Emma B. Alrich
Emma B. Alrich (April 4, 1845 – ) was an American journalist, author and educator. She was the only woman in her day who served as superintendent of the city schools of Mitchell County, Kansas
Early years and education
Emma Eldridge was born in Cape May County, New Jersey, April 4, 1845. She was a first child, and no attempt was made to guard against precocity. At the age of three years, a New Testament was given her as a prize for reading its chapters, and at five years she picked blackberries to buy an arithmetic. At 12 years of age, she joined the Baptist Church. At that time, she began to write for the county paper.
At age 16, Alrich taught the summer school at her home. In 1862 she entered the State Normal School in Trenton, N. J., going out for six months in the middle of the course to earn the money for finishing it. She was graduated in June, 1864, as valedictorian of her class.
Career
Alrich began to teach in a summer school on the Monday morning following her graduation. In 1866, she married to Levi L. Alrich, who had won laurels as one of Baker's Cavalry, of 71st Pennsylvania Regiment. Her first two years of married life were spent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1876, the Centennial opened up new possibilities and the couple settled in Cawker City, Kansas. There, she again taught school, was the first woman in Mitchell County to take the highest grade certificate, and the only woman at the time who served as superintendent of the city schools. She was a warm supporter of teachers' meetings, church social gatherings, a public library and a woman's club. In 1883, her husband's failing health compelled a change in business. He bought the Free Press, and changed its name to the Public Record. All the work of the office was done by their own family, and each did every part of it. Besides her journalistic work, she served two years on the board of teachers' examiners. She was one of the 40 who organized the National Woman's Relief Corps, one of the three who founded the Woman's Hesperian Library Club, and was the founder of the Kansas Woman's Press Association. She had little time for purely literary work.[1]
References
- ^ Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 22.
Attribution
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. {{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
External links
