Collection Summary |
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| Creator: | Austin, Ruth, 1884-1990 | |
| Title: | Ruth Austin Papers | |
| Dates: | 1929-1986 | |
| Abstract: | Part of the Jane Addams Memorial Collection. Ruth Austin (1884-1990) was a settlement house administrator and social reformer. Born in New York, Ruth Austin came to Chicago around 1900 to study at the Chicago Kindergarten Institute. In 1910, she returned to New York to become head resident of the Lenox Hill Settlement in New York City. There she taught English to working class immigrant women, a vocation she continued when she returned to Chicago in 1913. In 1914, she became head resident of Gads Hill Center, a Presbyterian settlement house in the Pilsen neighborhood. Upon retiring from Gads Hill in 1946, Austin directed an experimental school for adolescents with learning disabilities at Hull-House until 1949. The collection contains correspondence, obituaries, programs, articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a resume. The materials pertain to Neva Leona Boyd, Edith Abbott, the Recreation Training School of Chicago, the Retarded Children's Aid Training Center and the Chicago Federation of Settlements. | |
| Quantity: | 0.25 linear feet | |
| Identification: | RAustin | |
Ruth Inez Austin was born on December 16, 1884 in Hamlin, New York, to James and Ruth Rhonda (Smith) Austin. Ruth's family farm had once been a stop along the Underground Railroad that enabled freed slaves to escape to Canada. Ruth grew up under a progressive family influence. Some of Ruth's neighbors were Native American and Ruth's mother often entertained her with stories of "Indian" lore.
Ruth attended public school in Hamlin through the eighth grade and then went to Miss Lattimore's School in Rochester, New York. Hearing impaired, Ruth was considered to be a frail and handicapped child, but she would live to be over one hundred years of age. She ignored the advice of a doctor who counseled her to remain on the farm for the sake of her health.
Ruth Austin began study at the Chicago Kindergarten Institute around 1900 where she would meet a number of influential women in the Chicago area settlement movement. Austin later returned to New York State where she graduated from the Buffalo Kindergarten Institute. She also took courses at the Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City.
Appointed assistant head resident of the Lenox Hill Settlement in New York City, Austin taught English to immigrant women and participated in the strikes of female garment workers. Her experience there sharpened and deepened her awareness of women's working conditions. Interested in crafting practical teaching methods for the unique needs of foreign born working women, Austin produced a textbook, Lessons in English for Foreign Women for Use in Settlements and Evening Schools, in 1913.
Moving to Chicago in that same year, Austin taught English to women workers at a number of settlements as well as private companies such as McCormick, Deering, and W.D. Allen. Ruth Austin assumed the directorship of the Gads Hill Center, a settlement located in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, in 1914. Gads Hill Center was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and served Bohemian, Polish, and German immigrants.
Austin's approach to settlement work emphasized education, "clean" recreation, and "citizenship." She helped to establish a myriad number of social clubs for area residents all linked together in a federation governed by an elected House Council. Austin believed that antisocial behavior including youth gangs could be countered by participation in democratic organizations such as carefully guided clubs. Austin believed that the neighborhood not a larger political unit was the critical level of organization for social change.
World War I and the Great Depression initiated a steady trend of greater government intrusion into the Pilsen neighborhood and the lives of its people, but Gads Hill Center was able to adapt to a considerable extent. Practical efforts at improving the lives of club members included the establishment of a Credit Union in 1937 and an Old Age Assistance Club in 1938 that helped elderly people learn how to obtain some new government benefits and other special pensions. Ruth Austin retired from her post as leader of Gads Hill Center in December 1946, but remained active on the Board of Trustees into the 1950s. Austin also directed an experimental school for adolescents with learning disabilities at Hull-House from 1946 to 1949. Ruth Austin would live to see her 105th birthday passing away on October 14, 1990.
The Ruth Austin Papers include her published writings, materials related to her teaching work, some newspaper clippings, a copy of her vita, and a few other miscellaneous items.
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Index Terms |
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| This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms. | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| Abbott, Edith, 1876-1957 --Sources. | ||
| Austin, Ruth, 1884-1990 --Archives. | ||
| Boyd, Neva Leona--Sources. | ||
| Chicago Federation of Settlements--Sources. | ||
| Recreation Training School of Chicago--Sources. | ||
| Retarded Children's Aid Training Center--Sources. | ||
| Hull-House and Settlement House History | ||
| Midwest Women's History | ||
All contents of the Ruth Austin Papers were donated to the University of Illinois by Ruth Austin or Hays Johnson on her behalf.
Schultz, Rima Lunin and Adele Hast, eds. Women Building Chicago, 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.