Josephine Shaw Lowell was an American social reformer and philanthropist.
Background
Josephine Shaw was born in West Roxbury, Mass. , on December 16, 1843, into a family marked by social and intellectual distinction.
Her parents, Francis George and Sarah Blake (Sturgis) Shaw, were Unitarian philanthropists and intellectuals who encouraged their five children to study, learn and become involved in their communities. They lived for some years in France and Italy, and then settled on Staten Island while Josephine (known as 'Effie') was a child. Her brother was Robert Gould Shaw.
Education
During 1851-1855 the family lived and traveled in Europe, where "Effie" proved brilliant in her absorption of cultures and languages. She continued her education in New York and Boston.
Career
When the Civil War broke out, Josephine Shaw worked intensively for a branch of the U. S. Sanitary Commission. She joined her husband on the fighting front in Virginia.
Lowell returned to Staten Island and began a new career, seeking to advance African American education. She visited schools as well as hospitals, jails, and asylums. She later moved to Manhattan with her mother and daughter in order to be nearer the scene of her activities. Her work with the State Charities Aid Association and her impressive reports on the need for more adequate facilities for the poor and defenseless, as well as better investigatory processes, caused Governor Samuel J. Tilden in 1876 to appoint her to the State Board of Charities. She was the first woman to be so honored. As a result of her unremitting labors, the first custodial asylum in the country for mentally disabled women was established in 1878. In 1881 legislation was passed which resulted in state reformatories for women.
Lowell's reports, speeches, and correspondence—models of clarity and fact—affected dependent children, the insane, almshouses, prison conditions, the unemployed, and civil service reform. Although she concentrated on New York, her work affected national services.
The thoughts of Lowell went beyond charity to the causes of crime and injustice. In 1889 she left the State Board of Charities to move more freely in other directions. Her interests included the Woman's Municipal League and the National Consumers' League (of which she was a principal founder), as well as the study of methods and practical experiments for mediating labor-management conflicts. She died October 12, 1905.
Achievements
Josephine Shaw Lowell influenced legislation and organizations creating modern programs for the poor and needy.
Her greatest achievement was the founding of the Charity Organization Society of the City of New York, which gave form and direction to all the efforts of distinguished philanthropists in that city and beyond.
The Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain in Bryant Park, which is behind the New York Public Library Main Branch building, is dedicated to her. The fountain is New York City's first public memorial dedicated to a woman.
(Public Relief and Private Charity Classic Reprint)
Membership
She founded the Charity Organization Society of the City of New York, which gave form and direction to all the efforts of distinguished philanthropists in that city and beyond.
Connections
Josephine married Charles Russell Lowell, a businessman, in 1863. She followed him to Virginia when he was called into service during the American Civil War. Josephine helped wounded men on the battlefield. Charles died in battle, less than a year after they were married and only one month before their daughter, Carlotta, was born.
