Delia Lionia Stearns Weatherby (June 7, 1843 - November 6, 1916) was an American temperance reformer and author.

Early life

Delia Lionia Stearns was born in

Copley, Ohio Copley is an unincorporated community in Summit County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History Variant names were Greenfield and Copley Center. The first settlement at Copley Center was made around 1819. The community was named for its location ...

, on June 7, 1843. Her father. Col. John C. Stearns, was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

and temperance worker. She received an academic education and afterward taught school in her native town.

Career

Delia L. Weatherby moved to

Baldwin, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. History ...

with her husband, and was called to be the chair of mathematics at

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...

, but declined. Inheriting the same disposition which made her father an

, she early became an active worker in the order of Good Templars. She could endure no compromise with intemperance, and wherever she lived she distinguished as an advanced thinker and a pronounced

prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

. She was a candidate on the prohibition ticket in 1886 for county

superintendent of public instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or U.S. territory, territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistan ...

Coffey County, Kansas Coffey County is a county located in Eastern Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Burlington. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,360. It was named after A.M. Coffey, a territorial legislator and Free-Stater d ...

. She was elected a lay delegate to the quadrennial meeting of the South Kansas Lay 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 ...

in 1888. In 1890 she was placed in nomination for the office of State superintendent of public instruction on the prohibition ticket. She always took a great interest in the cause of education. In 1890 she was unanimously elected clerk of the

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

in her home district. She was an alternate delegate from the fourth congressional district of Kansas to the National Prohibition Convention in 1892, and also secured, the same year, for the second time by the same party, the nomination for the office of superintendent of public instruction in her own county. She belonged to the

White Ribbon Association The White Ribbon Association (WRA), previously known as the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA), is an organization that seeks to educate the public about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as gambling. Founding of British Wom ...

and was the president of the Coffey County

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 ...

for several years. She was superintendent of the press department of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union and State reporter for ''

The Union Signal ''The Union Signal'' (formerly, ''The Woman's Temperance Union'' and ''Our Union'') is a defunct American newspaper. It was the organ of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union (National WCTU), at one time, the largest women's organizati ...

''. She edited a temperance department in one of the country papers, and she frequently contributed to the press articles of prose and poetry, chiefly on the subject of temperance reformation.

Personal life

In 1868 Delia L. Stearns became the wife of Rev. Samuel S. Weatherby (1841-1924), then a member of the North Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1870 they moved to

, where for nine years he served as professor of languages at

. In 1880 her husband entered the ministry again, and for seven years she shared with her husband the toils and duties of an itinerant life, until failing health compelled him to retire from active work, and they moved to a country home, near

LeRoy, Kansas LeRoy is a city in Coffey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 451. History LeRoy was founded in 1855. It was named after the city of Le Roy, Illinois. The first post office in LeRoy (a name ...

. She was the mother of three children: Olive Weatherby Quakenbush (1872-1920), Edward Stearns Weatherby (1876-1957), and a L.S. Weatherby, who later became a professor in a Los Angeles College. She died on November 6, 1916, and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherby, Delia L. 1843 births 1916 deaths American temperance activists American women writers People from Copley, Ohio Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century People from Coffey County, Kansas Abolitionists from Kansas Abolitionists from Ohio Temperance activists from Kansas Educators from Kansas 19th-century American women educators Woman's Christian Temperance Union people