Lolita Coffin Van Rensselaer
A white woman wearing a dark boater hat and a uniform-style jacket with lapel insignia
Lolita Coffin Van Rensselaer in the 1910s
Born
Lolita Adela Coffin

November 1, 1875
Irvington, New York
DiedJanuary 10, 1947
New York City
Occupation(s)Clubwoman, activist
SpouseLyndsay Van Rensselaer

Lolita Adela Coffin Van Rensselaer (November 1, 1875 – January 10, 1947) was an American clubwoman and activist. Among her national leadership roles, she was vice-chair of the National League for Women's Service during World War I, and worked with Pauline Sabin on the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR), an anti-temperance women's organization formed in 1932.

Early life and education

Coffin was born in Irvington, New York, the daughter of Joseph Wilbur Coffin and Lolita Frances Taft Coffin.

Career

During World War I, Van Rensselaer was the vice chair of the National League for Women's Service.[1][2] "Mrs. Van Rensselaer spoke clearly and distinctly and really has a military bearing," reported a Tennessee newspaper in 1917.[3] She toured England and France in 1919, speaking with refugees and women war workers.[4] "None of us wish another conflict in which our very hearts were involved, as well as the safety of this country," she told a San Francisco audience in 1927. "But it is my opinion that women will always rise to the needs of this nation and of the American people."[5]

After the war, Van Renssellaer was executive secretary of the Women's Department of the National Civic Federation of New York.[6][7] She was a member of the General Committee on the Limitation of Armament when it formed in 1921.[8]

In 1926 Van Rensselaer was on the campaign committee to re-elect James W. Wadsworth Jr. to the Senate.[9] She was a prominent member of the anti-temperance Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR).[10] and a member of the board of governors of the Women's National Republican Club.[11] In 1930 she addressed the School of Politics of the Women's National Republican Club, saying, "I think that we have assumed a semi-jocular attitude toward Congress that is ill-justified."[12]

Publications

  • "Prison Reform of the Woman's Department National Civic Federation" (1917)[13]
  • "The National League for Woman's Service" (1918)[1]

Personal life

Coffin married Lyndsay Van Rensselaer in 1897. They had a daughter, Catharine. Her husband died in 1928, and she died in 1947, at the age of 71, in New York City.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 van Rensselaer, Mrs. Coffin (1918). "The National League for Woman's Service". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 79: 275–282. doi:10.1177/000271621807900135. ISSN 0002-7162. JSTOR 1013993. S2CID 220719911.
  2. ↑ "Woman's Service in War; Address by Mrs. Coffin Van Rensselaer Enjoyed". The Bennington Evening Banner. 1917-05-18. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Mrs. Montague Elected President of New League". The Chattanooga News. 1917-03-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "France Needs First Aid in Reconstruction; Women's Faith Amidst War's Anguish Sublime". The Buffalo News. 1919-02-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Service League Officer Honored". The San Francisco Examiner. 1927-08-02. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ National Industrial Conference Board (1924). Special Report. p. 64.
  7. ↑ "Police Vice Squad Indorsed by Women". The New York Times. February 20, 1920. p. 17.
  8. ↑ "General Committee on the Limitation of Armament Declaration and Membership, November 1921". Jane Addams Digital Edition. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  9. ↑ "Women to Help Reelect U. S. Senator Wadsworth". Scarsdale Inquirer. September 3, 1926. Retrieved December 23, 2023 – via Hudson River Valley Heritage.
  10. ↑ "Women Social Leaders Meet to Fight Drys". Daily News. 1932-04-13. p. 134. Retrieved 2023-12-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 "Mrs. Lolita C. Van Rensselaer". The York Dispatch. 1947-01-13. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Woman Praises Congress; Mrs. Coffin Van Rensselaer Says Its Members Work Hard". The New York Times. 1930-01-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  13. ↑ Van Rensselaer, Lolita Coffin (January 1917). "Prison Reform of the Woman's Department National Civic Federation". Everywoman. 11 (9): 3 – via Internet Archive.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.