Mary Edith Collson (1870–1952) was an American

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

activist,

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

minister, and

practitioner Practitioner may refer to: *General practitioner *Nurse practitioner * Health practitioner *Insolvency practitioner * Justice and public safety practitioner * Legal practitioner *Medical practitioner *Mental health professional or practitioner * ...

The First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

Biography

Born near

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * Hu ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, into a poor family of

rationalists In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to other possible s ...

, Collson spent four years as a teacher prior to earning her degree in economics from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. She went on to the

Meadville Lombard Theological School The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois. History Meadville Lombard is a result of a merger in the 1930s between two institutions, a American Unitarian Associatio ...

in Chicago, where she was supported in her studies by Marian Murdock,

Eleanor Gordon Eleanor Elizabeth Gordon (October 10, 1852 – January 6, 1942) was an American Unitarianism, Unitarian minister. Part of an informal network of Unitarian women ministers known as the "Iowa Sisterhood", she was often partnered in her work with Mar ...

, and Mary Safford. Upon graduation, she was encouraged to take a position with the Unitarian church in

Ida Grove, Iowa Ida Grove is a city in Ida County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,051 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ida County. History Founded in 1871, the town now known as "Old Ida Grove" was located on the north side ...

. She connected especially with the theology of the

social gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean en ...

, and for a time she worked as a juvenile court parole officer at

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hul ...

. She later went to

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 ...

, working for the

National Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a United States, U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL pla ...

as a

union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing ...

and studying to practice

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

, becoming a

in 1904. Moving to

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, where she was the First Reader, she thrived in the position before leaving the faith in 1914. She moved to

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 ...

to organize for the

Women's Political Union A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

and the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

's women's committee marches. Returning to Christian Science, she once again served as a practitioner until 1928; she left the faith again in 1932. At her death she left an unpublished

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

detailing her relationship with Christian Science; this was later used as the basis for a biography by Cynthia Grant Tucker, ''Healer in Harm's Way'', released in 1995; Tucker had previously published a

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

on her life in 1984, and wrote about her again in ''Prophetic sisterhood: liberal women ministers of the frontier, 1880-1930'', published in 2000.Cynthia Grant Tucker (2000). ''Prophetic sisterhood: liberal women ministers of the frontier, 1880-1930''. San Jose: Author's Choice Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collson, Mary 1870 births 1952 deaths American Unitarian clergy American Christian Scientists Converts to Christian Science People from Humboldt, Iowa Religious leaders from Iowa University of Iowa alumni