| Mary M. Cohen | |
|---|---|
 "A Woman of the Century" | |
| Born | Mary Matilda Cohen February 26, 1854 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 1911(1911-07-02) (aged 57) Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Pen name | Coralie |
| Occupation | social economist, journalist, belletrist, educationist, communal worker, proto-feminist |
| Alma mater | Miss Ann Dickson's private school, Miss Catherine Lyman's school |
Mary M. Cohen (pen name, Coralie; February 26, 1854 – July 2, 1911) was an American social economist, journalist, belletrist, educator, communal worker, and proto-feminist of the long nineteenth century. She was also an artist, wood-carver, stenographer, typewriter, and a successful teacher.
Early life and education
Mary Matilda Cohen was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1854. She was the second daughter of Henry and Matilda Cohen, a prominent Jewish family. Henry Cohen was born in London, England, in 1810, came to the United States in 1844 and went into business in Philadelphia, where he died in 1879. He was identified with many Jewish and unsectarian philanthropic societies. Mrs. Cohen was born in Liverpool, England. She was prominent in charitable work.
Mary attended Miss Ann Dickson's private school in Philadelphia until she was fourteen years old, where she learned French, English, Latin, and sketching. She subsequently transferred to Miss Catherine Lyman's school to pursue her education. After leaving school, she took a course in literature under Professor Chase, and studied German for three years. From the age of seven, she was taught in music by her mother until prepared for instruction from masters. She began to write short stories when she was thirteen years old.
Career
Her first printed essay, "Religion Tends to Cheerfulness", appeared in the Jewish Index, and she subsequently became a prominent contributor to religious periodicals, both Jewish and Christian, writing under the pen-name "Coralie." She edited sketches of celebrated men and women for publications; handled general literature in prose and in poetry, and questions belonging to the sphere of Judaism with equal ability; she contributed articles on the status and important roles assumed by Hebrews and Hebrew women, besides stories and reviews to Jewish, secular, and Christian religious journals of various cities. Among these writings, were "Orthodox and Reform Jews;" "The Synagogue and the Jewess;" a poem in honor of Sir Moses Montefiore; "The Influence of Faith;" "Hebrew Women;" "Jewish Working Girls ;" studies of Robert Browning's poems, among them "Rabbi Ben Ezra," "Saul," and "Jochanan Ha Kadosh" (the Holy); "Miss Hattie;" "A Book That Has Helped Me," being a review of "The Story of Avis", by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward; and a paper on Emma Lazarus's writings. At the Hebrew Women's Congress, held in Chicago during the World's Columbian Exhibition, in 1893, Cohen read her paper on "The Influence of the Jewish Religion on the Home;" and another, on "What Judaism has done for the Theological Emancipation of Women," before the Unitarian Congress in Chicago during the same Exhibition. She also edited "The Diary and Letters of Louisa B. Hart," together with a memoir of Miss Hart.
She visited Europe three times and filled a number of responsible positions in various philanthropic societies. Cohen served as the president of the Browning Club of Philadelphia, of which she was the founder, as the corresponding secretary of the Jewish Publication Society of America, as a superintendent of the Southern Hebrew Sunday-school, as president of the society under whose direction the schools are conducted, as a member of some of the lending literary and art clubs of Philadelphia, such as the Contemporary Club, the Fairmount Park Association, and as a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. When the New Century Club was formed by the executive committee of the Women's Centennial Commission, after the Exposition of 1876 was closed, Cohen became a member, and was subsequently elected to the executive board. For a year, she had charge of the writing class organized by the New Century Guild, and for three years directed a Browning class. In November 1888, that class developed into an independent society, which developed a membership of nearly 600 men and women of Philadelphia. Cohen was also a member of the American Social Science Association, placed in the social economy department.
In 1884, Cohen was invited by Rev. Dr. H. L. Wayland, one of the directors of the American Social Science Association, to present to that organization a paper on "Hebrew Charities". The paper was read by its author before the convention held in Saratoga Springs, New York, September 12, 1884, was favorably received, discussed and published. On other occasions, Cohen read papers on such topics as "Personality as a Moving Power;" "The Balance of Power Between Industrial and Intellectual Work;" and "Interdependence of the Poetic and Critical Faculties."
Cohen received her religious inspiration from Rev. Dr. Sabato Morais. Cohen was chosen to serve on the Philadelphia committee of the Columbian Exposition, in the department of social economy. She worked for the Hebrew Sunday School; first, as an instructor in its Northern branch, and subsequently as Superintendent of its Southern Sunday School. She also provided services for the Young Women's Union and other charitable, educational, and social institutions. She was a member of the first Executive Committee, and afterwards Corresponding Secretary of the Jewish Publication Society of America. She was a member of the Committee on Religion of the National Council of Jewish Women.
Death
Mary M. Cohen died in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 2, 1911.
References
- "Mary Matilda Cohen". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 188.
- ^ Morais 1894, p. 316-.
- "Charles and Mary Cohen Collection". University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 189.
- Cantlon 2006, p. 960.
- "A LIST OF EVENTS IN 5672 AND NECROLOGY: July 1, 1911, to June 30, 1912". The American Jewish Year Book. 14: 116–195. 1912. JSTOR 23600788.
Attribution
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Morais, Henry Samuel (1894). The Jews of Philadelphia: Their History from the Earliest Settlements to the Present Time; a Record of Events and Institutions, and of Leading Members of the Jewish Community in Every Sphere of Activity (Public domain ed.). Levytype Company. p. 316.- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. ISBN 9780722217139.
Bibliography
- Cantlon, Marie (2006). Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34685-1.
External links
Works related to Woman of the Century/Mary M. Cohen at Wikisource- Works by or about Mary M. Cohen at the Internet Archive
- 1854 births
- 1911 deaths
- 19th-century American Jews
- 19th-century American non-fiction writers
- 19th-century American women journalists
- 19th-century American journalists
- 19th-century pseudonymous writers
- American feminist writers
- American women journalists
- American women non-fiction writers
- Economists from Pennsylvania
- Jewish American journalists
- Jewish American non-fiction writers
- Jewish feminists
- Journalists from Philadelphia
- 19th-century feminists
- Pseudonymous women writers
- Social economy in the United States