Jean Gurney Fine Spahr
Born
Jean Gurney Fine

1861
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, USA
DiedSeptember 25, 1935
New York City, USA
Other namesJean Fine Spahr
Alma materSmith College
Occupationheadworker
OrganizationRivington Street Settlement
Movementsettlement movement
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1892; died 1904)​
Children5 daughters
RelativesHenry Burchard Fine (brother)

Jean Gurney Fine Spahr (née, Fine; 1861 – September 25, 1935) was an American social reformer. A pioneer in the U.S. settlement movement, she was a co-founder and officer of the College Settlements Association (CSA),[1] and the head of the Rivington Street Settlement in New York City.

Early life and education

Jean Gurney Fine was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 1861. Her parents were Lambert Suydam and Mary Ely (Burchard) Fine.[2] Her siblings included the educators, Henry Burchard Fine, John B. Fine, and May Margaret Fine.[3]

She graduated from Smith College with a B.A. degree in 1883.[2]

Career

Spahr taught at Clinton College (Kentucky, 1883-85); and at the Brearley School (New York City, 1885-89).[2]

After teaching at Brearley School, Spahr went to London and visited Toynbee Hall where she became acquainted with the British-model of the settlement movement. Back in New York City in 1889, Spahr shared the idea with other college women and proposed the establishment of a settlement home in the city's Lower East Side at 95 Rivington Street.[4] Spahr became the headworker of the New York College Settlement from 1889 until her marriage in 1892,[2] to Charles B. Spahr, a co-founder of the University Settlement Society of New York.[5] Her focus was not on "do something for" the poor, but rather living with them and seeing them as equals. After her marriage, she continued as a director of the settlement.[4] In 1935, she was serving as honorary president of the "Art Workshop for Industrial and College Women", a change in programming initiated by the New York College Settlement five years earlier.[6][7]

Spehr was a member of the Smith College Alumnae Association, and served as president of the Present Day Club of Princeton.[2] She was also active in woman's suffrage work.[4]

Personal life

On July 5, 1892, at Princeton, New Jersey, she married Charles Barzillai Spahr, Ph.D. (1860–1904), political economist,[8] author, and associate editor of the Outlook. They had five daughters: Margaret (b. 1893; Smith 1914), Elizabeth Fine (b. 1894), Mary Burchard (b. 1896), Jean Gurney (b. 1899), and Helen Thayer (b. 1902).[2]

In religion, she was a Presbyterian.[2]

Jean Gurney Fine Spahr died of pneumonia in New York City on September 25, 1935.[9] In her will, she bequeathed US$10,000 for the endowment of graduate fellowships at Smith College.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ Gavit, John Palmer (1897). Bibliography of College, Social and Universety Settlements (Public domain ed.). Co-operative Press. p. 4. Retrieved 20 April 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Leonard, John W. (1914). Woman's Who's who of America (Public domain ed.). American Commonwealth Company. pp. 767–68. Retrieved 20 April 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ↑ "Jean F. Spahr Dies; Welfare Worker; Pioneer in Settlement House Movement Was Graduate of Smith College". The New York Times. 26 September 1935. Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via timesmachine.nytimes.com.
  4. 1 2 3 "Services Held In New York For Mrs. Spahr". The Ithaca Journal. 27 September 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Ross, Eva Jeany (1939). Fundamental Sociology. Bruce Publishing Company. p. 486. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  6. ↑ World Association for Adult Education (1930). World Conference on Adult Education: Cambridge, 1929. World association for adult education. p. 219. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  7. ↑ Addams, Jane (15 February 2019). The Selected Papers of Jane Addams: Vol. 3: Creating Hull-House and an International Presence, 1889-1900. University of Illinois Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-252-09952-6. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans ... (Public domain ed.). Biographical Society. p. 195. Retrieved 20 April 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ↑ "Deaths and funerals. Mrs. Jean Fine Spahr". The Ithaca Journal. 26 September 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Smith College Gets $10,000". The Times Dispatch. 2 October 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Funding". Smith College. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
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