Albertson, Ralph (1866-1951)

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Donna Walker

His third wife was Dorothy Gilman Stewart (1892 (Brooklyn, NY) - 1985 (Washington, DC)). She was responsible for the disposition of many of his personal papers, including family tree records he compiled.

Cathy Moran Hajo

Thanks! I will add that information to the biography.

Birth Date

1866-10-21

Death Date

1951

Birthplace

Jamesport, NY

Biographical Text

Ralph Albertson attended Oberlin College and Theological Seminary, and in 1890 he was ordained to the Congregational ministry. He then served as a pastor in Penfield and Springfield, Ohio. He previously took on the role of organization and management for the Christian Commonwealth in Georgia, a community that followed Christian teachings and a Christian way of life. When this community ended in 1901, he moved to Massachusetts and began another colony called The Farm. Albertson was also the editor of the Social Gospel, American Co-operator, Equity, and Arena, and the author of various articles such as "The Social Incarnation," "Little Jeremiads," "Little Preachments," "The Religion of a Citizen," and "Fellowship Songs." In 1907 Albertson became superintendent of William Filene's Sons' Co., and from 1910 to 1912 he was general manager of the William S. Butler & Co. department store in Boston. In 1913 he became general manager of the Home Pattern Co. in New York City. In addition, he was the founder and president of the Twentieth Century Magazine, and from 1910 to 1912 he was the president of the Cooperative Publishing Company. In 1917, he represented the Young Men's Christian Association for American troops in Siberia, and he wrote a book on this experience titled Fighting Without a War.

Albertson married three times. He married Irene Mulford in 1886. They had four children, Christine, Fay, Ruth, and Phyllis. In 1904, he married Hazel Hammond. They had three children, Wyatt, Rachel, and Jean. He married Dorothy Gilman Stewart in 1934. Albertson died in 1951.