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Viewing the line as a whole, we find them, possibly, rather more successful with head than with hand. In 1660, Tristram Coffin, Alice's immigrant ancestor, was one of ten men to buy the island of Nantucket, where they soon estab- lished thrifty homes. Tristram was their first chief magistrate or governor. The constant intermarrying of these islanders for several generations presents to the biologist interesting studies in heredity through rather close inbreeding. The fallacious notion that cousins should not marry, still commonly held by many laymen today, appears to meet a salutary refutation here. Unless there is a flagrant weakness in the line there is no bar to marriage. Desirable unit characters may thus increase their strength. Charles Darwin was a son of cousins. It is said that a friend of Maria Mitchell, the distinguished astronomer of Nantucket and also a de- scendant of Tristram Coffin, once said to her, "I met a cousin of yours the other day." "Where?]' she asked. "On Nan- tucket," he replied. "Oh, everybody on Nantucket is my cousin," she said. These Her ancestry Y* W M W W >fi XK W»»»§^» W»» «M « The justifica- tion for geneo- logical research Nantucket colonists have had many bril- liant and gifted descendants. Alice's line leads back to Tristram seven times. Her direct line of descent on the male side was as follows: 1. Tristram Coffin, 1605-1681, and Dionis Stevens. 2. John Coffin, 1647-1711, and Deborah Austin. 3. Samuel Coffin, 1680-1764, and Miriam Gardner. 4. William Coffin, 1720-1803, and Priscilla Paddock. 5. Matthew Coffin, 1754-1832, and Hannah Mendenhall. 6. James Coffin, 1783-1838, and Sally Starbuck. 7. Matthew Starbuck Coffin, 1811-1884, and Martha Ellen Thompson. 8. Alice Virginia Coffin, 1848-1888. Never married. The real legitimate interest in studying ancestral lines is for the purpose of trac- ing hereditary family trends. In the tenth generation back every person has 1024 progenitors, a whole village full of ances- tors. Each one in that village is of equal importance from the viewpoint of transmit- ting new unit characters into the blood stream. Twenty generations back, the small village of ancestors has grown to a large city of over a million persons. It is an idle gesture to point to one outstanding an- cestor as shedding glory over a descendant when myriads of other ancestors contest that value. In searching for hereditary characteristics, it is too complicated and confusing to go back too far, but closer in one may catch snapshot views of family trends. Among Alice's Nantucket ancestors was XS:^@i^^^}i^^i{^^^i||^^^ii^g^)ec A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH one William Gayer, who was a younger son of a distinguished English family. In Eng- land the law of primogeniture, which gave the great estates and titles exclusively to the eldest son, forced younger sons to seek fortune elsewhere, and young Gayer landed in Nantucket, where he married one of that island's pretty daughters, Dorcas Starbuck. On Gayer's family line in England, by marriage with de Courtenay and de Bohun lines, we find kings and queens a plenty, with barons, lords and princes thrown in for good measure, all duly authenticated in our best geneological libraries, and amply confirmed from historical records by the family of Echlin Phillip Gayer of Dub- lin, Ireland. The Courtenay-Gayer branch leads back to Edward the First (1239-1307), King of England, and his wife, Eleanor, daughter of Ferdinand III, King of Castile. To be "on the Roll of the Plantagenet Blood Royal," with heraldic rights, may have an imposing sound, but it is a mean- ingless circumstance not worthy of note. It was not mentioned in former editions of this sketch. For heredity, it is entirely too far back on the line to have signif- icance for descendants. Whatever qualities of strength and power in leadership may have inhered in those ancient kings and barons, by virtue of which they attained supremacy, were variously modified in coming down the long, long line. As for prestige, here, in democratic America, the false glamour of far away royalty is not impressive. We deeply cherish the more virile and homely qualities of our pioneer ancestors. The Nantucket colonists early took to whale fishing, an occupation presented to Too much sugar for a cent M W tf &«si»gsMi«&&^iM^M«& $1 »rt &V !# 4S ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Rivaling tales of fiction Quaker ancestors them by natural emergencies. It made many of the Nantucketers rich, and it was the Nantucket whalefishers who first noted the Gulf Stream. Samuel Coffin of the third generation was an eminently success- ful whaler, sending his ships into the far reaches of the southern seas. Many are the breath-taking tales which these island- ers relate of their whaling experiences. The most arresting story is of the sinking of the Essex by a whale in the South Seas, over a thousand miles from land. Only two men returned to tell the tale. The Essex sank on the twentieth of November, 1820, and the crew pulled away from the sinkirg ship in three open boats. Before they were rescued on the eighteenth of the following February their sufferings