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hard to reconcile with the traditional image of a
Christian woman. By participating in a masculine activity like business, Carse left herself vulnerable to attack from both outside the WCTU as well as from within its ranks. Carse's insistence on bringing the WCTU into the commercial/business sphere led some in the organization to worry that worldly considerations such as money and leases were undermining their mission. Ironically, Carse's competence in securing the land and overseeing the construction of the building cast doubt on her ability to lead the project, as WCTU members increasingly viewed her activities as speculative and incompatible with a Christian women's organization. Doubts about the project and about Carse herself as the woman in charge made funding difficult, and, despite initial success, the building soon became a losing investment for the WCTU and Carse.
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520:. Her name appeared upon several charitable boards as a director. For years, she was a member of the board of the Home for Discharged Prisoners. She was also on the free kindergarten boards, and was a member of the Woman's Club of Chicago. In all the wide range of charities to which she gave active help, the one that probably was closest to her heart, and to which she gave a stronger hand of aid than to any other, helping to raise for its buildings and maintenance tens of thousands of dollars, was the Chicago Foundling's Home, the Reverend Dr. George E. Shipman being its founder. She established its aid society, and was its president since its inception. She raised thousands of dollars for the Chicago Foundling's Home Aid Society during the time of her presidency.
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393:. Carse personally raised almost the entire amount and never received any compensation whatever for her services to the public. The Rehobeth refuge and recovery shelter, as well as the Bethesda Mission, which was specifically aimed at teaching neighborhood women practical household skills also held temperance support meetings. Carse's social reforms positively influenced the slums of Chicago particularly by providing services and opportunities for members of the poverty-stricken working class.
493:. Though much of the controversy about the Temple had centered on Carse as a woman, her fate was not unique among businessmen who took on similar ventures at that particular time. The problem was not Carse's management skills; rather, it was a depression that ruined many of her lessees, and a building cycle that created a surplus of office spaces in the city. Unable to pay off the mortgage, the WTCU officially disaffiliated itself from the building, which became the property of the
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symbol for the temperance movement, but also a fundraiser for the WCTU that would increase its "power and autonomy". However, it was, from the onset, Carse's personal project: it was not financed or managed by the WCTU, but by Carse herself. She incorporated and acted as the (self-appointed) trustee for the Women's
Temperance of Building Association (WTBA), which oversaw donations and sold stocks to finance the Temple. She sold
289:, the national organ of the WCTU. In this publishing business, Carse started the first stock company composed entirely of women as no man could own stock in the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association. Carse was president and financial factor of this association from its inception. In 1885, she began planning for the Temperance Temple, National headquarters of the WCTU, which was completed in 1892 at a cost of
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women. The subject of the conclave was the desire for a weekly newspaper to address the views, opinions, and activities of
American women. That night, the women sought divine counsel, each individually imploring God for an answer. The next morning the Women's Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA)
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for children in
Chicago, known as the Bethesda Day Nursery. That was followed in a year or two by the establishment, through her efforts, of a second, known as the Talcott Day Nursery. Besides this, several other nurseries, two free kindergartens, two gospel temperance unions, the Anchorage Mission,
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After the death of her son, Carse became a determined and outspoken leader of the temperance movement in
Chicago and nationwide in the United States. She joined the WCTU in 1874, becoming the president of the CCWCTU in 1878. The Chicago branch became one of the most successful branches of the WCTU,
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the following year, leaving her with three boys under seven years of age: David
Bradley, John Bradley, and Thomas Alexander. While in Paris, Thomas Alexander had a fall, which developed hip disease. A wealthy widow with an independent income, she used it to benefit local charities and welfare work.
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A large part of the controversy surrounding the
Temperance Temple was created by Carse's own personality and her position as a woman in a male-dominated sphere. In order to succeed in the business world, Carse had to be outspoken, stubborn and aggressive, traits that were considered masculine and
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was cancelled. Carse's vision for the building went far beyond a union meeting-place, however: as plans developed, the Temple became a headquarters for the WCTU as well as an office building, whose rents would provide income for the WCTU's operations. In this way, the building would not only be a
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Matilda Carse's first major business venture was the Woman's
Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA) in 1880. It was an independent stock company composed entirely of women, excepting George Hall, its original business manager—an organization that represented Carse's commitment to temperance,
293:. Besides the various charities supported by the CCWCTU, Carse was actively interested in many outside philanthropies, and her name was sought by benevolent societies and charitable boards. She was long prominent in Chicago civic life and charities, and especially on behalf of women.
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was created. Carse's business acumen made the WTPA a success, and she would serve as the head of its board of directors for the next 18 years. At its height in 1890, it employed over one hundred employees, mostly women, and published the largest women's paper in the world, the
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Though Carse is often remembered for her savvy as a businesswoman for the WCTU, she also sponsored various reform activities as the president of the CCWCTU. Carse's reform activities encouraged temperance but also more generally improved conditions for the
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a home for runaway girls, a reading room for men, two dispensaries for the poor and two industrial schools were established through Carse's management. These charities were supported at a cost of over
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business and the woman's movement. The WTPA published WTCU books and pamphlets to support temperance movement reform movements. The legend goes that on
November 1, 1879, at the WCTU convention in
321:. The family was also associated with philanthropy and reform. Educated in Ireland, Carse immigrated to Chicago in 1858 with her parents after the linen trade in Ireland faced an economic decline.
