Sweet, Ada Celeste (1852-1928)

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Written by (1)
Mentioned in (1)
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Government of the United States

Ada C. Sweet to Jane Addams, December 20, 1910

Margaret Dreier Robins to Jane Addams, November 5, 1912

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Birth Date

1852-02-23

Death Date

1928-09-16

Birthplace

Stockbridge, WI

Biographical Text

Ada Celeste Sweet was a philanthropist, women's rights activist, and dedicated member of the Progressive Party. She studied at Chicago's St. Xavier College. After the unexpected death of her father in 1874, Grant's administration appointed Sweet to take over the position of pension agent, making her the United States' first female disbursing officer. She trained a number of women to fill traditionally male roles in her office. After she stepped away from her position in Chicago, she moved to New York to pursue business but returned to Chicago to become a literary editor for the Chicago Tribune in 1886. In 1888, Sweet opened her own United States claims office and worked primarily with soldiers seeking a pension; she worked there until 1905. She joined the Chicago Board of Education in 1892. During the mid-1890s, she began managing one of the departments for a publication in Brooklyn about women's rights and citizenship, known as The Basis. Sweet was a longtime member of the Chicago Woman's Club, ultimately becoming the president in 1894. Additionally, with the Club as a platform, Sweet fundraised the money to build woman's buildings at Chicago University. Sweet was the founding president of the Municipal Order League, which fought to clean up Chicago's filthy streets and alleys. She also fought for the protection of female prisoners, protesting that they should have separate quarters and a matron while being held in county jails, as well as protection for mentally-ill women.

Sweet died in 1928.

Occupation

Public health activist

Public speaker

Secretary

Social welfare activist

Volunteer

Woman suffrage activist

Women's rights activist

Source

Image from Willard, Frances Elizabeth (1893) domain A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life, Moulton, p. 702

Collection

People

Map

Edited By

DeLisi, Julianne

Dzuback, Emily

Biebrich, Caitlin

Rights

Public domain

Gender

Female

First appears

1910

Bibliography and Links

"Ada Celeste Sweet," Encyclopedia of American Biography.

"Miss Ada C. Sweet," The Iola Register, Feb. 3, 1893, p. 7.

"Miss Ada C. Sweet," Newton Daily Republican Nov. 15, 1894, p. 2.

"Miss Ada Sweet, Woman's Club Leader, is Dead," Chicago Tribune, Sep. 18, 1928, p. 35.

"New St. Xavier College Plans to Be Described at Luncheon," Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14, 1953, p. 13.

"Women Who Worship Wealth," Chicago Tribune, Oct. 19, 1895, p. 16.

A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life, Frances Elizabeth Willard and Mary Ashton Rice Livermore 1893, p. 702-703

Ada Sweet, 1870 United States Federal Census

California Death Index

Suellen Hoy, Chasing Dirt: The American Pursuit of Cleanliness (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 76-78.

Wikipedia

Citation

“Sweet, Ada Celeste (1852-1928),” Jane Addams Digital Edition, accessed July 27, 2024, http://mail.digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/2985.

Sweet, Ada Celeste (1852-1928)

Item Relations

Chicago Board of Education

Chicago Daily Tribune

Chicago Woman's Club

Government of the United States

National Civic Federation

Progressive Party

University of Chicago

Ada C. Sweet to Jane Addams, December 20, 1910

Margaret Dreier Robins to Jane Addams, November 5, 1912

Comments