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{{Infobox person
⚫
'''Catherine Elizabeth Benson''' ''née'' '''Brewer''' was the first woman who earn college bachelor's degree.
| name = Catherine Elizabeth Benson
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Catherine Elizabeth Brewer
| birth_date = {{birth date|1822|01|24}}
| birth_place = [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], Georgia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1908|02|27|1822|01|24}}
| death_place = [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]], Georgia
| body_discovered =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nationality = American
| citizenship =
| other_names =
| known_for =
| education =
| alma_mater = Clinton Female Seminary<br/>[[Wesleyan College|Georgia Female College]]<br/><small>''First Degree'' ([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]])</small>
| employer =
| notable works =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party =
| opponents =
| boards =
| spouse = Richard Aaron Benson
| partner =
| children = Catherine Benson Melrose<br/>Richard Edward Benson<br/>Thomas Brewer Benson<br/>Eliza Benson Fargo<br/>[[William S. Benson]]<br/>Frank Cook Benson<br/>Howard Burke Benson<br/>Gertrude Benson Arnall
| parents = Thomas Aspinwall Brewer<br/><small>(father)</small><br/>Mary Foster Brewer<br/><small>(mother)</small>
| relations = Adeline Corbin<br/><small>(sister)</small><br/>Edward Ebenezer Brewer<br/><small>(brother)</small>
| callsign =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
| misc =
}}


⚫
'''Catherine Elizabeth Benson''', ''née'' '''Brewer''' (24 January 1822 – 27 February 1908) was one of the earliest women to earn a college bachelor's degree in the US.
⚫
'''Catherine Brewer''' was origin from Massachusetts. Her family moved to [[Macon, GA|Macon]], [[Georgia]] in the 1830's. She enrolled Clintom Female Seminery. Whem seminary was closed students entered Georgia Female College (now [[Wesleyan College]]) in [[1839]]. Among them was Catherine Brewer. College, chartered in [[1836]], began offering classes in 1839. The honor of being the first woman to earn a degree from a chartered college fell to her because her name came first alphabetically among the graduates of the class of 1840, an honor of which she was well aware, as Wesleyan alumnae relate anecdotally.[http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/NewsInfo/News/NewsArchives/Winter2004/MarkerCeremonySpeechMay72004TenaRoberts/tabid/549/Default.aspx]. Her diploma said that "she had completed the regular course and bestowed on her the ''First Degree''"<ref>C.A.Farnham, ''The Education of the Southern Belle: Higher Education and Student Socialization in the Antebellum South'', NYU Press, 1994, ISBN 0814726151</ref>, which was commonly refered to the [[bachelor's degree]]. She is remembered each year at the annual meeting of the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association when graduating seniors are inducted into the association using the "Benson Charge", taken from a speech she made to the Class of 1888:<ref>program, Wesleyan College Alumnae Association Annual Meeting, 2007</ref> ''Members of the graduating class, demands will be made upon you which were not made upon us. Your training, if you are true to it, will amply qualify you to meet those demands. No wiser blessing could I wish for you than that you may be true to every God-appointed work.'' She was a mother of six, including the notable Admiral [[William S. Benson]], [[USN]] who became the nation's first [[Chief of Naval Operations]], an office created May 11, 1915. She died at her home in [[Macon, GA|Macon]] in March, [[1908]] at the age of 86[[http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ga/bibb/obits/b/benson6801ob.txt]].


==References==
==Life==
Benson was born on January 24, 1824, in [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], Georgia. She was daughter of Thomas Aspinwall Brewer (born August 20, 1792, in [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]], Massachusetts, died on September 26, 1874, in [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]], Georgia) and Mary Foster Brewer (born February 29, 1796, in [[Roxbury, Massachusetts|Roxbury]], Massachusetts, died on January 31, 1871, in Macon) who were married on October 3, 1820, in Roxbury. She had younger sister Adeline (born October 5, 1825, in [[Lexington, Georgia|Lexington]], Georgia, died on March 9, 1896, in Macon; she married firstly Napoleon Bonaparte Corbin on August 8, 1850, and secondly Robert B. Clayton on December 21, 1866, in Macon) and younger brother Edward Ebenezer (born June 4, 1828, in Lexington, died June 8, 1864, in Macon; he married Caroline Elizabeth Jones on July 17, 1858, in [[Fort Valley, Georgia|Fort Valley]], Georgia).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?7248-Diary-of-Edward-Brewer-30th-Ga-Inf |title=''Diary of Edward Brewer'' |access-date=2010-03-28 |archive-date=2019-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606135817/https://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?7248-Diary-of-Edward-Brewer-30th-Ga-Inf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her family moved from [[Massachusetts]] to Lexington in the 1820s. In 1838 they moved from Lexington to Macon.


