Margaret McDonald Bottome (, McDonald; December 29, 1827 – November 14, 1906) was an American reformer,

organizational founder An organizational founder is a person who has undertaken some or all of the formational work needed to create a new organization, whether it is a business, a charitable organization, a governing body, a school, a group of entertainers, or any other ...

, and author. She was engaged in religious work in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and for more than a quarter of a century, she gave Bible talks to the society women of

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 ...

. Out of these experiences grew the order of the

King's Daughters The King's Daughters (french: filles du roi or french: filles du roy, label=none in the spelling of the era) is a term used to refer to the approximately 800 young French women who immigrated to New France between 1663 and 1673 as part of a pr ...

, which she founded and for which she was annually chosen president until her death. She was the author of several books, made a large number of contributions to religious magazines.

Early life and education

Margaret McDonald was born in New York City, December 29, 1827. Her parents, William and Mary (Willis) McDonald, were of Scottish ancestry. She was the oldest of 18 siblings. McDonald lived in Brooklyn from her childhood. She received her education at Prof. Greenleaf's School for Girls,

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...

. Early in life, she became interested in religious and charitable work in Brooklyn where her father held a municipal position. She accompanied him weekly to the

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

and prison, and systematically visited the sick and poor of the Brooklyn districts. Influenced by these impressions, she developed strong religious and charitable sentiments. The influence of the home culminated in the conversion of Margaret at Sand Street Church, at the age of 12.

Career

In 1850, she married Rev. Francis ("Frank") Bottome, an itinerant preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1876, she commenced giving Bible talks in drawing-rooms to society women of New York City and continued this practice for more than 25 years. Francis was a native of England, who had served in the local ministry in that country and had migrated to Canada, where on an immense circuit, he preached to the Native Americans until his health declined, after which he came to New York City. When Rev. Bottome was a pastor in the wealthy suburb of

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

, some of the summer residents heard of the talks Margaret was giving to a class which she led, and they came to listen to her. After that, for more than a quarter of a century, she lectured on the topic of "Bible Talks" in the drawing rooms and salons of wealthy women; it was her most effective personal work. In 1878, Rev. Bottome was thrown from his horse and killed. Instead of his death putting an end to Margaret's activities, it spurred her on to continue in religious work. The couple had four sons. One of them, who became a physician, died young. Two sons became ministers, Rev. W. M. Bottome and Rev. George H. Bottome. The fourth, Harry H. Bottome, became a lawyer. On January 13, 1886, with nine other women, Bottome organized the first "ten" of the order of the King's Daughters, the name being suggested by Mrs. William Irving, a New York educator, basing the system on

Edward Everett Hale Edward Everett Hale (April 3, 1822 – June 10, 1909) was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister, best known for his writings such as "The Man Without a Country", published in ''Atlantic Monthly'', in support of the Union dur ...

's ''Ten Times One is Ten''. Till her death, Bottome was annually chosen president. In 1896, she was elected and accepted the additional responsibility of the presidency of the Woman's branch of the International Medical Missionary Society. Securing Bottome as president, many other women joined. Bottome served as associate editor of the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'', having regularly contributed since 1889 a department article called "Heart to Heart Talks with the King's Daughters", and she also wrote for various other periodicals, mainly religious publications. Bottome wrote some pamphlets. Among her other published works are ''Crumbs from the King's Table'', ''A Sunshine Trip to the Orient'', ''Death and Life'', and ''Seven Questions After Easter''. Some of Bottome's lectures, her "Bible Talks" , were published first in the ''Silver Cross Magazine'', the organ of the King's Daughters, and later in book form, under the title of ''The Guest Chamber'' (New York, 1893).

Death and legacy

After being ill for some time, Bottome died at her home in New York City, November 14, 1906. The Margaret Bottome Memorial, The King's Daughter's House in Harlem (incorporated, 1907), was located at 344 East 124th Street, New York City. It focused upon settlement lines in the Upper East Side districts, and maintained a sewing school, clubs, classes, and fresh-air work.

Selected works

* ''Death and Life'' * ''Seven Questions After Easter'' * ''The Guest Chamber'', 1893 * ''Crumbs from the King's Table'', 1888 * ''A Sunshine Trip - Glimpses of the Orient'', 1897 * ''Heart to heart letters'', 1909

References

Attribution

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bottome, Margaret McDonald 1827 births 1906 deaths People from New York City American social reformers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Women founders American founders Organization founders Religious writers 19th-century travel writers American women travel writers American travel writers International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons