Alice Sudduth Byerly (June 18, 1855 – February 19, 1904) was an American
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
philanthropist. For several years, she was National Superintendent of the Flower Mission Department of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
(WCTU).
Early years and education
Sudduth was born near
Athens, Illinois
Athens is a city in southern Menard County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,988 at the 2010 census, and 1,921 at a 2018 estimate. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Demographics
At the 2000 ...
, June 18, 1855. Her parents were Dr. James McCreary Sudduth (d. 1895) and Amanda Elizabeth (Ashmore) Sudduth (d. 1898). She had two siblings, a brother, Dr. William Xavier Sudduth, and a sister,
Margaret Ashmore Sudduth. Her father had built up an extensive practice in Central Illinois before giving up the practice of medicine to become a banker and stock raiser.
She was converted in childhood, and brought up in the
Presbyterian Church, of which her parents were members. When about eleven years of age, her parents moved to
Normal, Illinois
Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...
, for the purpose of educating their children. Here, and at
Bloomington, Illinois, the family lived for twenty years.
She received her education in the public schools and Normal university, afterwards taking a course at
Mills College
Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...
,
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. Returning to her native state, she took up and completed a course in music in the
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...
, and was an accomplished musician. She espoused with enthusiasm the work of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific circle and completed a four years‘ course in that university, graduating in the class of 1886.
Career
She was from her childhood an earnest Christian, and like thousands of other Christian young women, was captivated by
Frances Willard
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1879 an ...
. For several years she was National Superintendent of the Flower Mission Department of the WCTU, which was founded by
Jennie Casseday. Under Byerly's influence, it became a great evangelistic agency. Unnumbered gifts of flowers with appropriate scripture texts attached, were distributed in prisons, hospitals and sick-chambers. While engaged in this work, she became interested in visiting the sick in hospitals and strangers far from home, always leaving a bunch of flowers, with a Scripture text attached, and learned to love the work so much that she continued it with enthusiasm as long as she lived.
In 1887, she moved with her parents to
Colton, California, and spent eleven years there where her work was enlarged. The great number of
consumptives who sought that climate often only to die far from home and among strangers greatly aroused her sympathies; and she went about with her fruits and flowers and cheering words among the victims of tuberculosis till her friends remonstrated lest she contract the disease herself. But it had become a passion with her and as long as she remained in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
she continued these ministrations. Her father and mother both died in California and the family home among the orange trees was broken up.
Returning to Illinois shortly thereafter, she resigned from her position as National Superintendent of the Flower Mission Department in 1898.
She married Rev. Alexander Clay Byerly in
Springfield, Illinois May 15, 1900. It was his second marriage and he brought three small children with him into this union. She at once transferred her membership to the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
, where, with such intelligence and consecration as she possessed, she could not fail to be a helpmate in the ministry. In the church at
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. Lincoln is h ...
where her husband was pastor at the time of her marriage, she was greatly beloved. She was an inspiration to the young people of the Epworth League. Under her direction, the methods of the Flower Mission were applied in the Department of Mercy and Help with the most blessed spiritual results. She threw her whole soul into the work of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. She corresponded with many of the missionaries and always had something fresh from the field to talk about in the home and to present in the meetings.
Death
In 1903, she developed a severe sickness from which she never fully recovered. A long siege of the
grippe in the early part of the 1903-04 winter left her much debilitated. and it seemed impossible for her to recuperate in the rigorous climate of Illinois. So it was decided that she should go to
Citronelle, Alabama
Citronelle is a city on the northern border of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,946. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area and is about north of Mobile.
History
The area was ...
for a few weeks. For about ten days after arrival there, she seemed rapidly recuperating. She wrote cheerful letters home telling of her progress. but the suddenly became prostrated with a severe bilious attack (severe
indigestion
Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...
). Various complications developed and she grew alarmingly worse until she died on February 19, 1904. The body was brought to the home in Springfield, and the funeral conducted in First Church. The remains were cremated in accordance with the wish of the deceased, and taken to
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...
, and interred in the family lot in
Olivewood Memorial Park.
References
Attribution
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Byerly, Alice Sudduth
1855 births
1904 deaths
People from Menard County, Illinois
Mills College alumni
Illinois Wesleyan University alumni
Woman's Christian Temperance Union people
19th-century American philanthropists
Burials at Olivewood Memorial Park