==Education==
<references/>
⚫
In nearby [[Gray, Georgia|Gray]], Georgia, she enrolled in Clinton Female Seminary. The faculty and students, including Benson (Brewer) entered Georgia Female College (currently [[Wesleyan College]]) in 1839 when the seminary merged with the college. The college, chartered in 1836, began offering classes in 1839. She is claimed to be the first woman to earn a degree from Wesleyan, based on her name coming first alphabetically among the graduates of the class of 1840.<ref>[http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/NewsInfo/News/NewsArchives/Winter2004/MarkerCeremonySpeechMay72004TenaRoberts/tabid/549/Default.aspx Marker Ceremony Speech May 7, 2004 Tena Roberts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928013613/http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/NewsInfo/News/NewsArchives/Winter2004/MarkerCeremonySpeechMay72004TenaRoberts/tabid/549/Default.aspx |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> She received diploma on July 16, 1840. Her diploma said that "she had completed the regular course and bestowed on her the ''First Degree''",<ref>C. A. Farnham, ''The Education of the Southern Belle: Higher Education and Student Socialization in the Antebellum South'', New York University Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-8147-2615-1}}</ref> which was commonly referred to the [[bachelor's degree]]. She is remembered each year at the annual meeting of the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association when graduating seniors are inducted into the association using the "Benson Charge", taken from a speech she made to the Class of 1888:<ref>Program of Wesleyan College Alumnae Association Annual Meeting, 2007</ref> ''Members of the graduating class, demands will be made upon you which were not made upon us. Your training, if you are true to it, will amply qualify you to meet those demands. No wiser blessing could I wish for you than that you may be true to every God-appointed work.''

Though Benson has been listed as the first woman to receive a bachelor's degree in the US, women at [[Mississippi College]] had been earning such degrees since 1831.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNnVX4gQdD0C&pg=PA23 |page=23 |title=Looking Back Mississippi: Towns and Places |last=Cooper |first=Forrest Lamar |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |year=2011 |isbn=9781617031489}}</ref>

==Marriage and issue==
She married Richard Aaron Benson (born November 14, 1821, in [[Putnam County, Georgia|Putnam County]], Georgia, died on October 10, 1877, in Macon) on November 24, 1842, in Macon. They had eight children:
* Catherine Colvard Benson (born November 10, 1844, in Macon, died on January 31, 1885; she married Alex Melrose)
* Richard Edward Benson (born October 20, 1846, in Macon, died {{circa|1897}}; he married Emma Haskins on April 20, 1871, in Macon; they had son, Thomas A. Benson)
* Thomas Brewer Benson (born January 22, 1849, in Macon, died in December 1880; he married Hattie E. Freeman on November 24, 1874, in Macon) - railroad conductor
* Eliza Sophie Benson (born December 24, 1850, in Macon, died on September 7, 1912; she married J.M. Fargo)
* [[William Shepherd Benson]] - admiral who became the nation's first [[Chief of Naval Operations]], an office created 11 May 1915.
* Frank Cook Benson (born December 17, 1857, in Macon, died on October 57, 1943) - clerk
* Howard Burke Benson (born May 4, 1862, died in September 1887) - clerk
* Gertrude Benson (born November 12, 1864, in Macon, died on January 16, 1952; she married Henry C. Arnall)
Catherine Benson died at her home in Macon on February 27, 1908, at the age of 86<ref>[http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ga/bibb/obits/b/benson6801ob.txt Rootsweb.com]</ref> after several weeks of illness.<ref>[http://www.usgwarchives.net/search/search.cgi/searchga.htm?cc=1&URL=http:%2F%2Ffiles.usgwarchives.net%2Fga%2Fbibb%2Fobits%2Fb%2Fbenson6801ob.txt&q=katherine+e+benson+%EB+%E9+%EA&wm=wrd Note in ''The Marion County Patriot'', 6 March 1908, No. 8]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}


{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Catherine Brewer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Catherine Brewer}}
[[Category:Wesleyan College alumnae]]
[[Category:Wesleyan College alumni]]
[[Category:History of women's rights in the United States]]
[[Category:History of women's rights in the United States]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:1822 births]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Brookline, Massachusetts]]

Latest revision as of 21:02, 23 October 2024

Catherine Elizabeth Benson
Born
Catherine Elizabeth Brewer

(1822-01-24)January 24, 1822
Augusta, Georgia
DiedFebruary 27, 1908(1908-02-27) (aged 86)
Macon, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Alma materClinton Female Seminary
Georgia Female College
First Degree (B.A.)
SpouseRichard Aaron Benson
ChildrenCatherine Benson Melrose
Richard Edward Benson
Thomas Brewer Benson
Eliza Benson Fargo
William S. Benson
Frank Cook Benson
Howard Burke Benson
Gertrude Benson Arnall
Parent(s)Thomas Aspinwall Brewer
(father)
Mary Foster Brewer
(mother)
RelativesAdeline Corbin
(sister)
Edward Ebenezer Brewer
(brother)

Catherine Elizabeth Benson, née Brewer (24 January 1822 – 27 February 1908) was one of the earliest women to earn a college bachelor's degree in the US.

