Wendell's Group

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The club was organized by Harriet Hanson Robinson, Caroline Severance, and Julia Ward Howe. By 1893, some 340 members belonged to the club. Publisher and activist Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was the first African-American woman to join the organization, when she joined in the mid-1890s. Although the club was run by and for women, men were allowed to join. A few men had attended the initial meeting, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Freeman Clarke, Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Amos Bronson Alcott. Of these, Emerson, Clarke, and Higginson all became members. The goal of the club was to 'provide a suitable place of meeting in Boston for the convenience of its members, and to promote social enjoyment and general improvement.' Committees oversaw club activities with regard to 'Art and Literature,' 'Discussions,' 'Education,' and 'Work.' 'Monday Teas' were held every week. In its first year, club members set about organizing a horticultural school.

In Their Own Story

Lectures occurred frequently, given by both club members and invited speakers. Among the many lecturers in the club's first decades were: Louis Agassiz, Amos Bronson Alcott, George Thorndike Angell, Richard Henry Dana Jr., Ralph Waldo Emerson, Annie Adams Fields, James T. Fields, William Lloyd Garrison, Edward Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Henry James, and Mary Tyler Peabody Mann. Around 1903, the club moved its headquarters from Park Street to the newly constructed New Century Building on Huntington Avenue, designed by architect Josephine Wright Chapman. In 1909, the club moved into the newly constructed Chauncy Hall Building at 585 Boylston Street, and it was there as late as 1922.

Reader's Guide

This entry covers the New England Women's Club as documented in the source. The club was founded in May 1868 in Boston, Massachusetts, and was one of the two earliest women's clubs in the U.S. Key founders included Harriet Hanson Robinson, Caroline Severance, and Julia Ward Howe. The club incorporated in 1887 with eight signatories. Membership reached about 340 by 1893. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin joined in the mid-1890s as the first African-American member. Men could join; Emerson, Clarke, and Higginson became members. The club's stated purpose was to provide a meeting place and promote social enjoyment and general improvement. Activities included committees on Art and Literature, Discussions, Education, and Work, plus weekly Monday Teas. In its first year, members organized a horticultural school. The club moved to the New Century Building around 1903, then to the Chauncy Hall Building at 585 Boylston Street in 1909, remaining there as late as 1922.

Did You Know?

• The New England Women's Club was founded in May 1868, just a couple of months after Sorosis in New York City.
• The first public meeting was held on May 30, 1868, in Chickering Hall.
• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was the first African-American woman to join the club, in the mid-1890s.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Freeman Clarke, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson all became members of the club.
• In its first year, club members set about organizing a horticultural school.