were extreme. Most of the men died and sur- vivors resorted, by vote, to cannibalism. It is a tale of the sea, gruesome and true, which surpasses all fiction. Alice's Coffin ancestors were Quakers for many generations, since the gifted daughter of Tristram, Mary Coffin Starbuck, had established the Society of Friends as a fixed institution on Nantucket. Perhaps Mary was the first woman in America who, all unconsciously, represented the cause of woman's right to take part in political council. She was famed for her sound judgment, which was eagerly sought by the islanders. The easy elegance and choice of her language in everyday con- versation, entirely without affectation, marked her as Nantucket's selection for Quaker preacher. Her oratory was elo- quent. Others of her family followed her occupation. Since then Quaker preachers have appeared plentifully in the family, some of them gifted. The success of an aunt of Matthew Starbuck Coffin, Pris- A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH cilia Coffin Hunt, was so outstanding that much has been written concerning her. In 1823 John Ward writes of Priscilla, "Her clear and cogent reasoning, strength of ut- terance, and beautiful language exceeded expectations. It was the greatest display of oratory that I have ever heard from human lips." The peace-loving type of mentality which has made the Quakers forever an incontro- vertible and perplexing embarrassment to the military-minded historian proved its ef- ficacy once more on Nantucket, where courts were soon established to settle dif- ferences, and no Indian was ever killed by the colonists. They used Reason, not Guns. This implies a willingness to see the other fellow's point of view and to concede some- thing to his rights. This type of mentality came down the line to Alice. In the fourth generation, William Coffin feared congestion on an island that could but meagerly sustain large numbers. He anticipated possible trouble with England when the islanders might easily be severed from the mainland and face starvation. Therefore, in 1773, he joined the migration southward to Guilford County, North Caro- lina, where new homes were built, and ere long, there was a thrifty and prosperous community of Quakers. The next generation was again impelled to pioneer onward, and this time it was to escape the pernicious effects of human slavery. In his book of Reminiscences, Levi Coffin relates harrowing details of the scenes which they were forced to witness in North Carolina, the selling of children from heartbroken mothers, the cruel en- trapment of slaves trying to escape and the hourly brutalities which the slave chain countenanced. Such daily scenes were be- Their type of mentality From Nan- tucket to North Carolina *< ** ¥* X* W © &%& ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN *V From a slave state too free state tf Alice's parents coming unendurable. These conditions, coupled with the difficulty of free labor competing with slave labor, impelled Mat- thew Coffin of the fifth generation, with his children and grandchildren, to join the covered wagon caravans and brave the long and dangerous journey over the blue Alle- ghenies, thru the Cumberland Gap, to their new farms near Salem, Indiana, a free state. They cherished the privilege of an atmosphere of freedom and liberty. This was about 1815. It was in Salem in 1841 that Mat- thew Starbuck Coffin met and married Martha Thompson, a daughter of Judge John Handley Thompson, a successful lawyer and judge, who served the people of the state of Indiana as their repre- tative in the General Assembly, as presi- dent judge of his circuit, as senator and secretary of state, and as lieutenant gover- nor of the state. His public service covered a period of thirty years, and he finished with an honorable and unblemished record. He did not accumulate wealth, but he ac- quired what was far more valuable, the high respect and esteem of his constituents. He was a ready talker with a fund of in- teresting anecdotes ever at his command. His home was in Indianapolis. Martha's mother, Margaret McLoney, was a writer for magazines, and Martha was an excellent letter writer. She attended Mrs. Tivis's School in Louisville, Kentucky, having both some ability in music and talent with her brush. Matthew Coffin was engaged in the com- mission business in New Orleans, where they lived in the first years of their mar- riage. On March 29, 1848, in Louisville, Ken- &«^$«m«m«»«m«: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH tucky, there was born to Mr. and Mrs. Mat- thew Starbuck Coffin, a baby girl, whom they named Alice Virginia. America needed that little girl. Otherwise, she would not be remembered today. In her home, she found awaiting her and eager to play with her, a little sister, Mary Frances, about five and a half years old. Alice was the fourth child. Her mother anticipated her coming in some anxiety, as she had just suffered the loss of two little boys. She believed that their death was due to the adverse climatic conditions of New Orleans, so they sought another home for their children in Louisville, the scene of Mrs. Coffin's school girl days. There she was in the midst of many old