Susan B. Merwin

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

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

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

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

References

  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.