by Georgia Lupinsky
This month we highlight the
powerful and inspirational story of Nellie (Patterson) Baldwin that was found
among the papers of CGS Past President John Ellis Hale that are now part of our
manuscript collection. She was his
maternal grandmother.
Her early life
Born 11 June 1865 in
Muskegon, Michigan to Robert Burnside Patterson and Mary Graham Miller, she was
a bright student, finishing the three-year high school program in Ludington,
Michigan when she was fifteen. The school added another year, so she went back
in 1882, at age seventeen and became the first and only graduate of the four-year
program.
Afterwards, she taught
school in the area for several years. Her teaching experience shaped her
outlook towards children, which would come into play in her later years.
Her next chapter takes shape
In 14 September 1887 she
married Edward Lewis Baldwin in Ludington and the couple moved to San Francisco
about 1890. Nellie became active in a
variety of women’s clubs, serving as state chairman of Civics in the General
Federation of Women’s Clubs from 1906 to 1908 and as President of the
California Club from 1908 to 1910.
After her husband’s death in
1912, Mrs. Baldwin managed her husband’s business, the Ferry Drug Store, known
as “the first drug store from the Ferry” at 20 Market Street that was, “found
to be a convenient store by the trans bay and tourist trade. By her careful
supervision she increased steadily the prestige of the store.”
A noble purpose blossoms in San Francisco
In November of 1919 members
of various civic and women’s clubs endorsed Mrs. Baldwin as their candidate for
appointment to the Board of Education, their purpose being to have the next
vacancy filled by a woman who has taken “an ardent interest in the welfare of
the children of the city.”
A leader in women’s social work, she served as
Chairman of the Probation Committee of the Juvenile Court for twelve years. And, on August 7, 1920, an article appeared in
the San Francisco Examiner entitled
“S.F. Woman is Juvenile Judge.” Mrs. Baldwin had the distinction of being one
of only five women “ex-officio” judges in the nation. This announcement
appeared in other newspapers nationwide.
The Seattle Daily Times stated, “every city of any size now has its
women attorneys, but the appointment of women to the bench is still rare enough
to attract wide attention.” Each Thursday morning Mrs. Baldwin heard cases in
which girls were involved and worked hard to keep juveniles out of the
mainstream of criminal courts.
Later in life Nellie lived
with her daughter and son-in-law, Marion and William Morrell Hale, on Ashby
Avenue in Berkeley and died there 10 September 1945. Her grandson believed her
teaching experience and her concern for children helped him through difficult
times in his young life.
How to use our manuscript collection
To learn more about our
collection, please visit our
website, then select the Databases tab
in the upper right hand corner on the home page. Under “Databases Free to All”
click on the “CGS Manuscript Collection Index” and a current copy of the
database will appear for the reader’s review. The database is organized
by: title, geography, timeframe, description and surname.
If you find a collection
that is pertinent to your research, call to make an appointment with a member
of the Manuscript Collection Committee or the Desk Duty volunteer to view items,
as this is a closed stack collection. We have many wonderful research resources
for the genealogy community and look forward to seeing you soon!
Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society
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