friends. On March 12, 1848, she wrote from Louis- ville to her husband in New Orleans. "I have been quite well since you left last week, which I consider indicative of my approaching accouchement, and hope earlier than I expected to write it is all over. Oh, if only you were to be with me, to console by your gentle and affec- tionate sympathies ! . . . but I must try to prepare myself to bear it without the happy presence of him whose place in that trying hour none other can fill. Oh, that fate could have been satisfied with what she has exacted of us heretofore, without this painful separation, but I fear she presides over my destiny with her wand dipped deeply in sorrow and dis- appointment, and is insatiable; perhaps intended to teach me, if I would enjoy permanent happiness, not to place my af- fections on things of earth. . . . How- ever, active exertion and almost constant company for the last three weeks have served in a great measure to dispel melan- Enter Alice W »« W »$«$»»»»$ «& to & to to to I* 6^ ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN choly feelings, and I find myself indulg- ^ ing in dreams of future happiness, though not accompanied with the satisfaction such anticipations used to afford me, be- fore I had been so thoroughly schooled in sad lessons of disappointment." fn The little Alice proved to be vociferous 43 and lusty, a great comfort to her parents. LETTERS OF LONG AGO "The thin paper is yellow And mellow with age ; The handwriting is delicate And fine W As a convent-lace design; ^ This fragment Of loveliness and love Is a letter. @ In romantic Kentucky, JJ In 1848, From her Louisville home, Stately Mrs. Matthew Coffin Wrote to her friend, Madame Honore, Announcing the birth Of blue-eyed, golden-curled W Alice Virginia Coffin. <© At the top of the page 1* Is a hand-painted wreath of flowers. Felicitations were received $^ From Madame Honore. ttl In 1849, Madame Honore wrote To her friend, Mrs. Matthew Coffin, Announcing the birth of a daughter, Wee, beautiful, Bertha Honore. Felicitations were received From Mrs. Matthew Coffin. to to to * to x%%mm?Fm^%mm?£ : %m?f$. i smif%x A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH In that lavender long ago, Little did that young mother Know That wee, lovely Bertha Honore Was to be Mrs. Potter Palmer, Who gave fine service To the World's Congress of Women, In Chicago. In that lavender long ago Little did that young mother Know That Alice Virginia Coffin Was to be one of seven girls To found the P. E. O." — Frances Coffin Boaz In his commission business in New Or- leans, Matthew found it advantageous to become half-owner of a steamboat, The Monroe, plying up and down the Mississippi River, between New Orleans and St. Louis. These were the days when feeling ran high on the problem of slavery. Abolitionists were strongly advocating the freeing of negro slaves, and some of the Coffins were playing a prominent role in this movement. Levi Coffin, an older cousin of Matthew, was a prime mover or so-called President of what was known as "The Underground Rail- way," a system of spiriting runaway slaves to safety in Canada. In Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, the originals of the kindly Quaker couple who assisted Eliza and her little boy after crossing the Ohio on the ice were Levi Coffin and his wife, portrayed as Phineas and Rachel Halliday. Lucretia Coffin Mott, whose line leads back to the Nantucket Coffins, was a gifted Quaker preacher and orator, and it was in 1848, Alice's birth year, that she, in con- junction with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Coffins were Abo- litionists M ** fc« *« K* &»»»»»$$$»»»» «& 4B TO H ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Matthew bought his father's farm called the first Woman's Rights Congress ever held. She was impelled to do this be- cause she was refused the privilege of speaking, simply beause she was a woman, at a conference of Abolitionists held in London, where she had gone with a flood of eloquence locked within her against the system she abhorred. In those days it was believed that women should be seen and not heard. In the operation of his business, Matthew Coffin found it necessary to employ a husky negro slave, Charles, to do his draying, paying his weekly wage to his owner. One day Charles begged Mr. Coffin to buy him and give him his freedom, promising to repay every dollar. Altho at that time Mr. Coffin could scarcely afford to spare such an amount, one thousand dollars, he finally acquiesced, and Charles, deeply grateful, faithfully fulfilled his promise to repay the money. It was into such an atmosphere that Alice was born. Her father always inveighed against the iniquities of slavery, fostering in his children a profound love of liberty for all whether the color was fair or dark. In 1849 Matthew purchased from the rest of the heirs his father's old farm, a mile out of Salem, Indiana, and there with two little brothers added to the family group, Charlie and Matthew, Junior, the children grew robust and mischievous. When the problem of slavery arose the Coffins were particularly clannish. There was not a man in the Coffin family who would not gladly assist a runaway