by Linda Harris Sittig
It was January, 1869. The Civil War had just ended four years earlier. While women were still decades away from getting the right to vote, educational opportunities for women were beginning to increase.
January in Iowa was cold. But at Iowa Wesleyan University, two women, Hattie Briggs and Franc Rhoads, were outside on campus, talking. Hattie posed the question of forming a group of like-minded women who believed in the opportunity for education for all women. Franc concurred.
They invited five other women to join them: Mary Allen, Alice Bird, Alice Coffin, Suela Pearson, and Ella Stewart.
Two days later, the seven women met in Mary Allen’s home, pledging to support each other and focus on educational opportunities for other female students. At this time in American history, only fifty schools of higher learning were available to women.
The seven women of Iowa Wesleyan decided to name their group P.E.O., which stood for Philanthropic Educational Organization. Well aware of how education can benefit a woman, they pledged their actions and energies to help ‘motivate, educate, and celebrate women.’ One of their early endeavors was to consider fundraising that would support other women in pursuing an education.
The seven founders had all been friends on campus and were kindred spirits in their beliefs about the advancements for women. Their society was to be neither political nor religious, and although they started P.E.O. on the Iowa Wesleyan campus, it soon grew to include women not enrolled in that college. By 1885, seventeen additional chapters had been started by women in other locations.
Since its founding, P.E.O. has grown to over 200,000 members in over 5,500 chapters in America and Canada. The sisterhood has awarded over 450 million dollars in scholarships, educational loans, and grants to over 125,000 female recipients.
P.E.O. also owns and supports Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. Cottey is an independent liberal arts and sciences women’s college that strives to develop leadership qualities with a global perspective.
What happened to the original seven founders? All seven went on to live lives of dedicated service and continued in their commitments to P.E.O.
Mary Allen graduated and married Charles Stafford, a Methodist minister who became the president of Iowa Wesleyan. Mary stayed active in the community and passed at age 79. She is buried in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, the site of Iowa Wesleyan.
Alice Bird graduated as an honor student and married Washington Babb, who later became a lawyer. Alice became a talented writer and died at 70 in Aurora, Illinois.
Hattie Briggs earned a B.S. degree, married Henri Bousquet, and made their home in Pella, Iowa, where she taught music and art. Unfortunately, Hattie died young at 28.
Alice Coffin earned a B.S. degree, then broke off her engagement to Suela Pearson’s brother and remained single for the rest of her life. She devoted her life to teaching children but died at age 40. She is buried in Newton, Iowa.
Franc Rhoads became an early feminist. She married Simon Elliot and became an art teacher. Later, she did graduate work at the University of Chicago. Franc, an avid reader her entire life, died at age 72 in Chicago, Illinois.
Suela Pearson earned a B.A. degree and was considered the group’s most popular member. She married Frank Penfield, and they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they were associated with Standard Oil. Suela died after a long illness at 69. She is buried in Cleveland.
Ella Stewart was the only founder not to graduate. Her father died when she was 16, leaving her pregnant mother with five children. Although Mrs. Stewart then opened and ran a successful boardinghouse, Ella was needed at home to help with the other children. Ella eventually became a teacher at the Iowa Industrial School for wayward boys but died young at 46 and is buried in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
If you think back to 1869, when only 50 colleges were open to women, women now outnumber men in the number of holders of bachelor’s degrees, thanks in part to the support of other women.
P.E.O. continues to encourage women to join their sisterhood. Membership is open to any woman 18 years and older who acknowledges a belief in God. Women are eligible regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, or abilities.
If you are interested in this philanthropic organization, their link is: www.peointernational.org.
Thank you to Ella Akin and Sue McCollum, who first alerted me to the story of P.E.O.
Strong Women can be found everywhere.
~ Linda
While winter has been cold here in North Carolina, I am finishing my latest book, Chasing the Tides. It is a WWII story about the women on the American homefront who helped to build the Liberty Ships that transported supplies overseas. Stay tuned for more information on the publication.
And you can always catch me on www.lindasittig.com:)