Eliza Daniel Stewart (April 25, 1816 – August 6, 1908) was an American early

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

leader. She sometimes referred to herself as "Mother Stewart".

Biography

Eliza Daniel Stewart was born in

Piketon, Ohio Piketon is a village in Pike County in the U.S. state of Ohio, along the Scioto River. The village is best known for the uranium enrichment plant located there, which is one of only three such plants in the United States. The population was 2,11 ...

on April 25, 1816. Stewart began her career in public service during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, working with the Soldiers' Aid Societies and the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

. In 1872, Stewart delivered a lecture entitled "The Liquor Traffic and How to Avoid It". Afterward, the editor of '' The Springfield Republic'' suggested she encourage the wives of heavy to prosecute saloonkeepers under the Adair law. The Adair law provided that "a wife, child, parent, guardian or employer of an intoxicated person, who has been injured in person, property, or means of support by such intoxication, could sue the individual who by furnishing the requisite liquor, was said to have 'caused' the intoxication, for damages both exemplary and actual". Days later, Stewart made an impassioned plea on behalf of a destitute woman in an Adair case. The court awarded the woman $100 plus costs. For her second Adair case in October 1873, Stewart took a more active room in the courtroom and the plaintiff was awarded $300. Stewart was a key figure in the

Women's Crusade The Woman's Crusade was a temperance campaign in the United States in 1873-1874. It was a series of non-violent protests fighting against the dangers of alcoholism. Background Many women in Cleveland, Ohio were inspired by a speech given by Dio ...

of 1873–74. The Crusades began in

Hillsboro, Ohio Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States approximately 35 mi (56 km) west of Chillicothe, and 50 miles east of Cincinnati. The population was 6,605 at the 2010 census. History Hillsboro was p ...

a speech given by Dr.

Diocletian Lewis Diocletian Lewis (March 3, 1823 – May 21, 1886), commonly known as Dr. Dio Lewis, was a prominent Temperance movement, temperance leader and physical culture advocate who practiced homeopathy. Biography Early life He was born on a farm near A ...

on December 23, 1873. Lewis told the story of how his mother, distressed by her husband's drinking, appealed to the owner of the local saloon to cease selling liquor by praying with a group of other women. The women were successful and the saloonkeeper closed his business. In response to this story, the women of Hillsboro marched through the town, stopping at every saloon (approximately twenty of them) and praying for the souls of the barkeepers and their patrons. The women asked the owners to sign a pledge to no longer sell alcohol. By 1875, more than 130 other communities around the state had also had experienced marches–a period often known locally as the “Ohio Whiskey War". Richard H. Chused described the Crusade as follows: "Leaving the sanctuary of their homes, they carried an aura of moral responsibility and upright character with them as they entered bars filled with smoking and imbibing men and prayed on the streets in front of drinking establishments for weeks on end. Many men were incredulous that the respectable women of southern Ohio were capable of organizing daily prayer sessions and well-orchestrated marches into male domains". Stewart founded the Women's Temperance League of Osborn, Ohio, in 1873. Stewart helped to found 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 ...

in 1874 and the Osborn organization became the first local chapter of the new national organization. She visited the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1876, and helped organize the

British Women's Temperance Association The White Ribbon Association (WRA), previously known as the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA), is an organization that seeks to educate the public about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as gambling. Founding of British Wom ...

. She died at her home in

Hicksville, Ohio Hicksville is a village in Defiance County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,581 at the 2010 census. It sits around 2.2 miles east from the Ohio- Indiana border. History Led by Henry W. Hicks, the Hicks Land Company platted the comm ...

on August 6, 1908.

Biography

References

Further reading