As I conclude the year 1911, Mrs. Thomas G. Moses re-enters the story as a one-line entry in a newspaper article published in the “Joliet Evening Herald-News” (11 June 1911, page 12). I seldom explore the life of Thomas G. Moses’ wife, Susan “Ella” Robbins, in my posts. One of the reasons is that she primarily remained absent from print, being primarily identified in minimal public records and a few brief mentions in her husband’s memoirs. Prior to 1911, there are only a few mentions of “Mrs. Thos. G. Moses” in the newspaper mostly associated with various church events.
It is not that she was confined to the home, unloved by her husband. However, like most women of her time, she was cast in a supporting role. Ella spent much of her married life taking care of home responsibilities while her husband crisscrossed the country to complete one theater project after another. After the children were grown and her own parents had passed, what was there to do other than housekeeping? Primarily volunteer and church work. Her husband worked until his death, never really slowing down. Ella had not worked outside of the home since getting married. For one year, she worked as a seamstress’ assistant in Sterling, Illinois, before giving birth to their first child.
Ella was the love of Tom’s life, their first having met in the one-room schoolhouse in Sterling. Moses recalled their first date in 1872, writing, “The first party we attended together compelled me to do some hustling in putting my clothes in shape, as about the only clothes I had were made from my Father’s cast-offs, which had done good service in the tannery. A paper collar and “dickey” over my flannel shirt, a piece of ribbon for a tie, a good coat of blacking on my heavy shoes and I was ready to shine in Society. I think Ella was awfully brave to go with me, especially when the other boys always dressed better than I.” The couple was married on October 31, 1878, with their first child, William Pitt Moses, arriving in 1879.
Ella was her husband’s confidant, counselor, and eventual caretaker. When Moses’ father and step-mother rejected him, Ella and her family were there to welcome him with open arms and support him. They offered unconditional love, something that had vanished when his birth mother passed away at a young age. Ella became his rock, an integral link that completed her husband’s network of support throughout the decades. When her husband did return home after a project, he escaped to the solace of his attic studio, always painting. He also left home between work projects to hone his artistic skills on sporadic sketching trips. All the while Ella was there to keep everything quiet on the home front. She was the one who packed up their entire house and moved east when her husband started a new studio in New York in 1900, with children in tow. She was the one who kept children and grandchildren from bothering their father/grandfather while he was painting. As most women during this time, her life was defined by the desires and actions of her husband. There was little time for her to follow her dreams as she was always busy with home and church projects. We will never know if this was “enough” and made her life complete.
It was a time when women could note vote, and most of their activities were limited by gender. As fascinated as I am with this particular period of time, I would have hated the restrictions of being a female at this time. I think of my mother’s frustration when she first purchased a car during the 1950s. She had an advanced degree, a full-time position as a teacher, and a guaranteed income, yet could not secure a car loan without the co-signature of a male, ideally a father or husband. Yes, my grandfather thought this was ridiculous too, so he loaned her the money. Forty years prior to my own mother’s experience, women had limited control of their bodies, their bank accounts and property without some form of guardianship from a male; these restrictions suggest that women were in capable of making important decisions. And yet there remain men who yearn to return, restricting women. We remember that when women are kept at home, unemployed, and constantly pregnant their voice in society is effectively silenced.
One of the few outlets for women during the early twentieth century was charitable work for religious organizations. Such was the case for Mrs. Thomas G. Moses and the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Chicago Presbytery. In 1911, she was a speaker at the annual meeting held at DuPage church. The Thursday, June 8, event was attended by 125 ladies, 67 of whom were representatives from various Chicago churches, with the remaining number coming from the surrounding parishes and towns. The morning session opened with a hymn, a devotional service and words of welcome from Mrs. M. B. McNutt. Then various reports were presented from the secretaries, treasurer and a personal story described foreign missionary work.
Mrs. Thomas G. Moses spoke in the afternoon about “Where Foreign and Home Missions Meet.” Other afternoon speakers discussed reports on recent gatherings, a plea for young people to commit to mission work, and thoughts for the coming months.
For the remainder of her life, Ella, was an active participant in various church activities. As wonderful as this sounds, what else could she do? Church socials, fundraisers, and other volunteer work kept some women’s minds and bodies active. A few were able to rise above social constrictions in 1911, but most of them were an anomaly.
To be continued…
