Angie F. Newman ( Thurston; after first marriage, Kilgore; after second marriage, Newman; December 4, 1837 – April 15, 1910) was an American social reform activist who worked as a lecturer, temperance leader, and writer during the

long nineteenth century The long nineteenth century is a term for the 125-year period beginning with the onset of the French Revolution in 1789, and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was coined by Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg and later popularized ...

. She served as Superintendent of Jails and Prisons, and also of flower mission work for the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

(WCTU); and as Vice-president General of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

. She was an acting member of the National Council of Women and the

Woman's Relief Corps The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and p ...

. Newman was the first woman delegate ever elected to the Quadrennial General Conference of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

(MEC). She was appointed Western Secretary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the MEC and also worked for the MEC's National Home Missionary Society.

Early life and education

Angelia Louise French Thurston, nicknamed "Angie", was born in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat of Washington County, Vermont, Washington County. The site of Government of Vermont, Vermont's state government, it is the Lis ...

on December 4, 1837 to Daniel Sylvester and Matilda (Benjamin) Thurston. When she was ten years old, her mother died, and when she was fifteen, she removed with her father to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. She was educated in the academy in Montpelier, and afterwards in

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

, in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

Career

She taught in Montpelier at the age of 14 or 15 years, and later in Madison. For much of the time between 1862 and 1875, she was an invalid, afflicted with pulmonary weakness. In August 1871, she moved to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, where she came to believe that her health was restored in answer to prayer. Her interest in missions, home and foreign, led to her appointment as Western Secretary of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the MEC, a position she held from December 1871, until May 1879. In this interest, she traveled and lectured in every section of the U.S. During the same period, she also served on the editorial staff of '' The Heathen Woman's Friend'', a missionary periodical published in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Visiting

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

during a period of ill health, she investigated the situation of

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

women. In 1883, at the request of Bishop

Isaac William Wiley Isaac William Wiley (; Pinyin: ''Huáilǐ''; Foochow Romanized: ''Huài-lā̤''; 29 March 1825 – 22 November 1884) was an American who distinguished himself as a physician, a Methodist missionary to China, a pastor, as the President (education ...

, of the MEC, she went to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and presented the Mormon issue to the National Home Missionary Society. A Mormon bureau was created to push home missionary work in Utah, of which she was made secretary. She acted as chair of a committee appointed to consider the plan of founding a home for Mormon women, who wish to escape from

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

, to be sustained by the society. She returned home to proceed to Utah in behalf of the society, but in a public meeting called in Lincoln, she fell from a platform and was seriously injured, which thwarted her plans. During the interval, the Utah gentiles formed a "Home" association, and on her recovery, Newman went as an un-salaried philanthropist to Washington to represent the interests of the Utah gentiles in the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first Congresses. She prepared three elaborate arguments on the Mormon problem, one of which she delivered before the Congressional committees. The other two were introduced by Senator

George F. Edmunds George Franklin Edmunds (February 1, 1828February 27, 1919) was an American attorney and Republican politician who represented the state of Vermont in the United States Senate from 1866 to 1891. He was a candidate for the Republican president ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, and thousands of copies of each of those three papers were ordered printed by the Senate for Congressional use. She secured appropriations of for the association and the building of the home. The Industrial Christian Home for Polygamous Wives in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, filled with polygamous women and children, attested the value of her work. In

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Newman participated in the WCTU's flower mission work for 12 years, For 27 years, she served as superintendent of Prison and Jail work in the National WCTU. In 1886, a department of Mormon work was created by the National WCTU, and she was elected its superintendent. In 1889, she became a member of the lecture bureau of the National WCTU. In the cities of every northern and several of the southern States, she spoke from pulpit and platform on temperance, Mormonism, and the

social purity movement The social purity movement was a late 19th-century social movement that sought to abolish prostitution and other sexual activities that were considered immoral according to Christian morality. The movement was active in English-speaking nations ...

. Newman was connected officially with various other benevolent and charitable organizations, and was active in them all despite the fact that, as the result of several serious accidents, she was scarcely ever free from pain and weakness. From 1883 to 1892, she was annually commissioned by the successive governors of the State as delegate to the

National Conference of Charities and Correction National Conference of Charities and Correction (NCCC) was an American organization focused on social welfare. It was established in 1874 as the Conference of Boards of Public Charities. During the period of 1875 through 1879, it held the name Confe ...

. In 1888, she was elected a delegate to the Quadrennial General Conference of the MEC, which held its session in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the first woman ever elected to a seat in that body. In January 1890, on the way to Salt Lake City, she met with an accident which endangered her life for two and half years, and from which she slowly convalesced. For a long time, Newman was a contributor to religious and secular journals. In 1878, her "Heathen at Home," a

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

, was published and had large sale. "Iphigenia," another work, was published thereafter. Newman was an extensive traveler, and after a year in Europe, Egypt and Palestine, 1896–1897, with her daughter, she gave a series of lectures on themes associated with the tour. She also wrote a book on the novel experience of "the McKinley Button", which she and her daughter wore on the entire trip, under the title of ''McKinley Carnations of Memory''. She also wrote: ''An Italian Winter'', and ''The Sacrifice of Iphigenia'', having studied her themes in Italy and Greece. Newman engaged several years in preparation of her book, ''The Tragedy of Christianity or the Vital Issues of Mormon Propagandism''. During the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

(1898), Newman was commissioned hospital inspector for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and the Philippines. She was stationed in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

for eight months while executing this important commission.

Personal life

In 1856, she married Frank Kilgore, of Madison, who was a brother-in-law of Bishop

Henry White Warren Henry White Warren (1831–1912) was an American Methodist Episcopal bishop and author. William Fairfield Warren was his brother. Biography Henry White Warren was born at Williamsburg, Massachusetts on January 4, 1831. He graduated in 1853 ...

. He died a few months after their marriage. In 1859, she married David Newman, a dry goods merchant of

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin), Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge Co ...

, and, on August 5, 1859, moved there. The couple had two children: a son and a daughter. David Newman died in a railroad accident in 1893. Angie Newman died April 15, 1910, aged 72, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is buried at Wyuka Cemetery, in Lincoln.

References

Bibliography

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External links