Mary Barnett Poppenheim

[Barrycdog]

Expired Image Removed
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=25502778

Miss Mary Poppenheim has made her brilliant qualities of mind, her affections and her many advantages at home, in college and abroad, a means of blessing and service to her native state. In 1896 she became one of the first hundred members of the Charleston Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy. While treasurer of that chapter she organized the historical department and served as state historian nine years, resigning to become president of the State Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. As state historian she collected and helped edit two volumes "South Carolina Women in the Confederacy." Hers was the second division to inaugurate Historical evenings at the state convention. As president she instituted the educational work in her State Division. Miss Mary Poppenheim became chairman of education in the General United Daughters of the Confederacy, and had charge of that work for nine years, until she resigned in 1917 to become president general. Before resigning her previous office she inaugurated the plan for an educational endowment of $50,000, the interest of which should be used for scholarships for worthy veterans' descendants. As president general her official work fell within the period of the great World war, and she was responsible for turning the resources of the organization to relief work. In one year the United Daughters endowed seventy beds at the American Military Hospital No. I, at Neuilly, France, at an expenditure of $42,000 a year; they made 3,000,000 Red Cross garments; 2.500,000 Red Cross surgical dressings; 93,000 Red Cross knitted articles; gave $82,000 to Red Cross Chapters; and supported 800 French and Belgian children at a cost of $82,000 a year.
Miss Mary Poppenheim is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a charter member of the Young Women's Christian Association, the Century Club, the Civic Club, the Intercollegiate Club, of which she was president for nineteen years, a member of the South Carolina Historical Society, being one of the first three women elected to membership in that society, was for nineteen years secretary of the Ladies Benevolent Society of Charleston, a member of the Vassar Alumnae Historical Society, a member of the Board of the Woman's Exchange, former vice president of the student body of Vassar, and chairman of the literature committee of the General Federation of Women's Clubs.
Excerpt from: "History of South Carolina"
By Yates Snowden, Harry Gardner Cutler

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

This is so odd- I just bumped into photos of some of this era of our women making the crossing during WW1, and before the US was officially in the war. My grgrandfather, a surgeon, was called up by the Red Cross to serve in Serbia, we have photos of the crossing there, with him and his group of Red Cross workers. His little convoy left NY harbor in company with the Lusitania- his journal states the rest of their crossing was awfully hairy- his ship was identical in what she carried below. My grgrandmother had an awful time of it thought- he was originally booked ON the Lusitania, he badically missed the ship, his berth was re-booked. Nana did not know this until he could ' Get to a phone' - I guess Gibraltor? She was planning his funeral. True story.

I keep meaning to pull out the photos he took of the crossing ( he was a photo buff, carried his own outfit )- see if any of the women Red Cross workers these chapters funded were there. They did do amazing work- and not only while the US was in the war- Serbia was a wreck of wounded and typhoid, the Red Cross funded huge amounts of humanitarian help.