Katharine Lent Stevenson (, Lent; May 8, 1853 – 1919) was an
American temperance reformer, missionary, and editor. She was a successful platform speaker, writer and officer 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) on whose behalf she also visited Japan, China, India, Australia and other countries as a missionary.
Early life and education
Katharine (sometimes spelled "Katherine") Lent (sometimes spelled "Lente") was born in
Copake, New York
Copake is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 3,346 at the 2020 US census, down from 3,615 at the 2010 census. The town derives its name from a lake, which was known to the natives as ''Cook-pake'', or ''Ack-kook ...
, May 8, 1853. Her father was Marvin R. Lente; her mother, Hannah Lonzada. On the mother's side, she was of Jewish ancestry.
In 1881, Stevenson graduated from
Boston University School of Theology
Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological school ...
, the only woman in her class, and pronounced by the dean "the best balanced mind in the school."
Career
The refusal of the General Conference 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 ...
to recognize women as preachers terminated her ministry as associate pastor of the Methodist church in
Allston
Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part ...
,
, but it was her dream to be in charge of a church — Methodist if it may be, Independent if it must be.
After marrying James Stevenson, a merchant of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
became her home.
WCTU
In 1893, she removed to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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to serve as editor of Books and Leaflets Department for the
Woman's Temperance Publishing Association
The Woman's Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA) was a non-commercial publisher of Temperance movement, temperance literature. Established in 1879 in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana during the national convention of the Woman's Christian T ...
, and contributing editor to the WCTU's ''
The Union Signal
''The Union Signal'' (formerly, ''The Woman's Temperance Union'', ''Our Union'') is a defunct American newspaper, established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Focused on temperance, it was the organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a ...
''. In November, 1894, the National WCTU showed its appreciation of her two years' service, 1891–93, as Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts WCTU by electing her to the same office in the national organization.
In September 1909, she traveled to
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand and spoke on behalf of temperance.
[ ] She then went to Tasmania for a week before going to Australia.
In November, Stevenson toured Australia in the interests of temperance reform, sent by the WCTU as a representative of the world's officers of the Union on a special mission to the educational institutions of the Far East, including India, China, Japan, and Burma. Australia was not on her program, but when she had finished in China and Japan, she resolved, on her own account, to make a tour through Australia to see it, and to help the temperance workers in the chief centers.
[ ] She traveled from Bombay to Egypt, Israel, Greece and Italy before she came to London.
In June 1910, Stevenson attended the eighth Triennial convention of the
World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. She was appointed to oversee the World's Missionary Fund Department.
Personal life
Stevenson was also a homemaker and step-mother to three daughters. She was a member of
Good Templars
The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...
Commonwealth Lodge of Boston. She died in 1919.
References
Attribution
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Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Katharine Lent
1853 births
1919 deaths
19th-century American writers
19th-century American women writers
19th-century American newspaper editors
Woman's Christian Temperance Union people
American temperance activists
Writers from New York (state)
Women newspaper editors
Boston University School of Theology alumni
American women non-fiction writers