Life

[edit]

Benson was born on January 24, 1824, in Augusta, Georgia. She was daughter of Thomas Aspinwall Brewer (born August 20, 1792, in Brookline, Massachusetts, died on September 26, 1874, in Macon, Georgia) and Mary Foster Brewer (born February 29, 1796, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, died on January 31, 1871, in Macon) who were married on October 3, 1820, in Roxbury. She had younger sister Adeline (born October 5, 1825, in Lexington, Georgia, died on March 9, 1896, in Macon; she married firstly Napoleon Bonaparte Corbin on August 8, 1850, and secondly Robert B. Clayton on December 21, 1866, in Macon) and younger brother Edward Ebenezer (born June 4, 1828, in Lexington, died June 8, 1864, in Macon; he married Caroline Elizabeth Jones on July 17, 1858, in Fort Valley, Georgia).[1] Her family moved from Massachusetts to Lexington in the 1820s. In 1838 they moved from Lexington to Macon.

Education

[edit]

In nearby Gray, Georgia, she enrolled in Clinton Female Seminary. The faculty and students, including Benson (Brewer) entered Georgia Female College (currently Wesleyan College) in 1839 when the seminary merged with the college. The college, chartered in 1836, began offering classes in 1839. She is claimed to be the first woman to earn a degree from Wesleyan, based on her name coming first alphabetically among the graduates of the class of 1840.[2] She received diploma on July 16, 1840. Her diploma said that "she had completed the regular course and bestowed on her the First Degree",[3] which was commonly referred to the bachelor's degree. She is remembered each year at the annual meeting of the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association when graduating seniors are inducted into the association using the "Benson Charge", taken from a speech she made to the Class of 1888:[4] Members of the graduating class, demands will be made upon you which were not made upon us. Your training, if you are true to it, will amply qualify you to meet those demands. No wiser blessing could I wish for you than that you may be true to every God-appointed work.

Though Benson has been listed as the first woman to receive a bachelor's degree in the US, women at Mississippi College had been earning such degrees since 1831.[5]

Marriage and issue

[edit]

She married Richard Aaron Benson (born November 14, 1821, in Putnam County, Georgia, died on October 10, 1877, in Macon) on November 24, 1842, in Macon. They had eight children:

  • Catherine Colvard Benson (born November 10, 1844, in Macon, died on January 31, 1885; she married Alex Melrose)
  • Richard Edward Benson (born October 20, 1846, in Macon, died c. 1897; he married Emma Haskins on April 20, 1871, in Macon; they had son, Thomas A. Benson)
  • Thomas Brewer Benson (born January 22, 1849, in Macon, died in December 1880; he married Hattie E. Freeman on November 24, 1874, in Macon) - railroad conductor
  • Eliza Sophie Benson (born December 24, 1850, in Macon, died on September 7, 1912; she married J.M. Fargo)
  • William Shepherd Benson - admiral who became the nation's first Chief of Naval Operations, an office created 11 May 1915.
  • Frank Cook Benson (born December 17, 1857, in Macon, died on October 57, 1943) - clerk
  • Howard Burke Benson (born May 4, 1862, died in September 1887) - clerk
  • Gertrude Benson (born November 12, 1864, in Macon, died on January 16, 1952; she married Henry C. Arnall)

Catherine Benson died at her home in Macon on February 27, 1908, at the age of 86[6] after several weeks of illness.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Diary of Edward Brewer". Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  2. ^ Marker Ceremony Speech May 7, 2004 Tena Roberts Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ C. A. Farnham, The Education of the Southern Belle: Higher Education and Student Socialization in the Antebellum South, New York University Press, 1994, ISBN 0-8147-2615-1
  4. ^ Program of Wesleyan College Alumnae Association Annual Meeting, 2007
  5. ^ Cooper, Forrest Lamar (2011). Looking Back Mississippi: Towns and Places. University Press of Mississippi. p. 23. ISBN 9781617031489.
  6. ^ Rootsweb.com
  7. ^ Note in The Marion County Patriot, 6 March 1908, No. 8
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