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Susan B. Merwin

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Susan B. Merwin
A sepia-toned photograph of a white woman, her dark hair parted center and dressed back; she is wearing a loose-fitting white dress with a v-neck and long sleeves, with a small pendant. She is holding a book in her hands.
Susan B. Merwin, photographed in 1916; photo appeared with her 1923 obituary in the Outlook for the Blind magazine.
Born
Susan Buckingham Merwin

(1874-11-21)November 21, 1874
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 1923(1923-05-06) (aged 48)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation(s)Educator, publisher, superintendent
Years active1895-1923
Known forSuperintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind and of the American Printing House for the Blind

Susan Buckingham Merwin (November 21, 1874 – May 6, 1923) was an American educator, publisher, and superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind.

Early life

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Merwin was born in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the five children of Samuel Miles Merwin and Mary Irvine Merwin.[1] Her father was from Connecticut,[2] and her mother was from Pennsylvania. She attended Girls' High School in Louisville, and trained at a teacher in the city's normal school.[3]

Career

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Merwin taught at the Kentucky School for the Blind beginning in 1895,[4] and was superintendent of the school from 1913 to her death in 1923. She was the second woman in the United States to become superintendent of a state school for the blind.[5] She started Boy Scout[6] and Girl Scout troops at the school,[1] and wrote articles about the school's work.[7] She was elected vice-president of the American Association of Instructors of the Blind in 1915. She also served as president of the Louisville Council of Social Workers.[1]

Beginning in 1919, Merwin was also secretary of the American Printing House for the Blind,[8] and associate editor of the national magazine Outlook for the Blind.[9] She served on the Commission on Uniform Type for the Blind.[10] She testified before a Congressional committee in 1920, explaining the work of the American Printing House for the Blind, and its need for federal funding.[11]

Personal life

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Merwin died in 1923, from pneumonia and influenza, aged 48 years, in Louisville.[12][13][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kleber, John E. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 613–614. ISBN 978-0-8131-2100-0.
  2. ^ Ricker, Jacquelyn L. (1979). Families of Early Milford, Connecticut. Genealogical Publishing Com. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-8063-0838-8.
  3. ^ a b "Miss Merwin is Taken by Death". The Courier-Journal. 1923-05-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-07-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Applegate, Kris (2014-06-23). Legendary Locals of Louisville. Arcadia Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-4396-4587-1.
  5. ^ "Kentucky School for the Blind". The North Central Association of Schools for the Blind. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  6. ^ "The Boy Scouts of America; Scouting Inspires Many Unfortunate Boys". Work with Boys: A Magazine of Methods. 11: 161. November 1911.
  7. ^ Merwin, Susan B. (1918-06-01). "Why Typewriting?". Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 12 (2): 49–51. doi:10.1177/0145482X1801200205. ISSN 0145-482X. S2CID 220539429.
  8. ^ "Fourth Report of the Commission on Uniform Type for the Blind". Outlook for the Blind. 13: 5. Summer 1919.
  9. ^ "Masthead". Outlook for the Blind. 14: xx. Spring 1920.
  10. ^ "Fifth Report of the Commission on Uniform Type for the Blind". Evergreen Review. 1: 5. September 1920.
  11. ^ United States Congress House Appropriations Committee (December 3, 1920). Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill, 1922, Hearings . . . 66th Congress, 3d Session, Parts 1,2. pp. 406–410.
  12. ^ "Susan B. Merwin". The Courier-Journal. 1923-05-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-07-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Susan B. Merwin". The New Outlook for the Blind. 17: 26–27. September 1923.
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