Elizabeth Putnam Gordon (November 25, 1851 – November 30, 1933) was an American temperance advocate, author, and editor. She held positions of authority with the

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 ...

, National, and World's

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.) organizations. Gordon was the author of ''Women torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union'' (1924), a story-history of the W.C.T.U.'s fifty years of activity. It was the first time the entire history of the organization, records, documents and other data were gathered into one volume.

Biography

Elizabeth (

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

, "Bessie") Putnam Gordon was born 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 ...

, November 25, 1851. She was the third daughter of James M. Gordon, who was for eleven years treasurer of the American Board of Foreign Missions, for twenty years cashier of the Columbia National Bank, and an honorary members of the

white ribbon The white ribbon is an awareness ribbon sometimes used by political movements to signify or spread their beliefs. It is usually worn on garments or represented in information sources such as posters, leaflets, etc. The White Ribbon has been ...

army. Three of his daughters were prominent in the councils of that society: Anna Adams Gordon, Alice Gordon Gulick, and Bessie. She was reared in the most conservative manner in a

Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. Gordon attended

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

in 1872 but did not graduate. Bessie was for seven years corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts W.C.T.U., and also served as one of its speakers and organizers. She served as Evangelist for the National W.C.T.U., and superintendent of School Methods for the World's W.C.T.U. She was the author of ''Women torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union'' (1924), a story-history of the W.C.T.U.'s fifty years of activity. It was the first time the entire history of the organization, records, documents and other data were gathered into one volume. Gordon published a biography of her sister, ''Alice Gordon Gulick'' (1917), which included a poem dedicated to Gulick by

Katharine Lee Bates Katharine Lee Bates (August 12, 1859 – March 28, 1929) was an American author and poet, chiefly remembered for her anthem "America the Beautiful", but also for her many books and articles on social reform, on which she was a noted speaker. B ...

.Elizabeth Putnam Gordon
''Alice Gordon Gulick: Her Life and Work in Spain''
(Fleming H. Revell Company 1917). Gordon was also the author of ''The Story of the Life and Work of Cordelia A. Greene, M.D.'' (1925). Elizabeth Putnam Gordon died at Castile Sanitarium, Castile, New York, November 30, 1933.

Selected works

Books

* ''Alice Gordon Gulick'' (1917) * ''Women torch-bearers; the story of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union'' (1924)
Text
* ''The Story of the Life and Work of Cordelia A. Greene, M.D.'' (1925)

Articles

* "Municipal Election in Boston" (1889) * "Frances Willards' Widening Way" (1917)
Text

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Elizabeth Putnam 1851 births 1933 deaths 20th-century American writers 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American women writers Woman's Christian Temperance Union people American temperance activists 20th-century American historians Mount Holyoke College alumni Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century