Ida A. T. Arms (, Taggard; August 27, 1856 – October 30, 1931) was an American missionary-educator and temperance leader. She served as principal of Concepción College in

Concepción, Chile Concepción (; originally: ''Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz'', "Conception of the Blessed Mother of Light") is a city and commune in central Chile, and the geographical and demographic core of the Greater Concepción metropolitan a ...

and as president 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) in Chile. Arms translated a number of books from English to Spanish. Her biography was published posthumously.

Early life and education

Ida Almira Taggard was born at Northfield, Vermont, August 27, 1856. Her parents were John Taggard and Olive (Harvey) Taggard. Five of Ida's younger siblings, Wallace, Henry, Ella, Tinnie and Franky died as young children. Her father died during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Her mother died when Ida was eleven. Orphaned, she went to live with Rev. Ira Beard and his wife. She was educated in the public schools of Northfield. At the age of 13, she entered the Montpelier Seminary. At the age of 14, Arms taught school at

Topsham, Maine Topsham () is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,560 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The town is home to the annual Topsha ...

, and in 1871, she held a teaching position near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Finally completing all the requirements, she graduated from the Seminary in 1875.

Career

During the period of 1875-1883, Taggard was a teacher in various institutions.

On January 17, 1883, she married Rev. Goodsil F. Arms. They sailed to Chile, being under appointment as missionaries in the self-support" work of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

William Taylor of 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 ...

. They were stationed at Concepción, Chile where Arms served as lady principal of Concepción College (1888-1915). In April 1894, Arms had to be taken to the hospital at Valparaiso, Chile for an operation. A later operation was required, necessitating a trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After eight months, she was able to return to Chile and resume her work at Concepción College. Active in the work of the WCTU during her career as a teacher in the U.S., Arms, on her removal to Chile, became president first of the English and then of the Spanish WCTU in that country. She was a delegate to the World’s WCTU Convention in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, Switzerland, in 1903. After another visit to the U.S. in 1915, to regain her health, she resumed missionary and temperance work in Chile the following year, with a change of location to Coquimbo. Later, Arms translated a number of English language books into Spanish.

Death and legacy

Arms died at her home in Tarpon Springs, Florida on October 30, 1931. She was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Northfield. A biography, ''A life in His presence; the life and letters of Mrs. Ida A.T. Arms'' was compiled and published in 1933 by Bessie C. Howland.

Selected works

* ''A life in His presence; the life and letters of Mrs. Ida A.T. Arms'' (1933
(Text)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arms, Ida A. T. 1856 births 1931 deaths People from Northfield, Vermont Educators from Vermont Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Methodist missionaries in Chile Translators from English American temperance activists American school principals