Adelaide Wallerstein

Adelaide Dorn Wallerstein McConnell (March 4, 1869 – June 12, 1942) was an American translator, medical doctor, lawyer, and clubwoman, based in New York City.

Adelaide Wallerstein
Adelaide Wallerstein, from a 1908 publication.
Born	Adelaide Dorn March 4, 1869 Massachusetts
Died	June 12, 1942 Hotel Astor, New York City
Nationality	American
Other names	Adelaide Dorn McConnell (after 1911)
Occupation	medical doctor, lawyer, translator, clubwoman

Early life

Adelaide Dorn[1] was from Worcester, Massachusetts.[2][3] She graduated from law school at New York University in 1898,[4] and earned her medical degree at the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women in 1905.[5][6]

Career

Wallerstein practiced medicine from an office in her New York home,[7] and in 1905 founded a free clinic,[8] the East Side Clinic for Children.[9][10] She was president of the clinic for 25 years, until it closed in 1931.[1] She also translated French literature into English.[11]

"There is no better-known clubwoman in New York than Mrs. Harry Wallerstein," noted the cover of Broadway Weekly in 1904.[12] She was president of the Woman's Legal Aid Society when it began in 1898,[13] and president of the Adelaide Wallerstein Auxiliary of the National Army Relief Association for Porto Rico; the latter organization sent books, blankets, and disinfectants to American soldiers during the Spanish–American War.[14][15] During World War I she organized a women's group to assist the Marines.[16] She was also active in the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Women's Press Club of New York.[1] She headed the Philocalian Society in 1907, a group of clubwomen who sought to discourage young women from drinking, low-cut gowns, and late-night socializing in New York.[17]

Adelaide Wallerstein was president of the Rubenstein Club, from 1904 until a controversial ouster in 1909.[18][19] In response,[20] she founded the New York Mozart Society;[21] the society's chorus performed at the White House in 1911, with Arthur Claassen conducting.[22] She was president of the Mozart Society from 1909 to 1937.[1]

Personal life

Adelaide married businessman Henry "Harry" Wallerstein in 1899;[23] they divorced in 1910.[24][25] In 1911 she married businessman Noble McConnell.[26][27][28] She died at the Hotel Astor in New York City in 1942, aged 73 years.[29][1] Congressman Chris Shays is her grand-nephew; he is the grandson of Adelaide McConnell's sister, Lillian Cecile Dorn Shays.

References

1. "Mrs. N. M'Connell, Civic Leader, Dies". The New York Times. June 13, 1942. p. 15 – via ProQuest.
2. "Mrs. Harry Wallerstein" Marsh's Magazine (October 1908): 33.
3. "Busy Club Woman". Vermont Journal. April 2, 1904. p. 3. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "A Woman Lawyer, Doctor, Philanthropist". The Delineator. 71: 442. March 1908.
5. "New York Medical College and Hospital for Women". The North American Journal of Homeopathy. 53: 60. 1905.
6. Student (August 25, 1907). "In a Service Larger than Self". Century Path. 10: 9.
7. "New York Philanthropist". Belleville Republic County Democrat. January 10, 1907. p. 3. Retrieved April 26, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
8. "Society Woman is Also Busy Doctor". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 23, 1906. p. 32. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
9. The New York Charities Directory. Charity Organization Society in the City of New York. 1912. p. 228.
10. Club Women of New York. Mail and Express Company. 1908. pp. 64, 364.
11. "Mrs. Adelaide Wallerstein". The Peterson Magazine. 109: 650–651. June 1896.
12. Mrs. Wallerstein, a Handsome New York Hostess. Broadway Weekly. March 31, 1904. pp. cover.
13. "Mrs. Harry Wallerstein". The New York Times. March 27, 1898. p. IMS5 – via ProQuest.
14. Neely, Frank Tennyson (1898). Panorama of Our New Possessions.
15. "Woman and Home; A New York Clubwoman Who Is the Soldier's Friend". Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. April 14, 1899. p. 5. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "'Devil Dogs' to Honor Mrs. Noble McConnell". Daily News. May 24, 1920. p. 17. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "No Cocktails, No Peek-a-Boos". The Courier. November 24, 1907. p. 7. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "WOMEN IN CLUB CLASH AT WALDORF; Mrs. Dr. Wallerstein Tries by Force to Retain Presidency of the Rubenstein. DETECTIVES PUT ON GUARD Mrs. Chapman, in Whose Favor Mrs. Wallerstein Was Deposed, Bars Followers of Her Rival from Concert". The New York Times. 1909-03-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
19. "RUBINSTEIN WAR IRRITATES COURT; Justice Hendrick Says Too Many Women's Club Rows Are Brought Before Judges. FIGHT FOR THE PRESIDENCY Mrs. Chapman Says Mrs. Wallerstein's Rule Was Arrogant -- Legality of Latter's Election Undecided". The New York Times. 1909-03-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
20. "New Musical Club; Mrs. Wallerstein Incorporates a Rival Organization to the Rubenstein's". The New York Times. August 10, 1909. p. 7 – via ProQuest.
21. "Varied Activities for Mozart Society". Musical Courier. 83: 28. October 20, 1921.
22. "To Sing for Mrs. Taft". Washington Post. May 12, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved April 26, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
23. "Wallerstein Estate $100,000 to Ex-Wife". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 9, 1915. p. 20. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Wallersteins Separate". The New York Times. December 4, 1910. p. C16 – via ProQuest.
25. "Slum Worker Gets Divorce". The Los Angeles Times. December 5, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Births, Marriages, Deaths". New York Medical Journal. 94: 168. July 15, 1911.
27. "McConnell--Wallerstein". The New York TImes. June 29, 1911. p. 11 – via ProQuest.
28. "Leader of Clubs Weds". The Evening Sun. July 14, 1911. p. 7. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "Deaths". The New York Times. June 13, 1942. p. 15 – via ProQuest.

External links

• Adelaide Dorn McConnell at Find a Grave