Ina Law Robertson

Ina Law Robertson (July 27, 1867 – March 6, 1916) was an American educator and social worker. In 1898 she opened dormitory-style housing for women, known as the Hotel Eleanor, which grew into a large and lasting community program in Chicago.

Ina Law Robertson
White woman wearing glasses and a high-necked blouse; her dark hair is parted at center and braided across the crown.
Ina Law Robertson, from a 1914 publication.
Born(1867-06-27)June 27, 1867
Buena Vista, Oregon
DiedMarch 6, 1916(1916-03-06) (aged 48)
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Occupationeducator
Known forEleanor Clubs housing for women in Chicago

Early life

Ina Law Robertson was born in Buena Vista, Oregon, the daughter of Robert M. Robertson and Nancy McMeeken Robertson. Her father was a grain merchant. She trained as a teacher at Albany College in Oregon, and pursued graduate study at the University of Chicago Divinity School.[1][2]

Career

Robertson was a school teacher and principal in Oregon. In 1895 she moved to Chicago for graduate study, and she opened the Hotel Eleanor in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood in 1898, named for her close friend Eleanor C. Law. Her goal was for the building to be a home and a community center for young single working white women,[3] often new in the city, without local connections, and not earning enough for respectable accommodations.[4][5][6] In time, the Central Eleanor Club grew to include other spaces; it housed hundreds of women, and served thousands in other ways, during Robertson's lifetime.[7][8][9] The Eleanor Association and the Eleanor Camp (a summer retreat in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin)[10] were formed, to extend and fund the work of the non-profit Club.[1][11][12]

Robertson was president of the Eleanor Association[13] and an active member of the Chicago Woman's Club.[14] Ina Law Robertson and Eleanor C. Law were joint trustees in an estate;[15] they donated a large sum to Gordon Mission College, a Presbyterian mission school in Rawalpindi.[16][17]

Personal life and legacy

Ina Law Robertson died in Chicago in 1916, aged 48 years, from complications following surgery.[18][19] "No woman has ever adorned our city with more grace of life and efficiency and leadership," eulogized one religious publication, in reporting the news of her death.[20] As of 2016, the Eleanor Association continues, as part of the Chicago Foundation for Women, to offer limited-term affordable living and community supports for women in Chicago.[21][22]

References
  1. The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. J. T. White. 1921. p. 348.
  2. "Spokane Girl Comes to Rescue of Underpaid and Sorely Tempted Working Girls". The Semi-Weekly Spokesman-Review. November 10, 1907. p. 49. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Weiner, Lynn Y. "Work Culture". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  4. "Hotel for Women Only". The Boston Globe. September 6, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Home for Shop Girls". The Inter Ocean. February 26, 1899. p. 25. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Annie Marion Maclean, "Homes for Young Women: the Eleanor Clubs of Chicago" The Survey (April 11, 1914): 60.
  7. Little, Heather M. (January 14, 1996). "A Haven for Dreams". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  8. Strykowski, Sheri (November 20, 1992). "A Woman's World". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  9. Ripley, Sarah Cory (March 6, 1913). "Where the Sunshine Never Fails". The Interior. 44: 325.
  10. Smeltzer, Carolyn Hope; Westberg, Jill (2016-03-28). Camps of Geneva Lake. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439655023.
  11. Bergmann, Joy. "Ladies' Rooms". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  12. Lawrence, Jeanne Catherine (2000). "Chicago's Eleanor Clubs: Housing Working Women in the Early Twentieth Century". Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture. 8: 219–247. doi:10.2307/3514415. ISSN 0887-9885. JSTOR 3514415.
  13. The Chicago Blue Book of Selected Names of Chicago and Suburban Towns. Chicago directory Company. 1914. pp. 122–123.
  14. Chicago Woman's Club. 1911. p. 143.
  15. "Heirs Form a Trust". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 1899. p. 5. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Minutes of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of North America. Board of Publication. 1900. p. 283.
  17. Alter, Stephen (2001). Amritsar to Lahore: A Journey Across the India-Pakistan Border. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812217438.
  18. "Ina Law Robertson is Dead in Chicago". Spokane Chronicle. March 8, 1916. p. 11. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Hundreds Pay Tribute to Ina Law Robertson". Chicago Tribune. March 9, 1916. p. 15. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Ina Law Robertson". The Fourth Church. 4: 80. March 1916.
  21. Gunderson, Erica (December 9, 2016). "Room to Grow: Chicago's Eleanor Clubs". WTTW News. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  22. "Eleanor Foundation, The Chicago Community Trust". The Chicago Community Trust. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
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