Emma Montgomery McRae
Emma Montgomery McRae | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 12, 1848 Loveland, Ohio, US |
| Died | September 21, 1919 (aged 71) |
| Education | Master of Arts |
| Alma mater | Brookfield Academy, Indiana Wooster College, Ohio |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Spouse |
Hamilton S. McRae
(m. 1868; died 1887) |
| Children | Bertha (1873), Charlene (1876) |
| Parent(s) | William Montgomery and Anna née Newton |
Emma Montgomery McRae (February 12, 1848 – September 21, 1919) was an American professor of English literature.
Biography
Born Mary Emma Montgomery in Loveland, Ohio, she was the daughter of William Montgomery and Anna née Newton.[1][2] Her family moved to Indiana when she was five.[3] Emma completed her undergraduate work at Brookfield Academy, Indiana, then she taught at a school in Vevay, Indiana.[4][5]
She became a high school principal in 1867 at Muncie, Indiana,[4] and was married to Hamilton S. McRae on August 6, 1868,[2] the local superintendent of public schools.[1] She took the position of principal at Marion, Indiana in 1883.[4] Emma was the first woman in Indiana to be chosen president of the State Teachers Association.[6] Her husband died in 1887, leaving her with two daughters – Bertha born 1873 and Charlene born 1876.[2]
In 1887, she was appointed professor at Purdue University[4] by President James H. Smart.[6] There, she served as the unofficial dean of women and acquired the nickname "Mother" from the undergraduates. In 1894 a group of women created the Muncie McRae club in her honor, which was intended to fill a void caused by lack of educational opportunity for women.[6] She continued her studies at Wooster College, Ohio, earning a master's degree in 1896.[5] In 1913, she was offered the official position of dean of women for Purdue University, which she accepted.[5] She retired in June 1913,[7] whereupon she was granted a retirement allowance by the Carnegie Foundation in July of the same year.[4]
She died at her home in Newton Centre, Massachusetts on September 21, 1919.[4][8]
References
- ^ a b Kemper, William Harrison, ed. (1908), A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana, vol. 1, Lewis Publishing Company, p. 263
- ^ a b c Leonard, John William, ed. (1914), Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, Gerritsen collection of women's history, vol. 1, American Commonwealth Company, p. 532
- ^ McRae Club records and photographs, MSS.111 (PDF), Alexander M. Bracken Library, Ball State University, March 16, 2015, retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Part V – De Mortius", Fourteenth Annual Report of the President and the Treasurer, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1919, p. 140
- ^ a b c Topping, Robert W. (1988), A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University, Purdue University Press, p. 175, ISBN 0911198954
- ^ a b c Klink, Angie (2017), The Deans' Bible: Five Purdue Women and Their Quest for Equality, The Founders Series, Purdue University Press, pp. 4–5, ISBN 978-1557537652.
- ^ "The Thirty-Ninth Annual Report of Purdue University", Bulletin of Purdue University, 14: 5–6, December 1913.
- ^ "Noted Educator Dies". South Bend Tribune. Muncie, Indiana. Associated Press. September 22, 1919. p. 9. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- "Emma Montgomery McRae papers", Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University, retrieved November 12, 2018.