New England Women's Club

One of the oldest women's clubs in the U.S., the New England Women's Club was founded in 1868 to provide a meeting place for women outside their homes where they could obtain knowledge and inspiration for work inside and outside the home and for uniting their efforts in various social causes. The club held weekly meetings from November to May with speakers on subjects in literature, history, music, art, or on topics of current interest, such as suffrage or homes for the poor. Speakers included both club members (Ednah Dow Cheney, Julia Ward Howe, Mary Peabody Mann, Elizabeth P. Peabody, et al.) as well as prominent contemporaries such as William Henry Channing, James Freeman Clarke, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Early projects included a Friendly Evening Association for working women, a Horticultural School for Women, and Dress Reform and Education Committees; work of the latter led to the election of four women to the Boston School Committee in 1874. Later the club's activities were mainly social and cultural.

From the description of Records, 1843-1970 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232006763