Woman's Christian Temperance Union records collected by Edna Maine Spooner, 1890-1974

(bulk 1920-1950)

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2014

Collection Overview

Title:	Woman's Christian Temperance Union records collected by Edna Maine Spooner
Date range:	1890-1974, (bulk 1920-1950)
Creator:	Anti-Saloon League of Rhode Island.
Extent:	3.25 Linear feet
Abstract:	Edna Maine Spooner, of Rhode Island, devoted much of her life's work to the cause of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. This collection, gathered by Spooner, is a rich source of materials documenting the W.C.T.U.'s efforts on both the local, state and national levels. The entire range of materials dates from 1890 to 1974, with most beginning in the 1920s and ending around the 1950s. It includes assorted materials from both the Roberts chapter of the W.C.T.U. of R.I. (based in Cranston, R.I.), and W.C.T.U. of R.I. itself, most likely collected by Spooner when she was an an active member and assumed various administrative and other leadership roles within the local and state organizations. It also includes a significant amount of materials that she collected from the National W.C.T.U--materials which document the W.C.T.U.'s broader perspective: its administrative operations; its social, political and religious agenda; its educational outreach; and its publicity endeavors. What makes this collection particularly strong is its substantive collection of booklets, brochures, and leaflets, along with a few scattered issues of periodicals and a small group of monographs, principally published by the National W.C.T.U. Publishing, the Signal Press, and other affiliate groups. This is an excellent collection of documentation for anyone interested in Women's Studies, and in the social, religious, and political history of the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	Ms.Spooner

Scope & content

This collection dates from 1890 to 1974, the bulk of which ranges from 1920 to 1950. It contains an assortment of materials, including business letters; a wide variety of administrative documents; a prodigious amount of printed materials (primarily in the form of booklets, brochures, and leaflets), along with a few scattered monographic and serial titles; a small strand of subject files; some ephemeral materials (primarily comprised of newspaper clippings); and a small, but quaint collection of artifacts.

Series 1: Correspondence includes business correspondence either originating from Edna Maine Spooner or sent to her, most of which documents her various administrative roles within the local chapter, the Roberts Union (of Cranston, R.I.) and the statewide Woman's Christian Temperance Union of R.I. The core of this series is the correspondence sent from the national W.C.T.U., to the W.C.T.U. of R.I.--a particularly strong set of letters, dating from 1926 to 1949 which document a wide-range of the W.C.T.U.'s corporate concerns, strategies, mission, and administrative procedures.



Series 5: Printed materials, is comprised of a substantial collection of printed materials published by the W.C.T.U. It includes a particularly strong and hefty assortment of booklets, pamphlets, and leaflets from national W.C.T.U.'s affiliate publishers--the National W.C.T.U. Publishing House and the Signal Press--as well as from other W.C.T.U. divisions, the Young People's Branch and the Youth Temperance Council. These files together with a smaller, but significant (and rare) assortment of W.C.T.U monographic and serial titles, form a comprehensive record of the W.C.T.U.'s intellectual history as a corporate body and as an agent for social, religious, and political change.

Series 6: Subject files, incorporates a small collection of topical files associated with the W.C.T.U. and the temperance movement, including materials referencing the political significance of 18th Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as an interesting collection of materials associated with a local temperance organization, the Anti-Saloon League of R.I. It also includes files with assorted materials referencing a few prominent W.C.T.U. members from both the state and the national W.C.T.U.: Frances E. Willard, Edna M. Spooner, and Ethelyn H. Roberts.

Series 7: Ephemera, is relatively small in scope, consisting primarily of newspaper clippings arranged into broad topical files.

Series 8: Artifacts, is also small in scope, and includes paper envelopes and small cloth pouches that were made by hand and designed to be money holders for W.C.T.U. fund-raising endeavors, as well as a few W.C.T.U. convention paraphernalia, including ribbons, pins, and paper napkins.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

• Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive.

