Alice Birney Explained

Alice McLellan Birney
Birth Name:Alice Josephine McLellan
Birth Date:October 19, 1858
Birth Place:Marietta, Georgia, U.S.
Death Place:Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
Resting Place:Oak Hill Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma Mater:Mount Holyoke Seminary
Occupation:Educator

Alice McLellan Birney (October 19, 1858  - December 20, 1907) was an American educator who co-founded the National Parent-Teacher Association in 1897.

Early life and education

Alice Josephine McLellan was born in Marietta, Georgia, the daughter of Leander and Harriet Tatem McLellan. She finished high school at age 15. After briefly attending Mount Holyoke College, she worked as a schoolteacher, an advertiser, and a social worker.[1]

Career

She and Phoebe Hearst founded the National Congress of Mothers, later known as the Parent-Teacher Association, with the first meeting held in Washington, D. C. in 1897.[2] [3] Birney served as president for its first five years. Birney also wrote widely on the topic of child-rearing, including the 1905 book Childhood, a compilation of her articles written for The Delineator and other publications.[4] Due to her declining health, Birney was replaced by Hannah Kent Schoff in 1902 as president of the National Congress of Mothers.[5]

Personal life and legacy

After her first husband, lawyer Alonzo J. White Jr., died in 1880, she married Theodore Weld Birney (a grandson of James G. Birney) in 1892.[6] She had three daughters, Alonsita Eliza White (b. 1881), Catherine Weld Birney (b. 1893), and Lillian Harriet Birney (b. 1895). "Weld" is a reference to Theodore Dwight Weld. She was again widowed in 1897. Birney died of cancer at Chevy Chase, Maryland, in 1907, age 49; her remains were buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington D.C.[7] [8]

Because of her efforts, a number of elementary and middle schools throughout the United States have been named in her honor, including Alice M. Birney Elementary School in Long Beach, California,[9] Alice M. Birney Elementary School in Pico Rivera, California,[10] Alice Birney Elementary[11] in San Diego, California, Alice M. Birney Middle School (defunct)[12] in Southfield, Michigan, Alice Birney Waldorf Elementary School, Sacramento, California,[13] and Alice Birney Middle School (defunct) in North Charleston, South Carolina[14]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/175/alice-j-mclellan-birney "Alice J. McLellan Birney,"
  2. PTA HONORS A FOUNDER: Memorial Held at Marietta, Ga., for Alice Birney. 28 . New York Times . 1947-02-18. .
  3. "Birney, Alice McLellan (1858–1907)." Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Ed. Anne Commire. Vol. 2. Detroit: Yorkin Publications, 2000. 557. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 June 2013. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2591301137&v=2.1&u=usocal_main&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
  4. Web site: Childhood. Alice McLellan. Birney. 21 May 1905. F.A. Stokes Company. 21 May 2024. Google Books.
  5. Book: Ladd-Todd . Molly . Mother-work: Women, Child Welfare, and the State, 1890-1930 . 1994 . University of Illinois Press . 9780252064821 . 48–49 . September 12, 2019.
  6. Web site: Alice Josephine McLellan Birney . 2013-06-27.
  7. Elvena B. Tillman, "Alice Josephine McLellan Birney," in Edward T. James, Janet Wilson James, and Paul S. Boyer, eds., Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary (Harvard University Press 1971): 147-148.
  8. Web site: Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown, D.C. . oakhillcemeterydc.org . 2022-08-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220302174045/https://www.oakhillcemeterydc.org/app/themes/oakhill/assets/records/67e.pdf . 2022-03-02 . live.
  9. Web site: Alice M. Birney Elementary School website.. 21 May 2024.
  10. Beth Uyehara, "Old Boat Finds Friendly Berth in Birney Schoolyard" Los Angeles Times (March 19, 1987).
  11. Web site: Home .
  12. Alice Birney in Eureka Ca, Birney School in Redondo Beach Californiahttps://birney.rbusd.org/,Alice M. Birney Middle School website K-8
  13. Web site: Alice Birney - Home Page. 29 October 2021. 21 May 2024.
  14. Web site: Alice Birney Middle School. propublica.org. 21 May 2024.