Mary Beaumont Welch

Mary Beaumont Welch (July 3, 1841 – January 2, 1923) was an American educator and suffragist. Welch, who taught at what later became Iowa State University, developed the first home economics classes given for college credit. She also wrote the first book on the topic called Mrs. Welch's Cookbook, publishing in 1884.

Biography Welch was born in Lyons, New York, on July 3, 1841. Welch graduated from Elmira Seminary and worked as a teacher. Her first husband, George E. Dudley, whom she married in 1858, died in 1860. She was head of the department from 1875 to 1883. At Iowa State, she taught classes including botany, chemistry, geology, physics, and physiology.

Her original curriculum included tying the sciences to domestic economy. Her students only cooked on an oak stove as gas, electronic, and aluminum appliances were not yet available during that time. Students also learned the value of food, the chemistry composition, and action of baking powder. This cookbook was partly based on her time in New York City, New York and Kensington, England where she studied. Her ashes were returned to Ames and buried next to Adonijah in the college cemetery. The domestic science building that was created during Welch's time is still standing today. Iowa State University now provides classes for undergraduate Family Consumer Science students such as Educational Principles for Family and Consumer Sciences, Foundations of Career and Technical Education in Family and Consumer Sciences, and Pre-Student Teaching Experience in FCS Education: Practicum in Diverse Settings.