Barrows, Anna

Born in Fryeburg, Maine in 1861 to Georgiana Souther Barrows, Anna Barrows was educated at Fryeburg Academy -- which was founded by her parents -- and began her teaching career in the public schools of Fryeburg and Conway, N.H. After taking a course at the Boston Cooking School in 1886, she began teaching cooking and home economics, before these were standard courses in the public schools. Barrows taught in a number of schools in the Boston area, including Lasell Seminary in Auburndale. She became director of the summer school of domestic science in Chautauqua, NY, and taught for many years at Teachers College, Columbia University. Barrows' humorous and philosophical "demonstration lectures" were in demand among women's clubs, church and community organizations. In the 1920's, Barrows became more widely known when she began lecturing on the radio. Barrows published a number of volumes on home economics (Eggs: facts and fancies about them, 1890; Principles of cookery, 1907; The farm kitchen as workshop, 1914) and co-founded the New England kitchen magazine, the first professional home economics journal. She was a charter member of the American Home Economics Association and served on numerous other organizations and committees throughout her life, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the School Committee of the City of Boston, and New England Women's Press Association. Barrows died at the age of 86 in Fryeburg, Maine.