slave on his way to freedom in Canada and of the same mind were his sisters and his cousins and his aunts. At one time, a slave boy escaped from }%kMm$k£m^m^m&&mmm A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Kentucky and landed in Salem. Soon his pursuers were after him. They met George Starbuck, an uncle of Matthew Coffin's. "Oh," said Starbuck, "is it a black boy wearing blue jeans that you are looking for?" "Yes," they answered eagerly. "Why, I saw him just this morning by Matthew Coffin's spring house, sitting on a bench under a willow tree," and he gave them specific directions how to go there. They went off in hot haste after their prey, but presently returned, angry and crestfallen not to have seen him even at the vanishing point. "Well, you found the spring house, didn't you?" "Yes." "And you found the willow tree, didn't you?" "Yes." "And you found the bench, didn't you?" "Yes." "Well, three truths out of five statements is pretty good for a Starbuck on this oc- casion," said George, and turned away. The slave got away. On May 11, 1852, Martha writes to her husband from their farm home out of Salem : "HOME, SWEET HOME" "On this lovely afternoon, after a re- freshing shower, which seems to have enlivened and invigorated all nature, the merry little warblers are chanting their songs of joy amongst the trees. With the air freshly fragrant with perfumes Alice's mother &» w««;nni8§&«»»M ■*= ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Maternal enthus- $ w from the orchard, making it a moment truly befitting the month of May, my heart naturally turns to you, responding to your hope that we may hereafter be permitted to spend the lovely month of May, and all other months, together, with our little band of pledges to cheer us with their happy sports and glee. . . . Never was a mother blessed with a more interesting family than our little group. Although my duties have been of too pressing a nature to admit of my devoting great time and care to the cul- tivation of their vigorous and inquiring intellects which is a source of deep re- gret to me, yet I derive great comfort from the thought that they are endowed with the capacity of receiving instruction, which, when directed by a father more competent to impart than their mother, will make them interesting and happy ornaments of our home and of society." Amid extended comments and eulogies concerning all of her children, she speaks of Alice as follows : "Little joyous Alice is of a confiding, affectionate nature, which greatly endears her to us, despite the little waywardness to which she is occasionally addicted ; for like her mother, her joys as well as her crosses partake of the nature of her affections, too deeply they sink into her heart and too ardently to be easily re- moved." Of her family she paints a picture of rose- ate hues for her husband's willing convic- tion, and we may pardon the mother's na- tural bias in the reflection that maternal enthusiasm and loving sympathy are the Matthew Starbuck Coffin Copy of an old daguerreotype, taken about 1853. Martha Thompson Coffin Copy of an old daguerreotype, taken about 1853. Children of M: about eleven; Alice, aged about five and a aged about three and a half. Frances, aged half; Charles, x^jlo&^M^i^^st^^s.gx A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH greatest assets of childlife, a psychical ne- cessity for the finest development of the race. Every human breast at times feels the need of it. The little girls were always at the mother's heels as her busy hands fulfilled their daily round of duties. When on bak- ing days the fire was kindled in the great brick oven built outside of the house and into the oven went an array of cakes, pies, bread, pastry and custards for the family's consumption, Mary and Alice added their little patty "to help Ma." They followed Ma as she hurried down the hill to the stone spring house, a beautiful spot, em- bowered in morning glories and overhang- ing willows. There, on the rocky bed of the cold spring water, sat the crocks of tempting milk and golden butter. They must "help Ma skim the thick cream." In later years that old stone spring house was an ever fruitful source of happy reminiscence for the sisters. Never was spring water so clear and pure as that which abounded in their happy playground and never were morning glories so glorious, while from the trees the song of the pewee added the charm of its note for their en- chantment. Mary Frances went to school in Salem. In the fall of 1854, finding that farming was not sufficiently remunerative, Mr. Coffin sold his farm and household goods at auction and the family went to the home of Grandfather Thompson in In- dianapolis. After recovering from a siege of fever and ague, Mr. Coffin went to Newton, Iowa, a promising location on the wild western prairies. The family fol- lowed in May, 1855, and found a small community receiving a constant influx of They help From Indiana to Iowa 9 VI VI « w« w««» w«» «tf 8^««&i*«»»««M£« j* « ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Family mis- fortunes Mrs. Coffin died new arrivals which taxed the housing capacity of the embryonic village to the utmost. The family managed to appropri- ate