Edmund Booth (1810 – 1905) was a journalist, writer, and leader in the American deaf community. Booth was born August 24, 1810, in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. He became partly deaf and blind in one eye at the age of four from an attack of

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. At the age of eight he became totally deaf. He never lost his ability to speak. In 1828 he entered the

American School for the Deaf The American School for the Deaf (ASD), originally ''The American Asylum, At Hartford, For The Education And Instruction Of The Deaf'', is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, and the first school for children with disa ...

, and upon his graduation four years later was appointed an instructor in that school. He held this position for seven years, resigning in 1839 on account of failing health. Hoping to recover health in outdoor life and to find fortune in what was then regarded as the far west, Booth emigrated to Jones County, Iowa, after severing his connection with the American School. At that time the nearest house to the place he chose as his future home was a mile and a half distant, but gradually a flourishing town grew up around him which received the name of Anamosa. This was his residence for the rest of his life, except for a few years passed in California during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

which began in 1849. In 1840, Booth built the first frame house erected in Jones County, and in the same year he was married to Mary Ann Walworth, who had been his pupil at Hartford. She died in 1898. Of this marriage were born four children, the youngest of whom was the editor of the ''Association Review''. In 1856, Booth became editor, and a few years later owner, of the ''Anamosa Eureka''. He retained the position until his death, though for several years past most of the work has been done by his oldest son, who became his partner in the ownership of the paper in 1868. Booth also wrote several articles for the ''Annals'' other periodicals. He was elected county recorder three times, and during one session of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

engrossing clerk. It was through his influence the first steps were taken by the State of Iowa for the education of deaf children. He presided in 1880 as temporary chairman at the organization of the National Association of the Deaf. In the same year he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from

Gallaudet College Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the Hearing loss, deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a gramma ...

. Booth died on March 29, 1905.

References

Further reading