Rebecca Shelley (January 20, 1887 - January 21, 1984) was a
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
who lost her American citizenship when she married a German national. She was the publisher of
Modern Poultry Breeder.
[
]
Biography
She was born as Rebecca Shelley in Sugar Valley, Pennsylvania
Sugar Valley is a valley in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
The valley gathered its name from the rich abundance and overall size of the Sugar Maple trees it held which were discovered upon first settlement. The dimens ...
on January 20, 1887, to William Alfred Shelly. She attended the Normal School in Clarion, Pennsylvania
Clarion is a borough in and the county seat of Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north-northeast of Pittsburgh and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Clarion was settled in 1839 and incorporated in 1841. In the past, the s ...
. In 1904 her family moved to Michigan. In 1907 she attended University of Michigan and majored in German. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1910.[
In 1922 she married Felix Martin Rathmer, a German born ]electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
and she lost her American citizenship.[ She refused to take the naturalization oath because it contained the phrase "bear arms in defense of the country". She did not regain her citizenship until 1944. She became a widow in 1959.]Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...
.
External links
Rebecca Shelley papers
at the University of Michigan
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelley, Rebecca
1887 births
1984 deaths
American pacifists
University of Michigan alumni