two rooms to their use, until they later secured a small cottage, which to Martha's city accustomed eyes, fresh from her father's home in Indianapolis, appeared primitive. In company with Jehu Lindley, Matthew opened a dry goods store. In August, 1856, Mr. Coffin went to Phila- delphia to buy goods for his store, and Martha, with her two small sons, Charlie and Mattie, accompanied him as far as In- dianapolis to visit with her father and old friends, leaving her daughters in charge of Mrs. Lizzie Matthews, with little Alice mourning at the gate over her mother's departure. From Indianapolis, she wrote to her two little girls, Mary and Alice, let- ters filled with the love and admonitions of a devoted mother, the last record we have from her pen. The shipment from Philadelphia of fall goods for the store met with disaster through storms, and did not arrive until spring, when it was time to buy spring goods. This meant bankruptcy for the firm. In the midst of this misfortune, Mrs. Coffin died, on July 30, 1857, leaving a baby boy two weeks old who did not long survive his mother. To give birth to a child in pioneer Iowa in 1857 was a hazardous un- dertaking and poor Martha Coffin, a fine healthy women, paid the price of the haz- ard. She died two weeks after the birth of her child, because of unscientific meth- ods in handling such a case in pioneer com- munities. Knowledge of scientific obstet- rical methods was not general at that time. The death of Martha was the greatest misfortune of Mr. Coffin's life. It was a A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH blow from which he never fully recovered. The sparkle of life was gone forever. He no longer had her interest in and admira- tion of everything that he did. He labored on for his children, but the gray half tones of life settled upon him and he was again much away from home in pursuit of a livelihood. He later built a comfortable brick house south of the "Square." He tried the services of a housekeeper for sev- eral years and the children went to school in Newton. Mr. Darius Thomas, in Hazel Dell Academy, was one of their instruc- tors. Many of Mr. Coffin's friends urged him to marry again, but no woman could fill Martha's place. In his memory she lived, vital and steadfast, to the end of his days. In these times of easy dalliance, it is inspiring that Mr. Coffin may bequeath to his posterity that lustrous mental herit- age, life-long and undeviating devotion. At the tender age of nine years, Alice was bereft of the guidance and sympa- thetic love of a devoted mother, a bereave- ment which inevitably created its vacuum in her young heart. Nevertheless, that mother had ineffaceably stamped her im- press upon the mind and emotions of her young daughter, both in precepts and in natural heritage, a mould which matured and flourished and in turn radiated its ideality and its cultivation. Destiny usually discovers compensations. Potentialities in all of us are myriad and we acquire one development only at the expense of another. Alice's early loss unfolded in her a gradual reliance upon herself which, as she ad- vanced in years, grew in degree to very fine proportions. Instead of the "clinging vine" so admired and sung of poets one hundred years ago, she emerged a self-re- Alice missed her mother She developed self- reliance ® a © *« )ee»j$»»$«w«»«w £« X<« ^J§1^^5lf^^^^i{^^^^^^m^^^)sC feV W ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN To the Iowa Wesleyan University Her school girl romance X» liant, resourceful and capable young woman. At the beginning of the Civil War, Mr. Coffin was tendered the position of Super- visor of Transportation of Troops and Sup- plies on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It was at this time that he removed his family to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in order that his children might have the privilege of attending the Iowa Wesleyan Univer- sity. He was determined that if he could leave them nothing else, they should have a good education "for of that," he said, "nobody can rob you. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the man who ac- cumulates the most money makes the greatest success in life. Your real wealth is what you are, not at all what you pos- sess." He fully realized the enhancing benefits of education, and the family re- mained in Mount Pleasant for several years, the children busy with their school and col- lege work, while the father kept a super- vising eye over them. The two sisters early learned to ply the needle dexterously to their advantage, for, otherwise, the adorn- ments dear to the heart of young woman- hood would not have been sufficiently plen- tiful. Today, examples of Alice's needlework would put to the blush of shame the fine stitches of the sewing machine. Exceeding neatness was a distinguishing feature of her personality, and, to her mind, cleanli- ness was indeed next to Godliness. Her friends well remember the faint and pleas- ing odor of Cashmere Bouquet that wafted in her wake. It was during those years at college that a budding romance appeared on Alice's horizon, and the flying moments acquired an added zest. Gradually this friendship deepened until it crystallized into an "en- ■.