Barbara Spofford Morgan

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Barbara Spofford Morgan
A young white woman with dark hair in a bouffant updo, wearing a high-collared white lacy blouse
Barbara Spofford (later Morgan), from the 1909 yearbook of Bryn Mawr College
BornBarbara Spofford
July 15, 1887
New York City, New York, US
DiedMay 1, 1971(1971-05-01) (aged 83)
Canaan, Connecticut, US
Occupationeducator, essayist, specialist in mental testing
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMiss Spence's School, Wycombe Abbey School, Darmstadt University, Bryn Mawr College, Friedrich Wilhelm University
Spouse
Shepard Ashman Morgan
​
​
(m. 1912; died 1968)​
RelativesAinsworth Rand Spofford

Barbara Spofford Morgan (July 15, 1887 – April 1, 1971) was an American educator, essayist on religion and a specialist in mental testing.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Barbara Spofford was born on July 15, 1887, in New York City,[1] the daughter of Charles Ainsworth Spofford, a director of the Northern Pacific Railway, and Ellen Boardman. They moved to Norfolk, Connecticut, to give their daughter a better environment, and in 1898, built The Alders (now known as the Manor House), a Victorian Tudor-style mansion, designed by E.K. Rossiter.[2] Later Barbara and Shepard Morgan lived on Mountain Road, Norfolk.[1] Spofford was the granddaughter of Ainsworth Rand Spofford,[3] Librarian of the United States Congress from 1864 to 1897.[4]

The Alders

She was educated at Miss Spence's School in New York City,[5] and then attended Wycombe Abbey School in England where her father was working on a government commission.[5][6] In 1905, she was presented at court in the presence of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.[7] Morgan attended Darmstadt University in Germany[5] and in 1909 Bryn Mawr College. After college, she made a world tour.[8][1]

Career[edit]

On February 20, 1912,[9] she married Shepard Ashman Morgan (1884-1968),[10] president of the Chase National Bank and author of The History of Parliamentary Taxation in England and Reminiscences of Shepard Ashman Morgan (1950).[1][11][12] The Morgans were members of the Jekyll Island Club, a Southern haven for America's millionaires.[13]

In 1926, while her husband was economic advisor and later finance director of the Office for Reparation Payments in Berlin, Germany, she enrolled at the Friedrich Wilhelm University,[14] where she received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1928, the first American woman to achieve such a distinction. Her doctoral thesis was The Individual in American Education.[15]

Morgan was the author of The Backward Child, a Study of the Psychology and Treatment of Backwardness; A Practical Manual for Teachers and Students (1914),[16] Friendly Shepherdess (1933),[17] Individuality in a collective world (1935),[18] Skeptic's search for God (1947) (reissued in 1949 as Man's restless search).[1] She also contributed articles to The Atlantic,[19] the North American Review,[20] and The Baltimore Sun.[21]

Headstone at Norfolk Center Cemetery

From 1910 to 1911, she directed the psychological clinic of the Neurological Institute of New York. In 1911, she was featured in a full-page article in The New York Times: "Teaching Backward Children Their A-B-C's by Dancing, Where ordinary methods fails, Miss Barbara Spofford resorts to a novel plan of her own to instill the alphabet into youthful minds".[22] From 1916 to 1918 she lectured on mental testing at the New York University[23] and from 1914 to 1920 she had a private practice in mental testing in New York City.[1]

Morgan was governor of the Women's Municipal League, a field worker for the North American Civil League for Immigrants and an activist for the benefit of the Randalls Island Hospital for Mental Defectives. She was a trustee of the Public Education Association and a governor of the Cosmopolitan Club.[1]

Later years[edit]

In 1970, she donated The Papers of Ainsworth Rand Spofford to the Library of Congress.[24][25] Morgan died on April 1, 1971, in Canaan, Connecticut.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Mrs. Barbara Morgan, 83, Dies; A Specialist in Mental Testing". The New York Times. 1971. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  2. ^ "The History". manorhouse. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. ^ "18 Feb 1912, Sun • Page 33". The Sun: 33. 1912. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Ainsworth's Ashes: Final Resting Place of a Seminal Librarian of Congress". Library of Congress Information Bulletin. March 2005, v.64 no.3, p. 7. https://dcla.org/resources/Documents/IntercomApril2006.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-18
  5. ^ a b c "Barbara Morgan Dies, 83; Author Helped Retarded - 03 Apr 1971, Sat • Page 4". Hartford Courant: 4. 1971. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Mrs. Spofford's Death is Reported - 30 Jan 1942, Fri • Page 8". Arizona Daily Star: 8. 1942. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Americans at Court - 17 Feb 1905, Fri • Page 13". The Washington Post: 13. 1905. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  8. ^ "12 Jan 1910, Wed • Page 6". The Baltimore Sun: 6. 1910. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  9. ^ "20 Feb 1912, Tue • Page 11". The New York Times: 11. 1912. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  10. ^ "28 Jan 1912, Sun • Page 68". The New York Times: 68. 1912. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Shepard Ashman Morgan". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  12. ^ Morgan, Shepard Ashman (1950). Reminiscences of Shepard Ashman Morgan. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  13. ^ McCash, William Barton (1989). The Jekyll Island Club: Southern Haven for America's Millionaires. University of Georgia Press. p. 228. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Shepard Morgan, Ex-Reserve Bank Official, 84, Dies - 18 Nov 1968, Mon • Page 15". The Bridgeport Telegram: 15. 1968. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Former Barbara Spofford Honored - 02 Mar 1928, Fri • Page 10". The Indianapolis News: 10. 1928. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  16. ^ "News of Books - 22 Feb 1914, Sun • Page 58". The New York Times: 58. 1914. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  17. ^ "New Books at Public Library - 11 Mar 1934, Sun • Page 25". The Central New Jersey Home News: 25. 1934. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Culture in a Machine Age - 28 Sep 1935, Sat • KENTUCKY EDITION • Page 7". The Cincinnati Enquirer: 7. 1935. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Barbara Spofford Morgan". The Atlantic Monthly Group. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Preparing for Reconstruction - 15 Nov 1918, Fri • Page 8". Chicago Tribune: 8. 1918. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Boston Abloom - 20 Mar 1949, Sun • Page 39". The Baltimore Sun: 39. 1949. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Teaching Backward Children Their A-B-C's by Dancing - 23 Apr 1911, Sun • Page 51". The New York Times: 51. 1911. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Nancy Craig - 11 Sep 1947, Thu • Page 13". The Jackson Sun: 13. 1947. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  24. ^ Twain, Mark (1997). Mark Twain's Letters, Volume 5: 1872-1873. University of California Press. p. 787. ISBN 9780520918849. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  25. ^ "Ainsworth Rand Spofford Papers" (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
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