Martha Parmelee Rose

Martha Parmelee Rose (, Parmelee; pen name, Mrs. W. G. Rose and Charles C. Lee; March 5, 1834 – May 5, 1923) was an American journalist, social reformer, social leader, and philanthropist. Interested in the poor and destitute, especially the sufferings of sewing women, Rose succeeded in arousing attention for the establishment of a training school in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to writing articles on the labor question and similar topics, she published several books. Rose was a social leader and a patron of art.

Early life and education Martha Emily Parmalee was born in Norton, Ohio, March 5, 1834. Her parents were Theodore Hudson Parmelee and Harriet (née Holcomb) Parmelee.

She was a granddaughter of Captain Theodore Parmelee, of Litchfield, Connecticut, whose service in the American Revolutionary War was rewarded by a grant of land. In 1811, Theodore H. Parmelee removed from New England to Ohio with his uncle, David Hudson, who founded the Western Reserve College, of Hudson, Ohio, now Adelbert Hall. In 1813, Theodore Hudson Parmelee went to Ohio with this colony. Educated under Lyman Beecher, he was too liberal to be an adherent of Calvin, and he accepted the views of Oberlin, which opened its college doors to African Americans and to woman.

Career

Following her graduation, she engaged in teaching music in the seminary at Mercer, Pennsylvania, and it was there that she became acquainted with William G. Rose, a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, an editor and lawyer. and in Cleveland they reared their family of four children. In 1910, Rose appealed to the General Federation of Women's Clubs to abolish the wearing of corsets as a vital step in securing the physical and moral well-being of women.

She was a patron of art.

Selected works Album of the Western Reserve Centennial, 1896 (text) Travels in Europe and Northern Africa : a woman's view, 1901 (text) The American boy and letters to his mother, 1912 (text) The Western Reserve of Ohio and some of its pioneers, places and women's clubs, 1914 Volume 1 (text) Volume 2 (text) Reminiscences or Character Building