EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON P/93

 

In this story I will focus on a woman named Aimee Semple PcPherson. She lived from 1890 - 1944. Her parents were James Morgan and Mildred One Kennedy and she was born in Salford, Ontario, Canada, 

Aimee had early exposure to religion through her mother who worked with the poor in Salvation Army soup kitchens. 

While attending a revival meeting in 1907, Aimee met Robert James Semple, a Pentecostal missionary from Ireland. She dedicated her life to Jesus and converted to Pentocostalism. They were married in 1908.

After embarking on an evangelistic tour to China, both contracted malaria. He soon died thereafter. She then returned to the United States where she began to hold revival meetings between 1918 - 1923. The 1921 -1922 meetings in Denver attracted more than 12,000 people every night and received the support of prominent leaders, including the Mayor and the Governor.

 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; FLORENCE LUSCOMB P/92

 

In this post I will continue to focus on a woman named Florence Luscomb. She lived from 1887 - 1985.  She was among the first ten women to earn a degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Women still experienced significant challenges during her tenure there. For example. Florence had to inquire at twelve firms before one of them would hire her for an internship after her second year.

She later continued her education in architecture at the newly opened Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in 1916.

Florence accepted a position as executive secretary for the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government. She went on to work for a number of organisations in the Boston area, including the Boston Chapters of the League of Women Voters, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and organisations dedicated to prison reform and factory safety. 

At a later stage, Florence advised some of the founders of the American feminist movement, encouraging them to include the poor and women of colour. 

In 1980, Florence moved into an elder-care facility in Watertown, Massachusetts, where she died in 1985, at age 98.  

 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; FLORENCE LUSCOMB P/91

 

Today I will continue my series on Evangelical women who lived in the second half of 1800 and felt called to ministry despite the opposition of men, this time sharing the story of a woman named Florence Luscomb. She lived from 1887 - 1985. 

Florence was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. She was the daughter of Otis Luscomb and Hanna Skinner. Her father was an unsuccessful artist. Her mother was a dedicated suffragist and women's rights activist.  

When Florence was one and a half years old, her parents separated and she moved with her mother to Boston where she was able to attend a private secondary school, Chauncy Hall. 

As a child, Florence went with her mother to suffrage events, at one point seeing Susan B. Anthony speak. She became an ardent suffragist, initially by selling a pro-suffrage newspaper on the street. 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; HELEN KELLER P/90

In this story I will continue to focus on a woman named Helen Keller.She lived from 1880 - 1968. Even before Helen graduated, she published two books, The Story of My Life (1902) and Optimism (1903), which very much launched her career as a writer and a lecturer. She authored a dozen books and articles in major magazines, advocating for prevention of blindness in children and for other causes.

Helen began to support the suffrage movement and advocated for the blind. After Anne's death in 1936, Helen continued to lecture internationally with the support of other aides, and became one of the world's most admired women. During World War II, she toured military hospitals to bring comfort to soldiers.

In 1964, she was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She also received honorary doctorates from Glasgow, Harvard and the Temple Universities.

Helen died in 1968 at the age of 87. 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; HELEN KELLER P/89

 

In this post I will continue to share the story of Helen Keller. She lived from 1880 - 1968. Anne Sullivan, who had become Helen's teacher and mentor, used touch to teach Helen the alphabet and to make words by spelling them with her finger on Helen's palm. Within a few weeks Helen caught on. 

A year later, Anne brought Helen to the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, where she learned to read Braille and write with a specially made typewriter. Newspapers chronicled her progress. 

At fourteen, Helen went to New York for two years where she improved her speaking ability, and then returned to Massachusetts to attend the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. Helen was next admitted to Radcliffe College, graduating cum laude in 1904. Anne went with her, helping Helen with her studies.

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF 1800; HELEN KELLER P/88

Today I will continue my series on Evangelical women who lived in the second half of 1800 and felt called to ministry despite the opposition of men, this time sharing the story of a woman named Helen Keller. She lived from 1880 - 1968. Her parents were Arthur H. Keller, a farmer and a newspaper editor, and Katherine Adams Keller. They lived in Tuscombia, Alabama.

Several months before Helen's second birthday, a serious illness left her deaf and blind. She had no formal education, and since she could not speak, she developed a system for communicating with her family by feeling their facial expressions.

Recognising her daughter's intelligence, Helen's mother sought help from experts including inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who had become involved with deaf children. Ultimately she was referred to Anne Sullivan, a graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, who became Helen's lifelong teacher and mentor. Although Helen initially resisted her, Anne persevered.