■■..: Alice Virginia Coffin Young school girl in Mount Pleasant, Iowa Alice Virginia Coffin Attending the Iowa Wesleyan University Mount Pleasant to A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH gagement," and rosy were her plans for a purposeful life, engrossed with her home and family. He was a handsome fellow, tall and dark, and they were a princely couple. But in a difficult moment, her fair dream was shattered into a thousand pieces at her feet, never to be put together again. A lacerated heart is a difficult experience for man or woman. It was of this time that a friend, Mrs. Babb, wrote of her "tribulations." But if her shattered hopes and girlish pride suffered a deflected poise, time, that great assuager of all griefs, wrought faithfully for her. The elasticity and rebound of human emotions are their preserving grace, and what, yesternight, ap- peared a hopelessly broken life, with the morning's lifting sun, rises on optimism's lilting wings and soars into the smiling azure spaces. These intenser occurrences of life, receding, leave as their deposit a deeper, shrewder, more sympathetic under- standing of the human heart. Because of this experience, Alice carried an enriched perspective to her books and to her fur- ther observations on life's checkerboard. Among the books in Alice's possession was Madame de Stael's Corinne. On the fly-leaf she had written Miss Alice Coffin, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, September 5 th, 1867. Throughout the book, she had bracketed many passages, indicating strong endorse- ment of the sentiments expressed. Corinne is the only book bearing Alice's marks that is still in the possession of the family. There were others, but they are no longer available. The date of her inscription makes the passages she marked as reveal- ing of her inner life at that time as tho she had written them herself. These were the days when she was suf- to to to to to to XKW«»» W«««» »M ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Alice speaks thru her copy of Corinne Compens- ations Uniting to form an organ- ization fering the disappointment of her young school girl romance. In a decisive judg- ment that was possibly hasty she had ter- minated a friendship of which she felt the loss and the clouds of life were dark. In Corinne, Alice marks, "Men know not what they do; society persuades them that it is sport to fill a heart with rapture, and then consign it to despair." But at another moment, she notes that grief, so cold and oppressive, "actually ennobles its victims; who has not suffered, can never have thought or felt." Again, "The noble pride of a blameless life is well depicted in majestic Latin ; in poetry, august and severe as the masters of the world. . . . But life, I know, belongs not all to love; habit and memory weave such nets around us that even passion can- not quite destroy; broken for a moment, they will grow again, as the ivy clasps the oak. . . . But one learns to view the events of one's own time the more calmly for noting the eternal fluctuations that mark the history of man ; and one feels ashamed to repine, in the presence, as it were, of so many centuries, which have all overthrown the achievements of their pre- decessors." She is beginning to find compensations. It had been her purpose to become a school teacher, that noblest of all occupa- tions for women, after motherhood. It therefore remained her purpose. It was during her last year at college that Alice, in conjunction with six of her intimate college friends, united to form an organization which would express their aspirations while it fostered congenial fel- lowship. The names of the six friends who, with Alice, wished to perpetuate their A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH friendship in an association of worthy pur- poses were Hattie Briggs, Ella Stewart, Suela Pearson, Franc Roads, Alice Bird and Mary Allen. In 1889, Mrs. Alice Babb, who was, in her college years, Allie Bird, wrote of this event as follows: "Little did the seven of us who or- ganized the P. E. O. Society think, when we did so, of the possibilities of thirty years hence. In fact, we were too young and too happy in the midst of our college girl life to give much thought to such 'way off periods. Our thought was only to crystallize into an association and per- petuate thereby, a beautiful friendship that had developed during our college years. Five of us were seniors, one soph- omore, and the other one, though irregu- lar, was well up in the college course. Of course it goes without saying that we 'built better than we knew.' To us, it is a matter of no small congratulation that the circle of seven has grown into the thousands and spread into the several states, and that its beautiful friendship and words and works of love have be- come the delight of not only the thous- ands of young girls, but also of many older women with young and loving hearts. "It is only just to all to say that to no one of the seven is any need of praise due more than to another for all planned and talked, and thought, and wrought together. What one did not think of another did, while some parts were the result of the