Esther Pugh

Esther Pugh (August 31, 1834 – March 29, 1908) was an American temperance reformer from Ohio. She served as Treasurer of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a Trustee of Earlham College, as well as editor and publisher of the monthly temperance journal, Our Union. She died in Philadelphia in 1908.

Esther Pugh
BornAugust 31, 1834
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 29, 1908
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupationtemperance reformer, editor, publisher
Signature

Early years and education

Esther Pugh, daughter of Achilles and Anna Maria Pugh, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 31, 1834. Her parents were Quakers. For many years, the father was a journalist in Cincinnati, and publisher of the "Chronicle". Pugh received a good education.[1]

Career
Esther Pugh

Early on, Pugh became interested in moral reforms, and soon became prominent in the temperance movement. She was one of the leaders in the movement, joining the WCTU during its first meetings.[2] She served as Treasurer of the National WCTU for 15 years, and her management style repeatedly aided the national order in passing through financial difficulties. Considered to be a clear and forcible orator, she traveled for temperance work throughout the United States and Canada, lecturing and organizing unions. Pugh's association with Frances E. Willard was enduring.[1]

Succeeding Mary Towne Burt,[3] Pugh served as publisher and editor of the monthly temperance journal, Our Union, for years.[2][4] According to Gifford (1995), Pugh, Frances H. Rastall and Caroline Buell used the Union Signal (the paper's name after its merger with The Signal) to promote their private businesses.[5] Because of her journalistic experience, Pugh was called upon to provide guidance for the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church's periodical, Woman's Home Missions, regarding typeset and how to make up a "dummy".[6]

Pugh's work in the WCTU, beginning in Cincinnati, caused her residence at different times to be in Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, though made her home is in Evanston, Illinois.[2] She served an Elder in the Friends church. She was appointed a Trustee of Earlham College by Indiana Yearly Meeting, and held that position until failing health made it necessary for her to resign. Pugh died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1908. The funeral service was held at the home of her sister, Mary T. Wildman, in Philadelphia. Pugh was buried in Waynesville, Ohio.[1]

References
  1. Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends 1905, p. 171.
  2. Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 591.
  3. Hanaford 1883, p. 407.
  4. Rowell 1882, p. 278.
  5. Willard 1995, p. 385.
  6. Board of Managers of the Woman's Home Missionary Society 1882, p. 99.

Attribution
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Board of Managers of the Woman's Home Missionary Society (1882). Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the Year ... (Public domain ed.). Western Methodist Book Concern Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hanaford, Phebe Ann (1883). Daughters of America; Or, Women of the Century (Public domain ed.). B. B. Russell.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends (1905). Minutes. 58–89 (Public domain ed.). Richmond, Indiana: Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rowell, George Presbury (1882). Geo. P. Rowell and Co.'s American Newspaper Directory (Public domain ed.). Geo. P. Rowell & Company.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now 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. p. 591.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Bibliography
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