Virginia Claypool Meredith

Virginia Claypool Meredith (November 5, 1848 – December 10, 1936) was an American farmer and livestock breeder, a writer and lecturer on the topics of agriculture and home economics, and an active clubwoman and a leader of women's organizations. Dubbed "Queen of American Agriculture" by the citizens of Mississippi in the 1890s, Meredith was also a pioneer in agricultural education. Between 1897 and 1903 she established the home economics programs at the University of Minnesota and served as the program's first professor. From 1921 to 1936 she served as the first woman appointed a Purdue University trustee. Meredith chose an unusual vocation for women of her time, successfully managing the day-to-day operations of her family's Indiana farm from 1882 until 1915. In addition to her agricultural-related work, Meredith was appointed to the Women's Board of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, serving as vice chair of the Women's Board and chair of its awards committee. She was also elected president of the Indiana Union of Literary Clubs, a founder of the Indiana Federation of Women's Clubs, and the first president of the Indiana Home Economics Association, founded in 1913.

Early life and education Virginia Claypool, the oldest of Hannah Ann (Petty) and Austin Bingley Claypool's eight children, was born on November 5, 1848, and grew up on Maplewood Farm near Connersville, Fayette County, Indiana. Newton Claypool, her paternal grandfather, was an early Indiana pioneer from Virginia who brought his wife from Ohio to settle in the wilderness. Austin Claypool, her father, became a prosperous farmer who was also active in politics and an early trustee of Purdue University. At the age of fifteen Virginia enrolled at Glendale Female College in Glendale, Ohio, graduating with honors in 1866 and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Marriage and family Virginia Claypool married Henry Clay Meredith, the sole surviving son of American Civil War General Solomon Meredith and his wife, Anna Meredith, on April 28, 1870. During the war, Henry Meredith served as a second lieutenant and aide-de-camp on his father's staff. Henry's two brothers, Samuel and David, died from battlefield injuries.

Four years after the death of her husband, Meredith took on the additional responsibilities of single motherhood.

Career Meredith became a nationally known woman farmer. For more than three decades she managed her Indiana farms and raised two adopted children. In the 1880s Meredith began speaking at Farmers' Institutes, forerunner to the Cooperative Extension Service, addressing audiences on various agricultural subjects. Her speeches on the topic of livestock management were a novelty for that time, when women rarely delivered public addresses and even fewer managed their own farms. The experience launched her career as a public speaker and writer. Meredith was a writer and editor for several years for the Breeders' Gazette, a livestock journal, and is considered the first woman to be hired by Purdue University's Agricultural Extension Department.

Beginning in 1882 Meredith assumed management responsibilities of Oakland Farm, which she inherited after the death of her husband. The family farm near Cambridge City, Indiana, was known for its find herds of Shorthorn cattle and Southdown and Shropshire sheep. In addition to managing the farm she became a livestock breeder, an unlikely vocational choice for a woman at that time, and won several prizes for her entries at livestock competitions. She authored "The Work of the Board of Lady Managers" describing their work. In 1895 Meredith was invited to speak at a farmers' institute at Vicksburg, Mississippi, where she delivered a speech titled "Profitable Sheep Husbandry" during a time in the Deep South when it was considered inappropriate for women to speak in public. On the final evening of the conference, Meredith was surprised with a gold medal that proclaimed her "the Queen of American Agriculture."

In 1896 Meredith moved to Minnesota, where she was the first preceptress at the University of Minnesota's School of Agriculture. Meredith was responsible for forming the university's home economics program and also served as the program's first professor. Between 1897 and 1903 Meredith served for six years as head of the home economic department at Minnesota, in addition to spending time at her Indiana farm when school was not in session. In May 1900 she sold Oakland Farm and purchased a farm south of Cambridge City. Meredith named the property Narborough Farm.

After returning to Indiana, Meredith resumed speaking at farmers' institutes while lobbying for support to establish a home economics program at Purdue University. She gave up day-to-day management of her Cambridge City farm in 1915 due to her advancing age and moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, in 1916 to live with her adopted daughter, Mary Matthews. After the move Meredith continued speaking and wrote articles for agricultural journals.

In addition to her agricultural work, Meredith was an active clubwoman. She was president of the Helen Hunt Club, a Cambridge City literary group, and the Cambridge City chapter of the Equal Franchise League. She was also president of the Indiana Union of Literary Clubs and a founder of the Indiana Federation of Women's Clubs. Meredith was named an honorary president of the Federation in 1918 when the two organizations merged. In addition, Meredith was the first president of the Indiana Home Economics Association, founded in 1913.

Death and legacy Meredith died at her home in West Lafayette, Indiana, on December 10, 1936, at the age of eighty-eight.

Purdue University's board of trustees paid tribute to her service at the time of her death, calling her "a woman of rare qualities" with "wide interests" who "created her own enduring memorial" through her public service and agricultural work. A collection of Meredith's papers are housed at the Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections in West Lafayette, Indiana. was dedicated on May 27, 1938. A state historical marker installed on Main Street in Cambridge City, Indiana, was dedicated to Meredith in 2014.