Elizabeth Rowell Thompson
“She assists and then she rests. She has but one enthusiasm, and that is reserved for the men who advance civilization. The men who control and compel nature's forces in new combinations set her mind aflame.” (Blue Lake Advocate, 1888)
Beginnings
“Betsy” Rowell was born into poverty on February 21, 1821 in Lyndon, Vermont. Put to service as a “girl-of-all-work” at the age of nine, by 1843, she was a servant in a boarding house. A chance encounter with a wealthy gentleman traveling to Boston changed her life forever . . .
Marriage
Thomas Thompson -- millionaire, recluse, art collector -- met Elizabeth and was instantly smitten by her beauty; they married in 1844. After Thompson's death in 1869, Elizabeth was left with a large, perpetual source of income from her husband's inherited fortune, business investments, and art collection, and began to live out her natural inclination toward generosity.
Philanthropist & Reformer
Longmont, Colorado, depicted in this 1873 sketch by A. E. Matthews, was a quasi-utopian planned community (a “cooperative” or “colony”) funded by Mrs. Thompson in 1871; she supported three similar sites in Kansas. Mrs. Thompson also facilitated publication of the first three volumes of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony's work, The History of Woman Suffrage (1881-1902), was perpetually interested in advancing the lives and rights of working women, encouraged scientific and medical research -- particularly first female astronomer Maria Mitchell's work at Vassar Observatory, along with efforts to find a cure for Yellow Fever -- and supported widows and orphans in India.
Cultural Champion
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation (1864) -- an historically significant painting by Francis Bicknell Carpenter -- was purchased for $25,000 in 1877 by Mrs. Thompson, who immediately donated it to the nation (displayed in the Senate Wing - West Staircase in the U. S. Capitol). In gratitude, Congress granted her the distinct privilege of being the only woman who could freely roam the congressional floor and speak directly to political representatives.
Concord Summer School of Philosophy & Literature
An attendee during the 1879 inaugural lectures held within Mr. Alcott's Study at Orchard House, Mrs. Thompson was quite taken by the proceedings and the ways in which all manner of presenters and participants were welcomed and encouraged to share their thoughts. Her donation of $1,000 enabled Bronson Alcott to have “Hillside Chapel” constructed on the grounds of Orchard House by the summer of 1880. “It is a mutual admiration society,” she said to an interviewer in 1888, when asked what the object of The School was. “At the same time, it is a comfort to know there is one place where anybody with an idea can go without fear of being knocked down for it.”
Author
Mrs. Thompson wrote two books in 1882 -- one being a temperance manifesto entitled The Figures of Hell, Or, the Temple of Bacchus. Dedicated to the Licensers and Manufacturers of Beer and Whiskey, and the other (at right), interestingly written in the third person, on the impact children's education could have on societal woes such as crime and poverty.
Legacy
A broad-minded, caring, beloved woman whose charitable influence spread across this country, and through the centuries.
“The greatest gift that wealth can bestow is opportunity.”
~ Elizabeth Rowell Thompson ~