Ruth Alice Armstrong

Ruth Alice Armstrong
Ruth Alice Armstrong
	"A Woman of the Century"
Born	Ruth Alice Jones; April 30, 1850; Cassopolis, Michigan, U.S.
Died	March 7, 1901 (aged 50); Berkeley, California, U.S.
Resting place	Woodland Cemetery, Woodland, California, U.S.
Occupation	social activist; writer; lecturer;
Language	English
Nationality	American
Subject	heredity; motherhood;
Spouse	Thomas Armstrong (m. 1874)

Ruth Alice Armstrong (née, Jones; April 30, 1850 – March 7, 1901) was an American temperance activist. She served as the national superintendent of heredity for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She wrote leaflets and letters of instruction for the organization, and lectured on "Heredity" and "Motherhood". Armstrong died in 1901.

Early life and education

She was born Ruth Alice Jones near Cassopolis, Michigan on April 30, 1850. Her father, Amos Jones, was from Georgia, and her mother, Rebecca Hebron, was from Yorkshire, England.^[1] Armstrong had at least one sibling, a sister, Mrs. Lydia Lawhead.^[2]

Armstrong was educated in the public schools of Michigan.^[1]

Career

At the age of 18, Armstrong began teaching, while still a student. Observing the smaller salaries paid to women than were paid to men for like services, she left her native State for California, but not until she had made an effort to bring about a better state of affairs for coming generations by aiding in the organization of the first woman suffrage society of her native county.^[1]

In 1874, she married Thomas Armstrong, a

Congregational Church of Woodland, of which she was for many years a member. She left that denomination in 1891 and united with the Christian Church.^[1]

Desiring to work in moral reform, she joined the WCTU and gave her time and resources to it, organizing the county and several local unions. Her enthusiasm and common-sense made her a leader and inspirer in that society with the department of heredity as a main focus. She also planned for the education of women in maternity and other allied subjects.[1] She was made the superintendent of heredity for the town of Woodland, next for the county, and afterwards for the National Union. Armstrong wrote leaflets and letters of instruction for the organization. Her lectures on "Heredity" and "Motherhood" carried the conviction that parenthood must be assumed as the highest, the holiest, and most sacred responsibility entrusted to us by God. She was involved in the construction of a women's building, to contain a printing office, lecture hall, as well as a home for homeless women and girls.^[3]

Ruth Alice Armstrong died March 7, 1901.^[4]