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Her mission in life was determined soon afterward, when in
Chicago, in 1874, Thomas Alexander, who had almost recovered his health, was run over by a wagon driven by a drunken German
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in bonds to her fellow WCTU members. Using these funds, and under the direction of Carse, the Temple was completed in 1893. it was designed by the noted architectural firm of
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434:, the official monthly newsletter of the WCTU. This move was initially met with much skepticism and outright negativity by the majority of WCTU members. The WCTU President,
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The death of Carse's youngest son caused her to devote her life to the alleviation of the poor and suffering, especially among children. She was president of the Central
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After the failure of her Temperance Temple, Carse continued to be committed to charity work. She was founder and president of the Woman's Dormitory Association of the
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A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life
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On October 8, 1861, she married a successful railroad manager and fellow Irish immigrant, Thomas Carse. He was a railroad manager in
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248:(November 19, 1835 – June 3, 1917) was an Irish-born American businesswoman, social reformer, publisher, and leader of the
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Known as the Temperance Temple, it was designed as a meeting place for the CCWCTU, after their agreement with the local
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Jane L. McKeever, "The Woman's Temperance Publishing Association," The Library Quarterly (October 1985): 368-370.
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Dictionary of American Temperance Biography: From Temperance Reform to Alcohol Research, the 1600s to the 1980s
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Jane L. McKeever, "The Woman's Temperance Publishing Association," The Library Quarterly (October 1985): 367.
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thanks to Carse's involvement and leadership; she was president for nearly forty years (1878–1917).
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in Chicago. She is remembered as a founding member and important leader of both the temperance and
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The troubled project came to an end largely due to an adverse business climate following the
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in 1913 to live with her son, David, and died there on June 3, 1917. She was buried at
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in the center of Chicago's financial district, the national headquarters of the WCTU.
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was published. This was a large, sixteen page weekly paper and two years later, when
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She served as president of the CCWCTU until 1913 and was the first woman on the
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769:(Public domain ed.). Woman's temperance publishing association. p.
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European Immigrant Women in the United States: A Biographical Dictionary
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843:(Public domain ed.). Perry-Nalle publishing Company. p.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893).
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Making it in America: A Sourcebook on Eminent Ethnic Americans
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Irish-born American businesswoman, social reformer, publisher
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Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary
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The National Exposition Souvenir: What America Owes to Women
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Pierce, Bessie Louise; Norris, Joe Lester (May 29, 2004).
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Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition
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As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673-1933
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Carse directly oversaw the creation and distribution of
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branch of the WCTU (CCWCTU) since 1878. She founded the
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in stock to Chicago businessmen and capitalists, and
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Presidents of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
739:"Old Chicago skyscraper of the week: Woman's Temple"
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for the benefit of the husband's health. He died in
955:. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. pp. 82–83.
531:Her work for women is also notable. She retired to
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60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
951:Lender, Mark Edward, ed. (1984). "Matilda Carse".
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788:Colby, Frank Moore; Churchill, Allen Leon (1918).
818:(Public domain ed.). C. W. Moulton. p.
794:(Public domain ed.). Dodd, Mead and Company.
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275:and in January, 1880, the first number of the
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924:James, Edward T.; Radcliffe College (1971).
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868:(Public domain ed.). Moulton. p.
840:The Part Taken by Women in American History
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1079:Members of the Chicago Board of Education
766:Thumb Nail Sketches of White Ribbon Women
406:, Carse held a secret meeting with seven
397:Woman's Temperance Publishing Association
273:Woman's Temperance Publishing Association
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
763:Chapin, Clara Christiana Morgan (1895).
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384:in Chicago. She established the first
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458:In 1885, she began planning for the
58:adding citations to reliable sources
1074:19th-century American women writers
1054:American women business executives
917:American National Biography Online
650:James & Radcliffe College 1971
527:Carse's grave at Rosehill Cemetery
371:Woman's Christian Temperance Union
313:, November 19, 1835. Her parents,
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911:Bordin, Ruth (February 2000).
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1064:American publishers (people)
963:; McDonnell, Judith (1994).
837:Logan, Mrs. John A. (1912).
677:Willard & Livermore 1893
507:World's Columbian Exposition
337:. In 1869, they went to the
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961:Litoff, Judy Barrett
892:. ABC-CLIO. p.
331:Louisville, Kentucky
54:improve this article
533:Park Hill-on-Hudson
325:Marriage and family
258:Lady Henry Somerset
250:temperance movement
215:temperance movement
810:Farmer, Lydia Hoyt
737:Architecturefarm,
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903:978-1-57607-098-7
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47:verification
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1039:1917 deaths
1034:1835 births
747:Attribution
708:Farmer 1893
620:Barkan 2001
589:Chapin 1895
547:movements.
476:US$ 300,000
472:US$ 600,000
110:August 2021
1028:Categories
608:Logan 1912
551:References
501:Later life
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424:The Signal
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303:Saintfield
210:Occupation
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168:1835-11-19
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177:, Ireland
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50:.
20:)
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