Helen Barrett Montgomery (1861-1934) was a social reformer, a Baptist luminary, and a prominent intellectual of the American women's ecumenical missionary movement. In this definitive biography, Kendal Mobley analyzes the intellectual development of a fascinating woman and locates her in the context of her rapidly-changing times. Mobley explores Montgomery's early family influences, her education and spiritual development, and her relationship with other notable individuals of the era, including Susan B. Anthony. As Mobley points out, Montgomery believed that Christianity gave women equal spiritual and social status with men. Consequently, she saw ""woman's work for woman"" as the cutting edge of a global movement for women's emancipation.
Kendal P. Mobley (Th.D., Boston University School of Theology) is the Senior Pastor at Enon Baptist Church, Salisbury, NC, and Adjunct Instructor in Church History, Pfeiffer University, Misenheimer, NC.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CHAPTER 1. HELEN BARRET MONTGOMERY: THE INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGE 2. "THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD AND THE VICTORIAN FAMILY": THE CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION OF HELEN BARRETT 3. EVANGELISM, PROGRESSIVISM, AND DOMESTICITY: HELEN BARRETT'S WELLESLEY 4. THE NEW WOMAN AT WORK, HOME, AND IN PUBLIC: HELEN BARRETT MONTGOMERY'S RETURN TO ROCHESTER 5. MONTGOMERY'S "NEW WOMAN" AND THE LIMITLESS SCOPE OF WOMAN AS CITIZEN 6. SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND HELEN BARRETT MONTGOMERY: AN INTERGENERATIONAL FEMINIST PARTNERSHIP 7. THE ROCHESTER WOMEN'S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION: MONTGOMERY'S PLATFORM FOR MUNICIPAL HOUSEKEEPING 8. HELEN BARRETT MONTGOMERY, WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, AND THE BATTLE FOR PROGRESSIVE PUBLIC EDUCATION 9. THE HACKETT HOUSE EPISODE AND THE BIRTH OF SOCIAL CENTERS 10. "A GREAT THEME": DOMESTIC FEMINISM AND THE GOSPEL OF THE WOMEN'S JUBILEE 11. AFTER THE JUBILEE: WOMEN'S COLLEGES AND "WORLD FRIENDSHIP" 12. A "MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD BAPTIST": CREEDALISM AND THE DEFENSE OF BAPTIST LIBERTY 13. CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY
A pioneering insight into the life and contribution of one of the most significant, yet overlooked, women of her time. -Laceye Warner, Associate Dean for Academic Formation and Programs, Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies, Duke University Divinity School This is the finest work available on one of the most important women in the history of American Christianity. -Dana L. Robert, Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission, Boston University School of Theology With fresh eyes, Kendal Mobley has judiciously researched and unearthed new facets of this remarkable woman. -Molly T. Marshall, President and Professor of Theology and Spiritual Formation, Central Baptist Theological Seminary Mobley's reinterpretation of Montgomery's intellectual and social sphere [makes] Helen Barrett Montgomery a read for historians interested in "New Women" who do now easily fit into preconceived categories. -- Howell Williams, Louisville, KY -- The Journal of Church History
