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General Evangeline Booth | |
|---|---|
 Booth in 1907 | |
| 4thGeneral of The Salvation Army | |
| In office 11 November 1934 – 1 November 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Higgins |
| Succeeded by | George Carpenter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Evelyne Cory Booth (1865-12-25)December 25, 1865 South Hackney,London, England |
| Died | 17 July 1950(1950-07-17) (aged 84) Hartsdale, New York, United States |
| Parent(s) | William Booth Catherine Mumford |
Evangeline Cory BoothOF (December 25, 1865 – July 17, 1950) was a Britishevangelist and the fourthGeneral ofThe Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was the first woman to hold the post.
She was born inSouth Hackney,London, England, the seventh of eight children born toWilliam Booth andCatherine Mumford, who had earlier in the year founded The Christian Mission, which became The Salvation Army in 1878. Catherine Booth had recently readUncle Tom's Cabin and wanted to name her baby 'Evangeline', but William Booth did not like the name and wrote 'Evelyne' on the birth certificate. Years later, while in the United States, Evelyne would be persuaded byFrances Willard, founder of theWoman's Christian Temperance Union, to adopt the name 'Evangeline' as being more dignified and more befitting the commander of The Salvation Army in America.[1]
At 15 she was a Sergeant selling the Army's paperThe War Cry in the slums of east London.[1] In 1887, at 21 years of age, she became theofficer of the corps inMarylebone, where there was very strong opposition to The Salvation Army. Wherever trouble threatened,General Booth's solution was invariably the same, 'Send Eva!'.[2]
Booth was appointed as Field Commissioner throughoutGreat Britain from 1888 to 1891, courageously facing riotous crowds. From 1891 until 1896 she was in charge of Officer Training. When in 1896 an American break-away group led by her brotherBallington Booth and his wifeMaud Ballington Booth attempted to tempt American Salvationists away from The Salvation Army and into a rival group calledVolunteers of America,General Booth sent Evangeline toNew York. When she arrived the doors to Army headquarters on 14th Street had been locked against her. However, "she mounted the fire escape and climbed through a rear window. The dissidents hissed and booed until she literally wrapped herself in an availableAmerican flag and challenged: "Hiss that, if you dare." In the stunned silence she played her concertina and sang "Over Jordan without Fearing." Ballington's rebellion was quelled."[1][3]
She was appointed temporary Territorial Commander of the United States, then Territorial Commander of Canada. In 1904 she returned as Commander of the United States, and held this position until 1934. In the aftermath of the1906 San Francisco earthquake, she led a mass meeting in Union Square, New York, and raised over $12,000 for Salvation Army relief work among the victims of the disaster. During this period she became a US citizen.[2]
In August 1917, despite the differences between Commander Evangeline Booth andUSGeneral Pershing, commander of theAmerican Expeditionary Force (AEF), the first of 250 Salvationists left New York for the front line of theGreat War in France. They soon won the confidence of the troops with their cheerful brand of 'seven-days-a-week' Christianity. As tributes poured in, Evangeline protested: 'The Salvation Army has had no new success; we have only done an old thing in an old way.' The American people disagreed, and subscribed an unprecedented $13 million to clear debts incurred by The Army, through its provision of canteens, hostels, rest rooms during the war, and afterwards on the provision of care and accommodation for the returning forces. For her work in support of the AEF, Booth was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal by the U.S. Army. Booth was one of only a very few civilian women to be so honored for service during the First World War.
In 1926, Booth recounted a story in which her dog "Mazie" saved her life by fetching others in her household to give hermouth-to-mouth resuscitation.[4] In 1927, Booth visited her brother,GeneralBramwell Booth, with a memorandum which set to change the way in which The Salvation Army appointed its General. At first Bramwell refused to speak with Evangeline and forced communication through his speech writer, Commissioner Cornelius Obadiah Phelps. After finally agreeing to meet, Bramwell was not convinced; he was adamant that he would appoint his successor as his father had done before him.[2]
In January 1929, the firstHigh Council of The Salvation Army decided otherwise, and since then the General has been elected by the High Council, in line with Evangeline Booth's original proposal.
Evangeline Booth was elected General by the secondHigh Council in 1934. She brought to the Generalship experience in many areas of The Army's work but never lost the zeal and enthusiasm of the early years. Dubbed 'The Musician General' by Army papers of the time, she took great interest in the soul-winning activities of the musical sections of The Salvation Army.
Like her father, the Founder, Booth extensively travelled the world. After her election as General she touredGreat Britain, and in 1935 India,Ceylon, Australia, New Zealand,Hawaii and the United States; then, immediately upon her return, Norway and Sweden. By the end of 1935 she undertook a 'motorcade' - the entire East Coast of England up toDarlington, then several Western Counties and the Thames Valley. The following year she went on another motorcade fromLand's End toJohn o' Groats, and visited Canada, the United States and France, though by this time she was over seventy years old.[2]
The Salvation Army's work greatly prospered during Evangeline Booth's leadership, with Salvation Army activities being commenced inSingapore,Algeria,Egypt,French Equatorial Africa,the Philippines, Mexico, andPenang (Malaya).
Her term of office ended on October 31, 1939 when CommissionerGeorge Lyndon Carpenter was elected as the Army's fifth General. Towards the end of November, Evangeline left Britain for her home in up-state New York, and spent the remaining years of her life there.[2]
She wrote several books, includingToward a Better World andSongs of the Evangel.The Salvation Army Evangeline Booth College inAtlanta, Georgia is named after her, as is 'The Evangeline Booth Lodge' inChicago which is "a haven for families and individuals suddenly homeless because of eviction, disasters such as a fire or flood, loss of utilities, domestic violence, being stranded while traveling, or other crises."[5]
General Evangeline Booth lived inHartsdale, New York, until her death at the age of 84 fromarteriosclerosis. She is interred inKensico Cemetery, Valhalla, Mount Pleasant, New York nearWhite Plains, New York. Her home, theEvangeline Booth House, now known as St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 2011.[6]
| Preceded by | General of The Salvation Army 1934–1939 | Succeeded by |
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