Matilda Bradley Carse (November 19, 1835 - 1917) was an Irish-born American businesswoman, social reformer and leader of the temperance movement. Educated in Ireland, Carse immigrated to Chicago in 1858. Later, she married a successful railroad manager and fellow Irish immigrant, Thomas Carse. His death in 1870 left her a wealthy widow with an independent income, which she used to benefit local charities and welfare work. Her mission in life was determined soon afterward, when the youngest of her three sons was killed by a drunken drayman. After this incident, Carse became a determined and outspoken leader of the temperance movement in Chicago and nationwide in the United States. She joined the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1874, becoming the president of the Central Chicago WCTU in 1878.
Carse's reform activities encouraged temperance but also more generally improved conditions for the working class in Chicago. Carse supported the development of nurseries for the children of working mothers, Sunday schools, medical dispensaries, and low income housing. Several of her notable reform projects include the opening of the Rehobeth refuge and recovery shelter, as well as the Bethesda Mission, which was specifically aimed at teaching neighborhood women practical household skills.
Matilda Carse's first major business venture was the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA) in 1880. It was an independent stock company composed entirely of women. Carse’s business acumen made the WTPA a success. At its height in 1890, it employed over one hundred employees, mostly women, and published the largest women’s paper in the world, the Union Signal.
Carse’s legacy was the office building she planned and funded in the center of Chicago’s financial district to benefit the WCTU. Known as the Temperance Temple, it was designed as a meeting place for the CCWCTU. As plans developed, the Temple became a headquarters for the WCTU as well as an office building, whose rents would provide income for the WCTU’s operations. A large part of the controversy surrounding the Temperance Temple was created by Carse’s own personality and her position as a woman in a male-dominated sphere. In order to succeed in the business world, Carse had to be outspoken, stubborn and aggressive, traits that were considered masculine and hard to reconcile with the traditional image a Christian woman. By participating in a masculine activity like business, Carse left herself vulnerable to attack from both outside the WCTU as well as from within its ranks.
Unable to pay off the mortgage, the WTCU officially disaffiliated itself from the building, which became the property of the Field-Columbian Museum. It was finally demolished in 1926. Carse resigned from her presidency of the WTPA, attempting to restore unity to the WCTU through mediation and compromise. After the failure of her Temperance Temple, Carse continued to be committed to charity work. She served as president of the CCWCTU until 1913 and was the first woman on the Chicago Board of Education.
The Honeysuckle Cocktail
1 ½ oz gold rum
½ lime juice
½ oz honey
Drunkability: 3
Taxic Diversity: 2.5
Accessibility: 4.5
Priority of Conservation: 4* (with modifications)
Comments: "honey. need. more. honey."
Absolutely certainly about Prohibition, hosted by FluffyRuffle
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