Cornelia Maria Dow (November 10, 1842 – October 12, 1905) was an American philanthropist and temperance leader, interested in charitable, philanthropic, and reformatory work in her home state of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. She was affiliated with 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 ...

(W.C.T.U.), as well as the

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

Home for Aged Women, and the Temporary Home for Women and Children.

Early life and education

Cornelia Maria Dow was born in Portland, Maine, November 10, 1842. She was the youngest daughter of

Neal Dow Neal Dow (March 20, 1804 – October 2, 1897) was an American Prohibition advocate and politician. Nicknamed the "Napoleon of Temperance" and the "Father of Prohibition", Dow was born to a Quaker family in Portland, Maine. From a young age, he ...

, of early

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

fame, and inherited from him a sympathy with the cause. Her mother, Maria Cornelia Durant Maynard (1808–1883) was born in

Boston, Massachusetts 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 ...

. Her siblings included Emma Maynard Dow, Frederick Neal Dow, and

Louisa Dow Benton Louisa Dwight Benton ( Dow; March 23, 1831 – December 7, 1895) was a 19th-century American linguist, translator, and letter writer. She became physically disabled from rheumatism, unable to walk, and lost almost the entire use of her hands. S ...

. She was educated in the Girls’ High School of Portland, and the Friends’ School (now

Moses Brown School Moses Brown School is an independent, Quaker, college preparatory school, currently with 774 students, located in Providence, Rhode Island,offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1784 by Moses Brown, a Quaker ab ...

) of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

Career

Dow was for many years president of the Portland W.C.T.U., and the

Cumberland County, Maine Cumberland County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 303,069, making it the most populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Portland. Cumberland County was founded in 1760 from a portion of ...

W.C.T.U. She also served as corresponding secretary of the Maine W.C.T.U., as well as state vice-president. The range of her sympathies included the poor and unfortunate of every class, and her life was spent in personal and social ministries. She was treasurer of the Portland Home for Aged Women, and also of the Temporary Home for Women and Children, the latter a State institution located at Portland. When the ''Star in the East'', the official organ of the Maine W.C.T.U., was in danger of suspension, Dow became its business manager and through her efforts, made it successful. She was a constant attendant upon the gatherings of the National W.C.T.U., where her own abilities as well as the name and fame of her father made her prominent and influential. In her connection with the work of the W.C.T.U., Dow was the close friend and companion of

Lillian M. N. Stevens Lillian M. N. Stevens (1843–1914) was an American temperance worker and social reformer, born at Dover, Maine. She helped launch the Maine chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), served as its president, and was elec ...

, the national head of the W.C.T.U.

Personal life

In religion, she was a member of the State Street Congregational Church in Portland. Later, she became a member of the Second Parish Congregational Church. DowHouse

When her mother, through the infirmities of age, was compelled to give up the responsibilities of housekeeping, Cornelia took her place at home and presided over the household until the death of her father in 1897. After the death of her mother, she devoted herself to her father as long as he lived and, upon his death, made her home in the house where she was born. Dow had been confined to her home in Portland for about six weeks before her death there, aged 62, from undisclosed causes, on October 12, 1905.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Cornelia 1842 births 1905 deaths Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Temperance activists from Maine Activists from Portland, Maine Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century