Anna Sutherland Bissell (1846–1934) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who was the first woman CEO in the United States as the executive board member of the Bissell Corporation, known for its carpet sweepers and vacuum cleaners.

Early life

On December 2, 1846, Bissell was born in

River John, Nova Scotia River John is an unincorporated community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located near the mouth of the River John on the Northumberland Strait, halfway between Pictou and Tatamagouche near the boundary with Colchester County. It i ...

. Bissell's father was William Sutherland (1811-1907), a sea captain. Bissell's mother was Eleanor (nee Putnam) Sutherland (1817-1853). At an early age, her family moved to

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, J ...

, where they settled.

Career

By age 16, Bissell was a school teacher. After Bissell married Melville R. Bissell at 19, they became a joint partner in their crockery and china business. The Bissell Sweeper website recounts that Mrs. Bissell complained to her husband about sawdust that collected in their carpets and was difficult to remove, whereupon he made great improvements to a new invention called the carpet sweeper. When Bissell's husband invented the Bissell carpet sweeper in 1876, Bissell became a salesperson traveling from town to town selling the sweeper. Bissell was the number one salesperson.

Executive

After her husband's death in 1889 and with one child and five grandchildren, Bissell took over the business and became the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of the Bissell company. Bissell established new guidelines on trademarks and patents and moved Bissell carpet sweepers into the international market. By 1899 she had created the largest organization of its kind in the world. In 1919, Bissell also became the chairman of the Bissell company. As president of the corporation and chairman of the board, Bissell introduced progressive labor policies including

workman's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

and pension plans long before these practices were widespread in industry. It was said of her that she "studied business the way other women of her time studied French." She kept pace with the growing complexities of industrialism and knew every facet of the Bissell production.

Philanthropist

Bissell was a charter member of the Ladies Literary Club, a life member of the Women's City Club, and an active member of Zonta. She served on the board of The Clark Memorial Home and was for years the sole woman member of the National Hardware Men's Association. Bissell was a generous philanthropist. She was the first woman trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was actively involved in Bissell House, a recreation and training program for

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

youth and immigrant women. She also served on the board of what was to become Blodgett Home for Children.

Personal life

Bissell's husband was

Melville Reuben Bissell Melville Reuben Bissell (September 25, 1843 – March 15, 1889) was an American entrepreneur who invented the modern carpet sweeper.Baxter, Albert (1891). ''History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan.'' Munsell The Bissell corporation is na ...

. They had five children, Anna Dotelle Bissell (b. 1868), Lillie May Bissell (b. 1871), Melville Reuben Bissell (b. 1882), Harvey Bissell (1885), and Irving Joy Bissell (b. 1888). In 1889, Bissell's husband died from pneumonia. On November 8, 1934, Bissell died in

. Bissell is buried in Oakhill Cemetery in

Legacy

In July 2016 a seven-foot (2.1 m) statue of Bissell was unveiled; it is located outside the DeVos Place Grand Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The bronze statue with "Anna Bissell (1846-1934)" was designed by Ann Hirsch. It was funded by the

Peter Secchia Peter Finley Secchia (April 15, 1937 – October 21, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican political activist, who also served as the United States Ambassador to Italy and San Marino from 1989 to 1993. Education and early life Secc ...

family. Bissell's home known as the Bissell House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, no longer exists, however, its site is now occupied by NBC television affiliate station

WOOD-TV WOOD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed ABC affiliate WOTV (channel 41 ...

References

External links

* (with image)
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame - Anna Sutherland Bissell
- PDF format download.
Image of the Anna Bissell statue

Anna Sutherland Bissell
Greater Grand Rapids History Council
Recollections of Anna Bissell McCay: with historical data from archive.org
- full Bissell family genealogy in text format.
1923 passport photo Anna Bissell
courtesy flickr.com)
Day221: The Bissell House ...
- this house in South Pasadena, California is the former home of Bissell's daughter Anna Bissell McCay and son-in-law William Southerland McCay. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, Anna Sutherland 1846 births 1934 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople American philanthropists Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian people of Scottish descent Businesspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan People from Pictou County 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesswomen