Margaret Ray Wickens
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Margaret Ray Wickens (August 3, 1843 – November 24, 1918) was an American public affairs organizer and social reformer. She served as national president of the
Woman's Relief Corps The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and p ...
(W.R.C.). Eloquent, Wickins was called the "Golden-tongued orator of the Woman's Relief Corps". Her executive abilities during the years that she was actively engaged in W.R.C. advanced the organization's patriotic work. As an orator, philanthropist and industrial worker, Wickens had no peer. She served as president of the
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State Assembly of Rebekahs, and was active in the
temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
movement, filling the role of district president of her
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 ...
(W.C.T.U.) for several years. She was a teacher, a member of the
Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...
, and a prominent Good Templar. In her later years, she held a number of state positions in
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.


Early life

Margaret Ray Brown was born in
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,
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, August 3, 1843. Her father, Thomas Brown, was a native of
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, Ireland. Her mother was Judith Bennett, of
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, a descendant of the Bennetts of ''
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'' and
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fame. Margaret was the older of a family of two daughters. In 1854, the family moved to
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. Their aboliltonist sentiment was strong, and their house became a station on the
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. For having aided needy
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fugitives, Mr. Brown was imprisoned in
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for three years, and his family were compelled to remove to the North. In 1857, he was released and joined his family in Indianapolis. There he was honored by a public reception, in which
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
and other prominent men participated. In 1859, the family removed to
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and two years later, Thomas Brown enlisted in the Tenth Illinois Cavalry, but he was not strong enough to enter the service, and he was obliged to remain at home. Margaret taught in the Loda high school, where her sister, Harriet, was also employed. She did all she could do to aid the
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cause during the
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. She organized aid societics, assisted in the distributing of supplies, helped in the hospitals and did everything in her power to ameliorate the condition of the sick and suffering.


Career

In 1864, she married Thomas Wiley Wickens (d. 1893), and they removed to
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. They had five children. Wickens was a temperance advocate from childhood. She joined the Good Templars in Indianapolis, and was one of the first members of the Illinois W.C.T.U. In that order, she worked for
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legislation in
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. She served as district president of her union for several years and went as delegate to the national convention in
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. In 1876, the family removed to
Sabetha, Kansas Sabetha is a city in Brown and Nemaha counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,545. History The town's settlement began circa 1854, with a name reportedly derived from the word "Sabbath" ...
, where she gained prominence in public affairs. She was, in 1885, elected Department President of the Kansas W.R.C.; reelected in 1886. During her term as the second president, her department grew from 59 to 149 organized corps in two years. She attended the national convention in
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, and was there appointed national inspector, which position she resigned in order to care for her State department. She served her department two years as counselor, as a member of the department and national executive boards. In the
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convention, she was elected a member of the executive board. In 1891, she was made a trustee and general agent for the United States of the National
Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
Memorial College at
Oberlin, Kansas Oberlin is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 1,644. History Oberlin was platted in 1878. It was named after Oberl ...
. In
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, August 5, 1891, she was elected National Senior Vice-President of the W.R.C. In October of that year, she was elected State president of the Rebekahs of Kansas. In the
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convention, September 24, 1892, she was elected national president of the W.R.C. Her convention was held in
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. She was present at the dedication of the National Woman's Relief Corps Home, and received the important donation from the
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. It was in her year that the W.R.C. became a member of the National Council of Women. Her year as National President was one of great prominence in the W.R.C., because of her National Headquarters in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
at the time of the
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. When the national organization was discussing whether it would or would not admit other than those who were consanguinous relations of old soldiers, Wickens was one of the strongest supports of the "loyal woman". Oddly enough for one of her patriotic character, Wickens had not a single relative so far she knew in the Civil War. In the plea which she presented to the national convention against the proposed closing of the ranks of the W.R.C. to all but the blood relations of old soldiers, she made the statement that she was just as loyal to the Union and its defenders as any woman in the U.S. If this proposed clause in the constitution carried, she would be shut out from participation in a work to which she had already devoted many years, although not a member of any organization. She thought it a mistake, she said, to narrow the lines of membership because the time was coming when the families of old soldiers would narrow until the tax which must be levied to support the W.R.C. could fall so heavily upon them as to become burdensome. So eloquent was the plea made by Wickens that the women of the convention adopted her ideas and "loyal" women were admitted into the W.R.C. Wickens closed a session of the National Council of Women conference in Washington, D.C., 1895, with a paper on "New Thought and the True Thought for Philanthropy". She labored to establish scholarships in the College at Manhattan when its friends sought to make the teaching of patriotism its foremost principle. She returned to Illinois and served as superintendent of the state training school for girls, a state institution just being started, and here she did pioneer work. Later, she was connected with the industrial school for girls at
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. After this, she acted as superintendent of the Soldiers Home for War Widows of Illinois before returning to her daughter's home to rest. In October 1902, Wickens attended the National Association of Army Nurses reception held in Washington, and spoke on the subject, "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World". By 1911, she was the Superintendent of the Edgar County Children's Home, at
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. In October of that year, she attended the Illinois state conference of charities and corrections. After her failing health caused her to relinquish all work, she once again she returned to her daughter's home. Wilkens was a member of the Methodist church.


Death and legacy

On the evening of November 24, 1918, Wilkens died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Jesse Goodman, in
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. She was buried in Sabetha, Kansas, beside her husband and four of her children. On September 11, 1921 a granite memorial was erected by the W.R.C. in Sabetha to the memory of Wickens.


Notes


References


Attribution

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickens, Margaret Ray 1843 births 1918 deaths People from Indianapolis Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Woman's Relief Corps National Presidents Daughters of the American Revolution people Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century