
You might be wondering about our new heading — who the women are and where we got the title “Lifting as We Climb.” Our next few posts will tell you more about the women pictured, but first we’d like to tell you about the title. “Lifting as We Climb” is the title of our new
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