katharinebementdavis

Not sure who she was....she wasn't the blues singer and she wasn't the Katherine Davis who wrote "The Little Drummer Boy", so I give up.

Eugenicist, warden of a women's prison, and first director of New York City's Bureau of Social Hygiene: "The Bureau of Social Hygiene grew out of the appointment of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to a special grand jury investigation of the white slave trade in New York in 1910. Rockefeller served as foreman for this investigation, which was scheduled to last for one month. He kept the investigation going for six months and in the end released a detailed report calling for a permanent commission to investigate "social evil… in the leading cities of this country and Europe…."(1) When the mayor refused to set up such a commission, JDR Jr. decided to do it himself. (2) He interviewed over a hundred educators, intellectuals and businessmen about the project. On March 22, 1911, the Committee of Three (JDR Jr., Paul Warburg and Starr Murphy) met and organized the Bureau of Social Hygiene. The name was first used in October 1911, although the organization was not formally incorporated until 1913.(3) KATHERINE B. DAVIS, former commissioner of Charities and Correction of New York and superintendent of the Bedford Hills Reformatory for Women, was chosen as the first general secretary.(4) The purpose of the Bureau was 'the study, amelioration, and prevention of those social conditions, crimes, and diseases which adversely affect the well being of society….'" The full article expands on the pseudoscience and slipshod analytical methods of Eugenics devotees: www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/othersrv/isar/archives2/sources/bsh.htm

Another Bain/LOC portrait of Katherine Davs:

Dr. Davis assumed her position as New York's Commissioner of Corrections on January 1, 1914, and the Bain News Agency immediately circulated photos of her actively performing her duties:

magical portrait %_%

Sociologist Katharine Bement Davis (1861?-1935), New York CIty Corrections Commissioner beginning in 1914. www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/kbd/kbdframe.html

Appointed to her position by the newly-elected Mayor of New York, John Puroy Mitchel. Another Bain/LOC portrait of Katherine Davis:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Bement_Davis

pennylrichardsca: Thanks for the further information on Dr. Davis. We will add to the record when we update.

Dr. Davis assumed her position as NYC's Commissioner of Corrections on January 1, 1914, and the Bain News Agency immediately circulated photos of her on the job:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_da_Costa_Greene
"Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) was an American librarian who managed and developed the personal library of J. P. Morgan. After Morgan's death in 1913, Greene continued as librarian for his son, Jack Morgan, and in 1924 was named the first director of the Pierpont Morgan Library. Despite being born to Black parents, Greene spent her professional career passing for white."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Bement_Davis
"Katharine Bement Davis (January 15, 1860 – December 10, 1935) was an American progressive era social reformer and criminologist who became the first woman to head a major New York City agency when she was appointed Correction Commissioner on January 1, 1914."
"Based on her role in the suffragist community and position as commissioner, Davis was on the Progressive party's 1914 slate for State Constitutional Convention seat, making her the first woman to run for a New York statewide office on a major party ticket."

For more Bain photos of her, see
- www.flickr.com/photos/tags/katharinebementdavis

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maude_A._K._Wetmore
"Maude Alice Keteltas Wetmore (February 7, 1873 – November 3, 1951) was an American political organizer and historical preservationist, based in Newport, Rhode Island. She and her sister lived in the Wetmore family mansion, Chateau-sur-Mer, now a museum in Newport."

Could be the same Alice Carpenter as in


The photo of her speaking to a crowd of men was used in
Biographical Sketch of Alice Carpenter from Biographical Database of Militant Woman Suffragists, 1913-1920
- documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1009054706

Both dates on the current negative (one on a stamp) appear to indicate that the photo of the four women is from 1916, perhaps in September.

Alice Carpenter was clearly an activist. See:
* Varied Activities of Women. New York Herald, Sep 10, 1916, Page 27
- www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-herald-varied-activit...
Includes photo of Miss Alice Carpenter, chairman of the city committee of the Hughes [Charles Evans Hughes] Alliance
"There are some persons born to certain things, and like Mrs. A. Heuston of the Woman Suffrage party, Miss Carpenter was born, among other ends, to lead parades."
* Miss Carpenter Leads 15,000 Women into Line for Hughes. New-York Tribune, Aug 20, 1916, Page 13
- www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-miss-carpente...
Includes photo of Miss Alice Carpenter, chairman of the city committee of the Hughes [Charles Evans Hughes] Alliance
* A Woman Doctor for Women Investors. New-York Tribune, Aug 04, 1918, Page 46
- www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-a-woman-docto...
Includes photo that is clearly of the same woman as in the Bain photo of the 4 women.
"A WOMAN has opened a department for women in the New York office of one of the largest investment houses in the world, with branches in Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, Paris, London, etc. ... Three years ago on the eighteenth of January the head of the firm sent for Miss Alice Carpenter and said he had reached the conclusion that a department should be opened in which a woman could sell bonds to women investors, explaining to them the elements of finance, giving them the confidence they lacked. And he offered her the position at its head."
Interestingly, the name of the investment house is not given.

It was William P. Bonbright & Co. See ad at bottom left of
New York Times, Nov 17, 1915 ·Page 11
timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/11/17/10504742...

Success! I've now found this photo, by following the date.
Women Leaders of Hughes Alliance, Buffalo Press and Sun-Bulletin, Wed, Sep 13, 1916, Page 1, top, col 4-6.
- www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-women-l...
"These are the leaders of the Women's New York City Committee, of the Hughes' Alliance at their first meeting in New York City. They are, left to right, Belle DeAcosta Green, Alice Carpenter, Catherine Davis and Maude Wetmore."

Before finding the picture, I found an article that possibly gives the location:
New-York Tribune, Sep 11, 1916, Page 4, Col 5 (near top)
www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-meeting-of-ne...
"The Women's City Committee of the Hughes Alliance, Miss Alice Carpenter, chairman. will hold its first big meeting in the Hotel Astor this afternoon at 4:00 o'clock. Miss Carpenter will preside and Philip J. McCook and Dr. Katherine B. Davis will address the women."

Good sleuthing swanq. We'll add some of that info to our catalog record.

I cropped that pic of Greene and added it to her Wikipedia page

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_da_Costa_Greene