Ely, Robert Erskine (1861-1948)

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Item Relations

Mentioned in (11)
Received by (2)
Written by (1)
Comments (0)

Jane Addams to Robert E. Ely, February 15, 1907

James Grover McDonald to Members of the National Council, March 30, 1920

Jane Addams et al. to William Howard Taft, December 30, 1911

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Birth Date

1861-09-13

Death Date

1948-07-13

Birthplace

Binghamton, NY

Biographical Text

Robert E. Ely was a Presbyterian minister who helped found the Prospect Union at Cambridge, MA in the 1890s. In 1901, he became the first director of the Town Hall League in New York, which organized speaker series. Ely was known for bringing a wide variety of speakers to the Town Hall, and for his stalwart defense of free speech. Ely was also a founder and executive director of the Economics Club from 1907-47. The club hosted speeches by various business, political, and economic leaders. Ely died in 1948.

He married Rudolphine Scheffer in 1905. They had four children: Robert Erskine Ely, Jr., Mia Roseboom Ely, Rudolph Scheffer Ely, and Wilhelmina R. Ely.

Occupation

Clergyman

Source

Picture: The American Review of Reviews, Vol. LXI, no. 5, May 1920

Collection

People

Map

Edited By

Hajo, Cathy Moran

Rights

Public domain

Gender

Male

First appears

1901

Bibliography and Links

"Robert E. Ely, 86, of Town Hall Dies," New York Times, July 14, 1948, p. 23.

1900 U. S. Census

SNAC

Citation

“Ely, Robert Erskine (1861-1948),” Jane Addams Digital Edition, accessed September 10, 2024, https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/105.

Ely, Robert Erskine (1861-1948)

Item Relations

Jane Addams to Richard Theodore Ely, February 26, 1901

Pyotr Kropotkin to Jane Addams, March 14, 1901

Emma Goldman to Jane Addams, April 7, 1901

Jane Addams to Madeline Wallin Sikes, June 11, 1902

Jane Addams to Ray Stannard Baker, September 15, 1903

Jane Addams to Lillian D. Wald, November 1, 1918

Eleanor Daggett Karsten to Lillian D. Wald, February 28, 1919

Jane Addams to Ethel Eyre Valentine Dreier, January 25, 1924

Jane Addams to Amy Woods, February 7, 1924

Jane Addams to Christina C. Miller, February 22, 1924

Jane Addams to Hannah Clothier Hull, June 13, 1929

Jane Addams to Robert E. Ely, February 15, 1907

James Grover McDonald to Members of the National Council, March 30, 1920

Jane Addams et al. to William Howard Taft, December 30, 1911

Comments