combined work of all. The by-laws and ritual were the work of a committee and required so much time and effort that we did not succeed as we first expected, in completing our organ- Inception of the P. E. 0. Society W <« 8fr ** &K W«»£^ W»««J§8fS «& s# *A &V H &V ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Alice suggested their motto Alice was a lovely young lady She suggested the star for emblem y*%%m ization at our first regular meeting, but it required several meetings and con- siderable of time to bring these things as near perfection as we felt was pos- sible before our organization was fin- ished. It was Alice Coffin who suggested our motto, and the rest of us wrought for the suggestion until it embodied our combined ideals." In describing the personalities of these in- teresting girls, Mrs. Babb speaks of Alice: "Allie Coffin was a magnificently formed girl, large, well built, and who knew exactly how to carry and clothe herself. Not one of our number did the star ever adorn as it did Allie Coffin; sometimes it shone from her hair, or glistened in the black lace meshes on shoulder or bosom. She was regal, and life to her was a conflict. Losing her mother when an infant, she had to fight many hard battles alone, unaided, but I doubt whether the wisest care would have improved the lady she made of her- self, only she would have enjoyed and appreciated the tender caresses of a mother. She was one who willingly would have poured all her tribulations — and they were many — into that mother's loving ear, and life would have been an easier road to travel. "She was a blonde of the animated type, which is more striking than a brunette. I wish I might portray the queenly pres- ence, that poise of the head, like a deer on a mountain brow that defies the ele- ments — that lovely hand which had all the curves of beauty described by Rus- kin, and all the adornings, the well- dressed figure. No wonder it was she / Alice, all in white at graduation. Her friends say she looked beautiful and delivered an interesting oration. fit A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH who suggested no smaller thing than a star for our emblem." On inviting occasions, she could be the jolliest of the jolly. One of her colleagues testifies that her queenly presence would have graced an elegant ballroom, had the opportunity presented itself. She was fond of the "poetry of motion," and we may not doubt that in those early days her Methodist foot was in grave danger under the spell of rhythmic sound and general merriment. In later years, religious com- punction was no barrier to the frank and free enjoyment of the dance, into which she entered with grace and whole-heatred pleasure. Thus it was that the aspirations of seven college girls in Iowa have touched a strong- ly vibrant chord in the hearts and minds of many thousands of women today, who per- petuate by their fellowship and coopera- tion a great humanitarian movement to assist struggling youth in their effort to obtain an education. Many of our great- est Americans, from George Washington down, have rated education as of primary importance especially as it relates to the maintenance and succesful operation of our democratic ideals, but the ripening thought of our eminent American sociologist, Lester F. Ward, discerned that conditions of social progress toward that truly constructive civil- ization which may in some distant day dawn upon the world are free opportunity for educational advantages. Education increases knowledge, knowledge increases opinion, opinion increases action, action increases progress and progress increases happiness, the end and aim of all effort. No progress is real which does not increase the sum total of happiness. Education is therefore Not to dance was a hardship The p.e.o: s were destined to become a vital factor in our social milieu M M *! &«»««£33P§^»»W$ ^*< ALICE VIRGINIA COFFIN Bachelor of Science, 1869 She entered the teaching a means to a great end, and it is of the highest significance that a great and grow- ing organization of women in this country- are bending their efforts toward extending its benefits. Alice graduated from Iowa Wesleyan University in June, 1869, and received the degree of Bachelor of Science. After gradu- ation, she taught for a short time in Des Moines, Iowa, then accepted a promising opening in the public schools of Chariton, Iowa, where she remained for several years, winning many warm friends and admirers. Other suppliants for her hand came to her, but to all of them her heart and therefore her lips said "no." In the later years of life she had an offer of marriage that would have given to her the lovely home which she would have enjoyed much, and which she would have graced and dignified with profession\ her rich personality. "It is a pity you can- not accept it," her sister Mary said to her. "But I cannot," she replied with decision. "It is impossible for me to marry for a home where my inclination does not lead me. It has always been that way. So," she laughed, "I am resigned to my fate." It was while she was in Chariton that she definitely severed herself from the Meth- odism which was bequeathed to her by her mother, and allied herself with the Episco- pal Church, the rituals and ceremonies of Her which presented to her a deeply satisfying religion mode of expressing her reverence and of communing with Primal Forces. She con- scientiously accepted the Christian faith, and when, during her summer vacations, she visited her sister, Mrs. Vernon W. Skiff, in Newton, Iowa, it was a pleasing vision to see her on Sunday mornings ar- rayed in her fresh and charming lawns, Alice entered the teaching profession. iP .,,.