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Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones

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Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones
A young white woman with dark hair in a bouffant updo, wearing a fluffy white shawl or stole
Eleanor Dwight Cook, from the 1902 yearbook of Radcliffe College
Born
Eleanor Dwight Cook

November 14, 1880
Cambridge, Massachusetts
DiedJuly 29, 1965
Riverhead, New York
Other namesMrs. F. Robertson Jones
Occupation(s)Suffragist, writer, activist
Known forPresident, American Birth Control League (1928–1935)

Eleanor Dwight Cook Robertson Jones (November 14, 1880 – July 29, 1965), known professionally as Mrs. F. Robertson Jones,[1] was an American suffragist, feminist, and writer. She was president of the American Birth Control League from 1928 to 1935.

Early life

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Eleanor Dwight Cook was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of William Cook and Susan Coffin Boyd Cook.[2] Her father was a professor of German at Harvard.[3] She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1902.[4][5]

Career

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Cook taught English at Bryn Mawr College from 1903 to 1906, and taught at the Chapin School from 1906 to 1908. She became active in suffrage work, as a member of the Woman's Political Union of New York City;[2] she worked on publicity and outreach projects for the suffrage organization in the 1910s, including parades and outdoor speeches.[3] She was also active with the Woman's Municipal League of New York.[2][6]

After suffrage was won, Robertson Jones was active in the American Birth Control League.[7][8] She served on the league's board of directors, and was acting president while Margaret Sanger attended the 1926 World Population Conference in Geneva.[1] She spoke to community organizations, participated in public debates and national conferences,[9][10] and lobbied in the New York legislature.[11][12] She was president of the league in 1928 to 1935.[13]

Robertson Jones supported eugenic policies, including "helping the right sorts of persons to have more children"[14] and sterilization to prevent "defective lineage".[15] In her later years, she worked for the legalization of euthanasia,[16] as executive vice-president of the Euthanasia Society of America.[3][17]

Personal life

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Eleanor Dwight Cook married Frederick Robertson Jones in 1905. Her husband was an economist.[18] They had two daughters, Eleanor and Katharine.[2] Her husband died in 1941, and she died in 1965, aged 84 years, at a hospital in Riverhead, Long Island.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Chesler, Ellen (2007-10-16). Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America. Simon and Schuster. pp. 237–238. ISBN 978-1-4165-5369-4.
  2. ^ a b c d Leonard, John W. (1914). Woman's Who's who of America. American Commonwealth Company. p. 439.
  3. ^ a b c d Wirth, Thomas; VanOmmeren Briggs, Askia; Andrews, Theodore K. "Biographical Sketch of Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones". Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  4. ^ a b "Mrs. F. Robertson Jones Dead; Birth Control Movement Leader". The New York Times. July 31, 1965. p. 21. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Radcliffe College, Class of 1902 (1902 yearbook): 19.
  6. ^ "Making Winter Gardens". The Manhattan Mercury. 1915-03-24. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Dowbiggin, Ian (July 2002). ""A Rational Coalition": Euthanasia, Eugenics, and Birth Control in America, 1940–1970". Journal of Policy History. 14 (3): 223–260. doi:10.1353/jph.2002.0017. ISSN 1528-4190. S2CID 153765809.
  8. ^ Burns, Gene (2005-04-11). The Moral Veto: Framing Contraception, Abortion, and Cultural Pluralism in the United States. Cambridge University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-139-44314-2.
  9. ^ "Conference on Birth Control Will be Held at Alumnae House". Vassar Miscellany News. May 5, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  10. ^ "Plan Discussion of Birth Control". The News Journal. 1931-04-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "News Notes". The Birth Control Review. 11: 118. April 1927.
  12. ^ "Birth Control Bill Has Strong Backing". Buffalo Evening News. 1928-02-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Succeeds Mrs. Sanger; Mrs. F. Robertson Jones Becomes Head of Birth Control League". The New York Times. 1928-09-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  14. ^ "League Asks for More Babies by People Fit for Parenthood". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1933-01-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Ferguson, Edna (1934-01-19). "Birth Control to Rebuilt World in 10 Yrs., She Says". Daily News. p. 335. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "'Merciful Death' Group Opens Campaign to Get Approval on Law Books". The Dayton Herald. 1938-01-17. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Myers, Joseph; Martin, Joseph (1946-11-01). "1,500 Doctors Back Mercy Killing Move". Daily News. p. 330. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Jones, Frederick Robertson, 1872-1941". The Online Books Page. Retrieved 2022-09-09.