Emma Montgomery McRae

Emma Montgomery McRae (February 12, 1848 – September 21, 1919) was a Professor of English literature.

Emma Montgomery McRae[1]
Born(1848-02-12)February 12, 1848
Loveland, Ohio
DiedSeptember 21, 1919(1919-09-21) (aged 71)
Newton, Massachusetts[2]
NationalityUnited States
EducationMaster of Arts[3]
Alma materBrookfield Academy, Indiana[2]
Wooster College, Ohio[3]
OccupationTeacher
Spouse(s)Hamilton S. McRae (1868–1887)
ChildrenBertha (1873), Charlene (1876)[4]
Parent(s)William Montgomery and Anna née Newton

Born Mary Emma Montgomery in Loveland, Ohio, she was the daughter of William Montgomery and Anna née Newton.[4] Her family moved to Indiana when she was five.[5] Emma completed her undergraduate work at Brookfield Academy, Indiana, then she taught at a school in Vevay, Indiana.[3]

She became a high school principal in 1867 at Muncie, Indiana[2] and was married to Hamilton S. McRae on August 6, 1868,[4] the local superintendent of public schools.[1] She took the position of principal at Marion, Indiana in 1883.[2] Emma was the first woman in Indiana to be chosen president of the State Teachers Association.[6] Her husband died in 1887, leaving her with two daughters – Bertha born 1873 and Charlene born 1876.[4]

In 1887, she was appointed professor at Purdue University[2] by President James H. Smart.[6] There, she served as the unofficial dean of women and acquired the nickname "Mother" from the undergraduates. In 1894 a group of women created the Muncie McRae club in her honor, which was intended to fill a void caused by lack of educational opportunity for women.[6] She continued her studies at Wooster College, Ohio, earning a master's degree in 1896. In 1913, she was offered the official position of dean of women for Purdue University, which she accepted.[3] She retired June, 1913,[7] whereupon she was granted a retirement allowance by the Carnegie Foundation in July of the same year.[2]

References
  1. Kemper, William Harrison, ed. (1908), A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana, 1, Lewis Publishing Company, p. 263
  2. "Part V – De Mortius", Fourteenth Annual Report of the President and the Treasurer, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1919, p. 140
  3. Topping, Robert W. (1988), A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University, Purdue University Press, p. 175, ISBN 0911198954
  4. Leonard, John William, ed. (1914), Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, Gerritsen collection of women's history, 1, American Commonwealth Company, p. 532
  5. McRae Club records and photographs, MSS.111 (PDF), Alexander M. Bracken Library, Ball State University, March 16, 2015, retrieved 2018-11-12.
  6. Klink, Angie (2017), The Deans' Bible: Five Purdue Women and Their Quest for Equality, The Founders Series, Purdue University Press, pp. 4–5, ISBN 1557537658.
  7. "The Thirty-Ninth Annual Report of Purdue University", Bulletin of Purdue University, 14: 5–6, December 1913.
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