Spencer, Anna Garlin

Related Category: U.S. History: Biographies

1851–1931, American educator, feminist, and Unitarian minister, b. Attleboro, Mass. She married the Rev. William H. Spencer in 1878. She was a leader in the woman-suffrage and peace movements. Ordained in 1891, she held a pastorate in Providence, R.I. She was later associated with the New York Society for Ethical Culture (1903–9) and the New York School of Philanthropy (1903–13). Over a long period she was a popular lecturer and wrote on social problems, especially concerning women and family relations. Her writings include Woman's Share in Social Culture (1913) and The Family and Its Members (1922).