Edith (Nourse) Rogers (1881 - 1960)

Born 19 Mar 1881 in Saco, York, Maine, United States

Ancestors

Died 10 Sep 1960 at age 79 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

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Preceded by Congressman John Jacob Rogers

Edith (Nourse) Rogers US House of Representatives Massachusetts 5th Congressional District 1925—1960

Succeeded by Congressman F. Bradford Morse

Biography

Edith (Nourse) Rogers is Notable.

Edith (Nourse) Rogers was a Massachusettsan.

Edith Rogers (née Nourse; March 19, 1881 – September 10, 1960) was an American social welfare volunteer and politician who served as a Republican in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Until 2012, she was the longest serving Congresswoman and was the longest serving female Representative until 2018 (a record now held by Marcy Kaptur). In her 35 years in the House of Representatives she was a powerful voice for veterans and sponsored seminal legislation, including the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly known as the G.I. Bill), which provided educational and financial benefits for veterans returning home from World War II, the 1942 bill that created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the 1943 bill that created the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She was also instrumental in bringing federal appropriations to her constituency, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district. Her love and devotion to veterans and their complex needs upon returning to civilian life is represented by the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford Massachusetts that is named in her honor.

National Women’s Hall of Fame

Edith Nourse Rogers, political leader and outstanding legislator from the 1920s through the 1950s, was most noted for her legislative initiatives on behalf of veterans and women.

Beginning as a volunteer Red Cross worker during World War I, Rogers became the presidential representative in charge of assisting disabled veterans for Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. This background made her an outstanding legislator, beginning in 1925 when she was elected to the 69th Congress to complete her late husband’s unfinished term. Going on to win 17 more elections, she became the longest-serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives.

Among her highest achievements was drafting a major portion of the G.I. Bill of Rights. It gave returning World War II veterans opportunities to go to college, obtain job training, and get low interest mortgages.

Even more visionary was her introduction of legislation, at the start of World War II, to establish the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). This allowed women to serve in the armed forces. Now women are important to all branches of the military. Rogers also fought against child labor, supported the 48-hour work week for women, and backed equal pay for equal work.

Sources

• Wikipedia contributors, "Edith Nourse Rogers," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edith_Nourse_Rogers&oldid=1161434083 (accessed July 13, 2023).
• "Rogers, Edith Nourse (1881–1960) ." Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 29, 2023). https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rogers-edith-nourse-1881-1960
• Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Edith Nourse Rogers." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 15, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edith-Nourse-Rogers.
• Marriage: "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925"
  citing Page: 543; Line: 803; FHL microfilm: 002315300; Record number: 2771;
  FamilySearch Record: N4DR-65T (accessed 13 July 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: S3HT-D429-FKR Image number 00171
  Edith F Nourse (26) marriage to John J Rogers (26) on 2 Oct 1907 in Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.
• 1910 Census: "1910 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1910; Census Place: Lowell Ward 9, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_601; Page: 19b; Enumeration District: 0878; FHL microfilm: 1374614
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #111390997 (accessed 13 July 2023)
  Edith Rogers (28), wife, in household of John J Rogers (28) in Lowell Ward 9, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. Born in Maine.
• 1920 Census: "1920 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1920; Census Place: Lowell Ward 9, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_712; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 247
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6061 #16849705 (accessed 13 July 2023)
  Edith N Rogers (38), wife, in household of John J Rogers (38) in Lowell Ward 9, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Born in Maine.
• 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1940; Census Place: Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts; Roll: m-t0627-01691; Page: 63A; Enumeration District: 18-4
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #92366381 (accessed 13 July 2023)
  Edith Nourse Rogers (58), widowed, Representative, head of household in Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Born in Maine.
• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #7500867 (accessed 13 July 2023)
  Memorial page for Edith Nourse Rogers (19 Mar 1881-10 Sep 1960), citing Lowell Cemetery, Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA (plot: Tennyson Ave, Lot 1305); Maintained by Find a Grave.
• Obituary: "Newspapers.com"
  The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Sun, Sep 11, 1960, page 1
  Newspapers Clip: 128177870 (accessed 13 July 2023)
• Memorial Services Held in the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States: Together with Remarks Presented in Eulogy of Edith Nourse Rogers, Late a Representative from Massachusetts. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1961.

See also

• Wikipedia: Edith (Nourse) Rogers
• Wikidata: Item Q240965 "
• Edith Nourse Rogers Papers, 1854-1961; item description, dates. MC 196, folder #. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
• M. F. A. Tony Sampas MLIS, “LibGuides: Lowell Stories: Women’s History: Edith Nourse Rogers,” accessed July 13, 2023, https://libguides.uml.edu/c.php?g=1127566&p=8227324.
• Rogers, Edith Nourse. Importance of Women's Votes by Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts. N.p.: n.p., (n.d.).