Elizabeth Putnam Gordon
BornNovember 25, 1851
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedNovember 30, 1933
Castile Sanitarium, Castile, New York, U.S.
Other namesElizabeth P. Gordon
Occupations
  • temperance advocate
  • author
  • editor
Notable workWomen torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union

Elizabeth Putnam Gordon (November 25, 1851 – November 30, 1933) was an American temperance advocate, author, and editor.[1] She held positions of authority with the Massachusetts, National, and World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) organizations. Gordon was the author of Women torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1924), a story-history of the W.C.T.U.'s fifty years of activity. It was the first time the entire history of the organization, records, documents and other data were gathered into one volume.

Biography

Elizabeth (nickname, "Bessie") Putnam Gordon was born in Boston, Massachusetts, November 25, 1851.[2] She was the third daughter of James M. Gordon, who was for eleven years treasurer of the American Board of Foreign Missions, for twenty years cashier of the Columbia National Bank, and an honorary members of the white ribbon army. Three of his daughters were prominent in the councils of that society:[1] Anna Adams Gordon,[3] Alice Gordon Gulick, and Bessie. She was reared in the most conservative manner in a Congregational church.[1]

Gordon attended Mount Holyoke College in 1872 but did not graduate.[4]

Bessie was for seven years corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts W.C.T.U., and also served as one of its speakers and organizers.[1] She served as Evangelist for the National W.C.T.U., and superintendent of School Methods for the World's W.C.T.U.[3][4] She was the author of Women torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1924), a story-history of the W.C.T.U.'s fifty years of activity. It was the first time the entire history of the organization, records, documents and other data were gathered into one volume.[5]

Gordon published a biography of her sister, Alice Gordon Gulick (1917), which included a poem dedicated to Gulick by Katharine Lee Bates.[6] Gordon was also the author of The Story of the Life and Work of Cordelia A. Greene, M.D. (1925).[7][8]

Elizabeth Putnam Gordon died at Castile Sanitarium, Castile, New York, November 30, 1933.[2][9]

Selected works

Books

  • Alice Gordon Gulick (1917)
  • Women torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1924) (Text)
  • The Story of the Life and Work of Cordelia A. Greene, M.D. (1925)

Articles

  • "Municipal Election in Boston" (1889)[10]
  • "Frances Willards' Widening Way" (1917)[11] (Text)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). "GORDON, Miss Elizabeth P.". 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. pp. 326–27. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 "Elizabeth Putnam Gordon 25 November 1851 – 30 November 1933 • KG5H-3VX". ident.familysearch.org. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Willard, Frances Elizabeth (1995). Writing Out My Heart: Selections from the Journal of Frances E. Willard, 1855-96. University of Illinois Press. p. 383. ISBN 978-0-252-02139-8. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Mount Holyoke College (1924). General Catalogue of Mount Holyoke College, 1837-1924. The College. p. 137. Retrieved October 13, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ ""Women Torchbearers"". Tampa Bay Times. p. 14. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ↑ Elizabeth Putnam Gordon, Alice Gordon Gulick: Her Life and Work in Spain (Fleming H. Revell Company 1917).
  7. ↑ Gordon, Elizabeth Putnam (1925). The Story of the Life and Work of Cordelia A. Greene, M.D. Castile, New York: The Castilian. Retrieved August 22, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ↑ "Dr. Cordelia A. Greene Was Well Known Physician". New-York Tribune. January 29, 1905. p. 1. Retrieved August 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "RITES TO BE HELD FOR MISS GORDON". The Buffalo News. December 2, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Municipal Election in Boston". Springville Journal. January 11, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ↑ "W. C. T. U. MEETING". Montpelier Evening Argus. February 10, 1917. p. 4. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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