Subject Topics

• Temperance--Societies, etc
• Temperance--United States--20th century
• Women and religion--United States
• Women--Rhode Island--Societies and clubs
• Women--United States--History--20th century--Sources

Document Types

• Booklets
• Brochures
• Ephemera
• Lapel pins
• Leaflets (printed works)
• Letters (Correspondence)
• Newspaper clippings

Subject Topics

• Add RIAMCO Browsing Term HERE

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in 8 series:

• Series 1: Correspondence: organized into files by recipient/sender, or by sender/recipient; letters within each file are arranged chronologically.
• Series 2: Woman's Christian Temperance Union (R.I, Roberts Union): arranged alphabetically by topic.
• Series 3: Woman's Christian Temperance Union (R.I.): arranged alphabetically by topic.
• Series 4: Woman's Christian Temperance Union (National): arranged alphabetically by topic.
• Series 5: Printed materials: arranged by type of publication ; further subdivided by publisher.
• Series 6: Subject files: arranged alphabetically by topic.
• Series 7: Ephemera: arranged alphabetically by topic.
• Series 8: Artifacts: arranged alphabetically by topic.

Biographical/Historical note

Edna Maine Spooner

Edna Maine Spooner, a lifelong resident of R.I., was born in 1891, in the White Rock area of Westerly. She resided in the Eden Park section of Cranston before settling in Kingston near the end of her life. She was the daughter of Reuben C. and Minnie M. Maine. She married Leroy A. Spooner and had one daughter, Lucille S. Votta, with whom she lived when she passed away in 1981.

Spooner, a music educator, was the director of the Hawthorne Music School in Cranston for several years where she taught voice and piano. She was also one of the original members of the Phillips Memorial Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School, shared her musical expertise, helped organize charities, and assumed the office of church historian for many years. Later on in her life, she became a member of the Kingston Congregational Church.

Spooner was also a temperance reformer. She became an active member of the National Woman's Temperance Union and took on various leadership and administrative roles within the local chapter, the Roberts Union, based in Cranston, R.I. as well as within the state wide W.C.T.U. of R.I.

The National Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in November of 1874. It grew out of the "Woman's Crusade" of the winter of 1873-1874. Initial groups in Fredonia, New York and Hillsboro and Washington Court House, Ohio, after listening to a lecture by Dr. Dio Lewis, were moved to a non-violent protest against the dangers of alcohol. Normally quiet housewives dropped to their knees in pray-ins in local saloons and demanded that the sale of liquor be stopped. In three months the women had driven liquor out of 250 communities, and for the first time felt what could be accomplished by standing together.

In the summer of 1874 at Chautauqua, preorganizational discussion was held by the women. They decided to hold a national convention that fall in Cleveland and the WCTU was formed. Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer was elected president; Miss Frances E. Willard, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Mary Johnson, recording secretary; and Mrs. Mary Ingham, treasurer.

Behind the WCTU's temperance reform was "protection of the home." The slogan "For God and Home and Native Land" (later changed to "Every Land") expressed the WCTU's priorities. Through education and example the WCTU hoped to obtain pledges of total abstinence from alcohol, and later also tobacco and other drugs. The white ribbon bow was selected to symbolize purity, and the WCTU's watchwords were "Agitate - Educate - Legislate."

Local chapters were called "Unions" and were largely autonomous, but closely linked to the state unions and national headquarters. There were clear channels of authority and communication and the WCTU quickly became the largest woman's organization in the United States (and later, in the world.)"*

*from: Welcome to the WCTU, last modified Friday, June 14, 2013, http://www.wctu.org/earlyhistory.html

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:	Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation:	Woman's Christian Temperance Union records collected by Edna Maine Spooner, Ms.Spooner, Brown University Library.
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Collection received as gift from Lucille Spooner Votta, given in memory of Edna Maine Spooner, circa 1980.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Robert Rosa.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2014-09-29
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

See also the periodical Outlook, a publication of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Rhode Island.

Inventory

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