Susan B. Merwin
{{short description|American educator}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Susan B. Merwin
| image = SusanBMerwin1916.jpg
| alt = 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.
| caption = Susan B. Merwin, photographed in 1916; photo appeared with her 1923 obituary in the Outlook for the Blind magazine.
| other_names =
| birth_name = Susan Buckingham Merwin
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|11|21}}
| birth_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1923|05|06|1874|11|21}}
| death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
| occupation = Educator, publisher, superintendent
| years_active = 1895-1923
| known_for = Superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind and of the American Printing House for the Blind
| notable_works =
| spouse(s) =
| relatives =
}}
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.{{Cite book|last=Kleber|first=John E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&q=Susan+B.+Merwin&pg=PA613|title=The Encyclopedia of Louisville|date=2001|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-2100-0|pages=613–614|language=en}} Her father was from Connecticut,{{Cite book|last=Ricker|first=Jacquelyn L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJcfa0INt4IC&q=Mary+Irvine+Merwin&pg=PA437|title=Families of Early Milford, Connecticut|date=1979|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com|isbn=978-0-8063-0838-8|pages=437|language=en}} and her mother was from Pennsylvania. She attended Girls' High School in Louisville, and trained at a teacher in the city's normal school.
Career
Merwin taught at the Kentucky School for the Blind beginning in 1895,{{Cite book|last=Applegate|first=Kris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tnPxAwAAQBAJ&q=Susan+Buckingham+Merwin&pg=PA120|title=Legendary Locals of Louisville|date=2014-06-23|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-4396-4587-1|pages=120|language=en}} 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.{{Cite web|date=2016-12-14|title=Kentucky School for the Blind|url=http://ncasb.org/schools/kentucky-school-for-the-blind/|access-date=2020-07-03|website=The North Central Association of Schools for the Blind|language=en}} She started Boy Scout{{Cite journal|date=November 1911|title=The Boy Scouts of America; Scouting Inspires Many Unfortunate Boys|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdbJAAAAMAAJ&q=Susan+Buckingham+Merwin&pg=PA161|journal=Work with Boys: A Magazine of Methods|volume=11|pages=161}} and Girl Scout troops at the school, and wrote articles about the school's work.{{Cite journal|last=Merwin|first=Susan B.|date=1918-06-01|title=Why Typewriting?|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X1801200205|journal=Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness|language=en|volume=12|issue=2|pages=49–51|doi=10.1177/0145482X1801200205|s2cid=220539429|issn=0145-482X|url-access=subscription}} 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.
Beginning in 1919, Merwin was also secretary of the American Printing House for the Blind,{{Cite journal|date=Summer 1919|title=Fourth Report of the Commission on Uniform Type for the Blind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAgCAAAAYAAJ&q=Merwin&pg=RA1-PA45|journal=Outlook for the Blind|volume=13|pages=5}} and associate editor of the national magazine Outlook for the Blind.{{Cite journal|date=Spring 1920|title=Masthead|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAgCAAAAYAAJ&q=Susan+B.+Merwin&pg=RA3-PP4|journal=Outlook for the Blind|volume=14|pages=xx}} She served on the Commission on Uniform Type for the Blind.{{Cite journal|date=September 1920|title=Fifth Report of the Commission on Uniform Type for the Blind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAgCAAAAYAAJ&q=Merwin&pg=RA4-PT5|journal=Evergreen Review|volume=1|pages=5}} 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.{{Cite book|last=United States Congress House Appropriations Committee|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmvm_zHfsc8C&q=Susan+B.+Merwin&pg=PA406|title=Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill, 1922, Hearings . . . 66th Congress, 3d Session, Parts 1,2|date=December 3, 1920|pages=406–410|language=en}}
Personal life
Merwin died in 1923, from pneumonia and influenza, aged 48 years, in Louisville.{{Cite news|date=1923-05-08|title=Susan B. Merwin|pages=6|work=The Courier-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6952786/susan-b-merwin-death/|access-date=2020-07-03|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite journal|date=September 1923|title=Susan B. Merwin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AcEJAAAAIAAJ&q=Susan+Buckingham+Merwin&pg=RA1-PA26|journal=The New Outlook for the Blind|volume=17|pages=26–27}}{{Cite news|date=1923-05-07|title=Miss Merwin is Taken by Death|pages=1|work=The Courier-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54638836/miss-merwin-is-taken-by-death/|access-date=2020-07-03|via=Newspapers.com}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|id=128290458|name=}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Merwin, Susan B.}}
Category:Educators from Louisville, Kentucky
Category:School superintendents in Kentucky
Category:Educators from Kentucky
Category:19th-century American educators
Category:20th-century American educators
Category:Educators of the blind
Category:Deaths from influenza in the United States
Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Kentucky