• — is : • , „; ; ' ; ■ ; J ;; ;; Alice, teaching school in Newton, Picture taken about 1885. Iowa. X^ism^^^^^^^^X^ii^^^ifjliK^c A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH of a child's ideals, beautiful, tall and stately, dignified and sweet. Her courage and her poise never failed, and helpful- ness to her neighbor and friend was a part of her very existence. There never was a child in her schoolroom too un- attractive to have her interest. Through the years the memory of her high cour- age has remained and helped me over many a difficult spot." Miss Doud became an enthusiastic mem- ber of the P. E, O. Sisterhood, which she has ably served in many important capaci- ties, first, as treasurer, secretary, vice- president and president of the Illinois State Chapter, and later, in 1934, as the honored and highly capable president of the na- tional organization. Mrs. Winona E. Reeves, who was at one time President of the Supreme Chapter and has been for many years the clever editress of The P. E. O. Record which has a national circulation, speaks of the present status and attainments of this worthy organization of women as follows: "The P. E. O. Sisterhood founded in 1869 by seven college girls is one of the pioneer organizations for women in America. "It has fine traditions and an honored history in itself and its achievement in the field of Education. "In the beginning, like all sororities and women's clubs, its efforts were chief- ly social and cultural. "In 1907, however, P. E. O. began a larger work in the establishment of an Educational fund, the purpose of which is to aid worthy young women to acquire a higher education in the interest of self- k The P.E.O. Sister- hood is function- ing well x* y* &lf$.K support. The fund has in it more than a half million dollars and has aided about 3,000 young women. "In 1927, the Sisterhood came into pos- session of Cottey Junior College for Wo- men by gift of Alice Virginia Cottey Stockard, its founder and owner. "The college property and equipment has a value of $300,000 and was given to P. E. O. free of debt and with $20,000 as a nucleus for an endowment. "In addition to these two educational projects, P. E. O. has built a handsome Memorial Library on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College in honor of its seven founders. The building was dedicated and presented to the college in 1927. "The P. E. O. Sisterhood has, in 1930, a membership of more than 50,000 women who seek in life and work to honor the seven girls who founded it." This organization has added other pearls to its chain of achievements in establishing, in several states, homes where such of their members as may so desire, may find a refuge in their declining years. They are homes of comfort, charm and culture. Alice's last year was an intensified struggle to regain her vanishing health, sapped by Bright's Disease. Had science advanced to its present height, she might have controlled it somewhat longer. In December, 1887, writing to her brother's family, she speaks at some length of the eventuality of her death and then adds, "But I hope to get well and strong again, in time, with care. The sun has just broken forth, round a rift in the clouds, and then like a sweet modest child hides his face again." Was the sun typical of X»$i&»«£M«M££»££x A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH her waning hope? Again she writes, "This is one of my days when it is very hard to keep up and be hopeful. It seems so sad to me that I am an invalid and confined to the house. It almost breaks my heart." Her last days were filled with courageous and stoical resignation. She assured her family of her confidence in a bright im- mortality. She died on July 28, 1888, at the home of her sister, Mrs. Vernon W. Skiff, in Newton, Iowa, and was laid to rest by the side of her parents, according to her request, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. It was a fitting finale to a life which had been devoted to benefi- cent and cultural activities. She was in- deed a woman who was worthy of high admiration : in character, noble, generous, kind; in personality, of dignified but genial charm, not beautiful but comely, with a glance that registered the lofty intelligence of a mind which keenly appreciated the rarest talents of mankind ; in purpose, stead- fast in her desire to foster all efforts that inclined to uplift her fellow beings; in the discharge of her duties, capable and con- scientious. She radiated upon her world a love always loyal, an enrichment of the cultural life of her community, a hopeful courage, a tender and helpful sympathy for distress, and an abiding confidence in the nobility of human destiny. Finale UWVERSnYOMUmO.S-UBBANA