CLEVELAND LADIES TEMPERANCE UNION - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The CLEVELAND LADIES TEMPERANCE UNION was organized on 27 June 1850 by a group of prominent Cleveland women. The first directors included Mrs. Wm. Smith, Mrs. J. A. Harris, and Mrs. J. Gillett; Mrs. C. D. Brayton served as treasurer, and Miss M. A. Brayton and Miss B. M. Williams were the correspondence and recording secretaries, respectively. Members of the Union swore this pledge: "We, the undersigned, do hereby promise and agree, that we will abstain from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage--that we will not provide them as an article of entertainment--and in all suitable ways, will discountenance their use." By 1853, more than 1,400 women had signed onto the Union's pledge of abstinence.

See also TEMPERANCE.

Related Article(s)

• WOMEN AND WOMEN'S ISSUES
• REFORM, CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY