May Genevieve PRESTON

1858 - 1943  (85 years)

• Name	May Genevieve PRESTON  [2, 3]
  	THE LADY CHAPLAIN CONVICTS IN A PENITENTIARY PETITIONED THE GOVERNOR TO APPOINT MRS. SLOSSON, By a Special Contributor. Mrs. May Preston Slosson, wife of Prof Slosson of Platt University, has recently been appointed chaplain to the Wyoming State Penitentiary at Laramie. Before her formal appointment as chaplain, Mrs. Slosson devoted several hours each week to teaching the convicts. When the Governor of the State decided that the welfare of the prisoners called for the appointment of a chaplain, he naturally turned to the clergy, and it was expected that some popular preacher of the day would receive the appointment, and with one voice petitioned the Governor that Mrs Slosson be made State chaplain. Mrs. Slosson is a native of New York State, and studied at Cornell University, where she was one of the first women enrolled; she was also the first woman to receive from the university the degree of Ph.D. In her undergraduate days she attracted the notice of President White and the late H.H. Boyesen, and was distinguished in her college course for her knowledge of literature and her readiness in composition, in both prose and verse. "The chaplain's work is still in the experimental stage," Mrs. Slosson says, in speaking of her appointment, "and marked results cannot yet be looked for. What I am trying to do for the prisoners is to awaken hoe in their hearts, to reiterate words of encouragement, to give them a desire to cultivate their higher natures. Hope is the best ally a chaplain can have in persuading men to reform, aided by a realization of the truth that those men are not unlike others-- save these chains' of untoward circumstances. I try to make my afternoon sermons at the penitentiary as practical as can be; one series of talks on the ideal man took some manly quality for the text, each Sunday for instance, courage, honesty, industry, and so on. Sometimes I read to the men, sometimes I simply talk. I get the best music I can, and if some distinguished orator comes to Laramie I beg a talk for my boys. "How much I am doing for their reformation I cannot tell; they do love me, and that gives me courage to go on, and a certain leverage. The men are visited when sick, and their personal letters to the chaplain receive careful attention and an earl answer. They are urged to visit the chaplain when released, and many do so, and assure me of their determination to live a better life. many things encourage me, however, in my work; for one thing, the warden's report that cases of insubordination have deceased 50 per cent, since my appointment." Upon occasions Mrs. Slosson has been asked to preach at different churches. "Whether I preach a really sermon or only deliver a lecture, I cannot say." [1]
  Birth	10 Sep 1858	New York, USA   [3, 4]
  Gender	Female
  Education	1880  [5]
  	Graduated from Cornell University
  Census	1900	Living with husband in Laramie, Albany Co., Wyoming   [4]
  Census	1910	Living with husband in Manhattan, New York Co., New York   [6]
  Census	1920	Living with husband in Manhattan, New York Co., New York   [7]
  Death	26 Nov 1943	Ann Arbor, Michigan   [3, 5]
  Notes	Excerpts from "Graduate and Professional Education": The first woman to earn a Ph.D. at Cornell was Mary (May) G. Preston. As described by Charlotte Conable, In 1880, Cornell University awarded to may Preston a Ph.D. degree, the first such degree granted to a woman at this institution. After serving as professor of Greek and English, May Preston Slosson moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where she was appointed by the governor to serve as chaplain of the State Penitentiary for Men, reputedly one of the first women to hold such a position. May's graduate work was in philosophy and her thesis was entitled "Different Theories of Beauty." She was interviewed by Florence Hazzard many years later and observed that the four faculty who examined her for her degree in 1880 "compromised" on a harder cours for her than was required for male candidates at the time. As May noted, female students at Cornell in that era were "a picked lot," having a deep sense of responsibility. Their conduct had to be "impecable - couldn't be frivolous- were conscious of being pioneers." The examination by this committee was grueling, lasting one week and taking 8 hours per day.
  Person ID	I45457	Main Tree
  Last Modified	9 Oct 2020

  
  

  Father	Levi C. PRESTON   d. Bef 1900
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Mary GORSLINE,   b. May 1835, New York, USA d. Between 1920 and 1930 (Age 84 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Family ID	F17152	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Edwin Emery SLOSSON,   b. 07 Jun 1865, Albany, Kansas d. 15 Oct 1929, Washington, District of Columbia (Age 64 years)
  Marriage	12 Aug 1891	Centralia, Kansas   [2, 3]
  Children	1. Preston William SLOSSON,   b. 02 Sep 1892, Laramie, Wyoming d. May 1984, Knox, Clarion County, Pennsylvania (Age 91 years)  [Birth]   2. Raymond Alfred SLOSSON,   b. 08 Jan 1894, Laramie, Wyoming d. Sep 1900, Laramie, Wyoming (Age 6 years)  [Birth]
  Family ID	F13900	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Marriage - 12 Aug 1891 - Centralia, Kansas Census - 1900 - Living with husband in Laramie, Albany Co., Wyoming Census - 1910 - Living with husband in Manhattan, New York Co., New York Census - 1920 - Living with husband in Manhattan, New York Co., New York Death - 26 Nov 1943 - Ann Arbor, Michigan  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		May Preston Slosson
  		May Preston Slosson
  		May Preston Slosson

  
  

• Sources

  [S8790] Newspapers.com. [S03663] WorldConnect: Post-em note from Diana Lineman. [S03336] Slason-Slauson-Slawson-Slosson Family by George C. Slawson dated 1946. [S00880] 1900 Census Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming. [S01737] Ancestry.com: Biography & Genealogy Master Index. [S01100] 1910 Census Manhatten, New York County, New York. [S01302] 1920 Census Manhattan, New York County, New York.