Caroline Henderson Griffiths

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Caroline Henderson Griffiths
An older white woman wearing a dark brimmed hat with a veil in back
Caroline Henderson Griffiths, from a 1921 publication
Born
Carrie Henderson

November 26, 1861
Covington, Indiana, US
DiedAugust 13, 1937
New York, New York, US
OccupationPhilanthropist
SpouseJohn L. Griffiths

Caroline Henderson Griffiths (November 26, 1861 – August 13, 1937) was an American diplomat's wife and philanthropist. After World War I, she organized book and equipment donations for children's libraries in Belgium and France.

Early life[edit]

Caroline Henderson was born in Covington, Indiana, and raised in Lafayette, the daughter of Albert Henderson and Lorana Richmond Henderson. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1880, as one of the first women to graduate from Purdue University.[1] Her older brother Charles Richmond Henderson was a sociology professor at the University of Chicago; her older sister Julia Henderson Levering wrote a book on Indiana history.[2][3]

Career[edit]

Henderson wrote a handbook on wood carving, published in 1887.[2][4] Griffiths was an officer of the Indiana Soldiers' Aid Society in 1898.[5] In Indianapolis, she supported the Flower Mission Home for Incurables,[6] a hospital she helped establish in 1903.[7] In 1918 she edited The Greater Patriotism, a collection of her late husband's speeches.[8]

After World War I, Griffiths headed the American Book Committee on Children's Libraries,[9] organized to deliver children's books and library furniture to Belgian and French communities recovering from the war.[10] Griffiths is credited with bringing the first children's libraries and reading rooms in Paris and Brussels.[11] The L'Heure Joyeuse [fr] programs also provided training for children's librarians; the Paris site counted writer Claire Huchet Bishop among its first librarians.[12] "In establishing children's libraries and reading rooms in Belgium and France," she explained, "we are only paying a little on a very large debt which America owes to Europe for the delightful hours the children in every generation have received from the great storytellers in Europe."[9]

Personal life[edit]

Henderson married lawyer and diplomat John Lewis Griffiths in 1889.[13][14] She was widowed when Griffiths died in London in 1914.[15] Their home in Indianapolis is now known as the Kemper House, and houses the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.[16] She died in New York in 1937, aged 75 years.[7] Her grave is in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alumni: From Feminine Standpoint". Purdue Exponent. February 4, 1904. p. 21. Retrieved May 2, 2021 – via Purdue University Archives and Special Collections.
  2. ^ a b DeHart, Richard Patten (1909). Past and Present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen. p. 406.
  3. ^ "New History of Indiana". The Star Press. 1909-02-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-05-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Indiana authors and their books 1967-1980". IU Digital Library Program. Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  5. ^ Indiana Adjutant General's Office (1900). Record of Indiana Volunteers in the Spanish-American War 1898-1899. W.B. Burford. p. 21.
  6. ^ "Will Dedicate New Hospital". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-25. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-05-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Former Local Woman Dies in New York City". Indianapolis Times. August 14, 1937. p. 16. Retrieved May 2, 2021 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  8. ^ Griffiths, John Lewis; Griffiths, Caroline Henderson (1918). The greater patriotism; public addresses by John Lewis Griffiths, American consul general at London, delivered in England and America. London; New York: J. Lane; John Lane Company. OCLC 2036799.
  9. ^ a b "Happy Hours for Children". La France. 5: 212. February 1921.
  10. ^ "BOOKS FOR BELGIAN YOUTHS; Mrs. John L. Griffiths Returns After Establishing Library in Brussels". The New York Times. 1920-10-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  11. ^ Moore, Annie Carroll (October 15, 1920). "Children's Libraries in France". Library Journal. 45: 832.
  12. ^ Benoit, Gaetan (1985). "Eugène Morel and Children's Libraries in France". The Journal of Library History. 20 (3): 277–280. ISSN 0275-3650. JSTOR 25541627.
  13. ^ "Untitled social item". The Indianapolis Journal. 1889-05-23. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-05-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "John L. Griffiths, Gentleman, Lawyer, and Loyal Citizen". The South Bend Tribune. 1905-01-28. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-05-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "John L. Griffiths Dies in London; Apparently in Good Health, Consul General Succumbs to a Heart Seizure". The New York Times. 1914-05-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  16. ^ Pierson-Griffiths House / Kemper House, 1986; at Indiana Memory.
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