Julia Lynch Olin (October 21, 1882 – March 11, 1961) was an American author and Baháʼí who co-founded the New History Society 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 ...

, and was later expelled from the religion by

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...

around 1939. Through marriage, she was a member of the Astor and Dudley–Winthrop families.

Early life

Olin was born on October 21, 1882, in

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. The city's population was 28,3 ...

. She was the daughter of Stephen Henry Olin (1847–1925), the acting President of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

from 1922 to 1923, and Alice Wadsworth Barlow (1853–1882). Her sister was Alice Townsend Olin (1881–1963), who married Tracy Dows (1871–1937) in 1903. After her mother's death in 1882 at the age of 29, her father remarried to Emeline Harriman (1860–1938), the former wife of William Earl Dodge III, in 1903. Emeline was the daughter of Oliver Harriman and the sister of

Anne Harriman Vanderbilt Anne Harriman Sands Rutherfurd Vanderbilt (February 17, 1861 – April 20, 1940) was an American heiress known for her marriages to prominent men and her role in the development of the Sutton Place neighborhood as a fashionable place to live. E ...

, Oliver Harriman, Jr.,

J. Borden Harriman Jefferson Borden Harriman (September 20, 1864 – December 2, 1914) was a New York financier and member of the Gilded Age's "hunting set". He was best known as the supportive husband of Florence Jaffray Harriman, a socialite who became a progr ...

, and Herbert M. Harriman. Her maternal grandparents were Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow (1826–1889) and Alice Cornell Townsend (1833–1889). Her paternal grandparents were Julia Matilda Lynch Olin (1814–1879) and Rev. Dr.

Stephen Olin Stephen Olin (March 2, 1797 – August 15, 1851) was an American educator and minister. Early life Oline was born in Leicester, Vermont, on March 2, 1797. He was one of ten children born to Henry Olin (1768–1837), a member of the U.S. Hous ...

(1797–1851), 2nd President of

and the son of Henry Olin (1768–1837), a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Vermont.

Baháʼí Faith

Olin was first introduced to the teachings of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

about 1925, as she states in her autobiography. Becoming intimately associated with

Mirza Ahmad Sohrab Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb (March 21, 1890 – April 20, 1958) was a Persian- American author and Baháʼí who served as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and ...

they together with her second husband,

Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler (September 24, 1869, in Newport, Rhode Island – February 28, 1942, in New York City) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1907 to 1908. Early life He was the ...

, started the ''New History Society''. This Society, based in the home that Olin and Lewis owned in New York, (later called ''Caravan House''), published several books, into the late 1950s. It apparently became defunct after Sohrab and/or Olin had died. In 1929, he and Olin formed an educational organization called ''

Caravan of East and West The Caravan of East and West is a tax-exempt, educational foundation for brotherhood, established in 1929 by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife Julie and located at 132 East 65th Street in New York City, at '' Caravan House ...

'' with a quarterly magazine called ''The Caravan''. This magazine is where Sohrab's partial autobiography first appeared, also in 1929. Also that year, an article appeared in which the engagement of her daughter Elsie Benkard to Charles H. Clarke was announced. The marriage announcement appeared on February 27, 1930, stating that ".....they were married with a Bahai ceremony. It was the first time that such a ceremony..... has been used at a society wedding in New York. Mirza Ahmad Sohrab officiated." The New History Society was addressed by several prominent intellectuals, including

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

in 1930. Another speaker was

Margaret Sanger Margaret Sanger ( Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966) was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, founded Planned Parenthood, and was instr ...

in January 1932. In 1934, she described Baha'i membership as: "To be a Baha'i simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood". In 1936, Julia translated the French version of ''

Seven Valleys ''The Seven Valleys'' ( ''Haft-Vádí'') is a book written in Persian by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. ''The Seven Valleys'' follows the structure of the Persian poem ''The Conference of the Birds''. ''The Seven Valleys'' i ...

'' into English.

Expulsion

She was expelled from the Baháʼí community in 1939 along with Lewis and Sohrab after they refused to allow the Local

Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...

of New York oversight over the operations of the New History Society. They went on to support the efforts of

Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí ( 16 December 1853 – 10 December 1937) was the second surviving son of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and the first from Baháʼu'lláh's second wife Fatimih. He is well-known for an attempted sc ...

, and at one point petitioned the President of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for Muhammad ʻAlí's property rights when he tried to assert his control over the

Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh The Mansion of Bahjí (, Qasr Bahjī, ''Mansion of Delight'') is a summer house in Acre, Israel where Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, died in 1892. He was buried in an adjacent house, which became the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh, ...

. As part of its mission, the New History Society, for many years sponsored an essay-contest. At least one of the winners of this,

Jaja Wachuku Jaja Anucha Ndubuisi Wachuku (1 January 1918 – 7 November 1996) was a Pan-Africanist and a Nigerian politician, statesman, lawyer, politician, diplomat and humanitarian. He was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Sp ...

, became famous in his own right, for his essay "How Can the People of the World Achieve Universal Disarmament?" written while at the New Africa University College.

Personal life

On December 11, 1902, Olin married John Philip Benkard (1872–1929) of

, a financier and the son of James Benkard. Before their divorce in December 1920, they had two daughters: * Phyllis Benkard, who died of

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

, aged 24, in Paris in 1928. * Elsie Benkard, who married Charles Harold Clarke and lived in

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns that make up Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is ...

, in 1930. On May 23, 1921, she married

(1869–1942), the ex-

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

and a former Democratic candidate for Governor, in Paris. He was the fifth son of

John Winthrop Chanler John Winthrop Chanler (September 14, 1826 – October 19, 1877) was a New York lawyer and a U.S. Representative from New York. He was a member of the Dudley–Winthrop family and married Margaret Astor Ward, a member of the Astor family. Early li ...

and Margaret Astor Ward and the great-grandson of the first

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

. She is said to have donated her fortune for the Baha'i faith. Julia died on March 11, 1961, at the age of 78. In her obituary she was described as "spiritual leader of the Reform Baha'i movement..."

Works

''Living Pictures. In the Great Drama of the 19th Century''
(with Ahmad Sohrab) New York: The New History Society, 1933. Reprinted. H-Bahai: Lansing, Michigan, 2004. (this link includes her picture) *Seven Valleys, by Baháʼu'lláh (trans. Julie Chanler), 1936 *Brand, & Sohrab ibretto Max Brand, and Julie Chandler; Music Max Brand The Gate: Scenic Oratorio for Soli, Chorus, and Orchestra in Two Parts (19 Scenes). 61. New York: Associated Music Publishers, 1944. *''His Messengers Went Forth,'' by Julie Chanler, Illustrated by Olin Dows. Published by Coward-McCann, Inc. New York. Copyright 1948. *Ioas, Chanler, & Sohrab. ''Three Letters''. 11 leaves. New York: Caravan of East and West, 1954. *''From Gaslight to Dawn'', New History Foundation, NY 1956

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olin, Julia Lynch 20th-century Bahá'ís 1882 births 1961 deaths American Bahá'ís

Julia Lynch Olin Julia Lynch Olin (October 21, 1882 – March 11, 1961) was an American author and Baháʼí who co-founded the New History Society in New York City, and was later expelled from the religion by Shoghi Effendi around 1939. Through marriage, she ...

Bahá'í divisions

Converts to the Bahá'í Faith

Writers from New York (state)

Chanler family