Caroline Bayard Stevens Wittpenn (November 21, 1859 – December 4, 1932) was a social reformer and welfare worker from

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She directed several welfare organizations in New Jersey in the early twentieth century, and she worked within the state's government to promote welfare-related causes. She also campaigned to establish Clinton Farms Reformatory, the first dedicated women's prison in New Jersey, and led its board of managers for nearly twenty years.

Early life

Wittpenn was born at Castle Point, her family's Hoboken estate, on November 21, 1859. At the time, the Stevens family was influential in New Jersey business and politics; her grandfather John Stevens invented an early

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

design and served as New Jersey's state treasurer, and her father and uncles managed the

Camden & Amboy Railroad The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...

. She received a private education, which included spending time at the Bonchurch school on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She married Archibald Alexander, a philosophy professor at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, in 1879, and had a son, Archibald Stevens Alexander, with him the following year. The couple divorced in 1895.

Career

After her divorce, Wittpenn became a probation officer working with female offenders in the

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

court system. Her work with impoverished women and girls inspired her to pursue welfare reform, and she began movements to overhaul the State Charities Aid Association and provide better living conditions for children in

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s. Much of her early work involved New Jersey's criminal justice system, as she campaigned to create a juvenile court system and a separate state prison for women. Her work led to the creation of Clinton Farms Reformatory in 1913, and she served as the president of its board of managers until her death. Her son Archibald was a member of the

New Jersey Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

in the 1900s, and both Archibald and Caroline became close to

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

. Caroline advised Wilson on welfare issues during his two-year term as New Jersey governor, and she became the first woman from New Jersey on the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

after he was elected president. Wittpenn led and served on several welfare organizations in New Jersey during her later career. She became a board member of the New Jersey Department of Institutions and Agencies, which was responsible for many of the state's welfare programs, in 1918, and remained on the board for most of her lifetime. She also served as president of the state Board of Children's Guardians and of the New Jersey Conference of Social Welfare. In 1929,

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

appointed her to serve on the International Prison Commission.

Personal life

Wittpenn married H. Otto Wittpenn, the mayor of

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

faith and common practices of the time, she waited for her bishop to presume her first husband dead before remarrying. The two remained married until her husband's death in 1931. Caroline died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on December 4 of the following year at Castle Point.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittpenn, Caroline Bayard Stevens 1859 births 1932 deaths People from Hoboken, New Jersey Activists from New Jersey Prison reformers