Evangeline Booth
Encyclopedia
General
Generals of The Salvation Army
thumbnail|left|1st General, William BoothGeneral is the title of the international leader of The Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers .Usage of the term General began with the Founder of The Salvation...

 Evangeline Cory Booth (December 25, 1865 – July 17, 1950) was the 4th General
Generals of The Salvation Army
thumbnail|left|1st General, William BoothGeneral is the title of the international leader of The Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers .Usage of the term General began with the Founder of The Salvation...

 of the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

 from 1934 to 1939. She was its first female General.

Early life

She was born in South Hackney
South Hackney
South Hackney is a district in the London Borough of Hackney situated north east of Charing Cross.It is immediately north of Victoria Park and the area centred on Victoria Park Road and Lauriston Road...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, the seventh of eight children born to William Booth
William Booth
William Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...

 and Catherine Mumford
Catherine Booth
Catherine Booth was the wife of the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. Because of her influence in the formation of The Salvation Army she was known as the 'Army Mother'....

, who had earlier in the year founded The Christian Mission, which became the Salvation Army in 1878. Catherine Booth had recently read Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....

and wanted to name her baby 'Eva', but William Booth did not like the name and wrote 'Evelyne' on the birth certificate. Years later, while in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Evelyne would be persuaded by Frances Willard
Frances Willard (suffragist)
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Her influence was instrumental in the passage of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution...

, founder of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, to adopt the name 'Evangeline' as being more dignified and more befitting the commander of The Salvation Army in America.

At 15 she was a sergeant selling the Army's paper The War Cry in the slums of east London. In 1887, at 21 years of age, she became the officer of the corps in Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....

, where there was very strong opposition to The Salvation Army. Wherever trouble threatened, General Booth
William Booth
William Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...

’s solution was invariably the same, 'Send Eva!'.

The Salvation Army

She was appointed as Field Commissioner throughout Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 from 1888 to 1891, courageously facing riotous crowds. From 1891 until 1896 she was in charge of Officer Training. When in 1896 an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 break-away group led by her brother Ballington Booth
Ballington Booth
Ballington Booth was an Officer in The Salvation Army and a co-founder of Volunteers of America.Born in Brighouse, England, Ballington Booth was the second child of William and Catherine Booth, founders of The Salvation Army in 1878...

 and his wife Maud Ballington Booth
Maud Ballington Booth
Maud Elizabeth Charlesworth later changed her name to Maud Ballington Booth, was an Salvation Army leader and co-founder of the Volunteers of America....

 attempted to tempt American Salvationists away from The Salvation Army and into a rival group called Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a national, nonprofit, faith-based human services organization providing support programs to more than two million people throughout the United States each year...

, General Booth
William Booth
William Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...

 sent Evangeline to New York. When she arrived the doors to Army headquarters on 14th Street had been locked against her. However, "she mounted the fire escape and climbed through a rear window. The dissidents hissed and booed until she literally wrapped herself in an available American flag and challenged: "Hiss that, if you dare." In the stunned silence she played her concertina and sang "Over Jordan without Fearing." Ballington's rebellion was quelled."

She was appointed temporary Territorial Commander of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, then Territorial Commander of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. In 1904 she returned as Commander of the United States, and held this position until 1934. In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...

, she led a mass meeting in Union Square, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and raised over $12,000 for Salvation Army relief work amongst the victims of the disaster. During this period she became a US citizen.

In August 1917, despite the differences between Commander Evangeline Booth and US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 General Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...

, the first of 250 Salvationists left New York for the front line of the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. They soon won the confidence of the troops with their cheerful brand of ‘seven-days-a-week’ Christianity. As tributes poured in, Evangeline protested: ‘The Salvation Army has had no new success; we have only done an old thing in an old way.’ The American people disagreed, and subscribed an unprecedented $13 million to clear debts incurred by The Army, through its provision of canteens, hostels, rest rooms during the war, and afterwards on the provision of care and accommodation for the returning forces.

In 1927 Evangeline visited her brother, General
Generals of The Salvation Army
thumbnail|left|1st General, William BoothGeneral is the title of the international leader of The Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers .Usage of the term General began with the Founder of The Salvation...

 Bramwell Booth
Bramwell Booth
Bramwell Booth, CH was the first Chief of Staff and the second General of The Salvation Army , succeeding his father, William Booth.-Biography:...

, with a memorandum which set to change the way in which The Salvation Army appointed its General. Bramwell was not convinced; he was adamant that he would appoint his successor as his father had done before him.

In January 1929 the first High Council of The Salvation Army
High Council of The Salvation Army
The High Council of The Salvation Army elects a new General in the event of a vacancy or prior to the retirement of the existing office holder. It can also remove a General who can no longer fulfil their duties. It is made up of the Chief of the Staff, all active Commissioners except the spouse of...

 decided otherwise, and since then the General has been elected by the High Council, in line with Evangeline Booth’s original proposal.

Fourth General

Evangeline Booth was elected General by the second High Council
High Council of The Salvation Army
The High Council of The Salvation Army elects a new General in the event of a vacancy or prior to the retirement of the existing office holder. It can also remove a General who can no longer fulfil their duties. It is made up of the Chief of the Staff, all active Commissioners except the spouse of...

 in 1934. She brought to the Generalship a wealth of experience in many areas of The Army’s work but never lost the zeal and enthusiasm of the early years. Dubbed ‘The Musician General’ by Army papers of the time, she took great interest in the soul-winning activities of the musical sections of The Salvation Army.

Like her father, the Founder, Evangeline extensively travelled the world. After her election as General she toured Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and in 1935 India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Ceylon, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and the United States; then, immediately upon her return, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. By the end of 1935 she undertook a ‘motorcade’ - the entire East Coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 up to Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

, then several Western Counties and the Thames Valley. The following year she went on another motorcade from Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....

 to John O’Groats, and visited Canada, the United States and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, though by this time she was over seventy years old.

The Salvation Army’s work greatly prospered during Evangeline Booth’s leadership, with Salvation Army activities being commenced in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, French Equatorial Africa, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, and Penang (Malaya).

Later years

Her term of office ended on October 31, 1939 when Commissioner George Lyndon Carpenter was elected as the Army’s fifth General. Towards the end of November, Evangeline left Britain for her home in up-state New York, and spent the remaining years of her life in the land which she had served for so very many years.

She wrote several books, including Toward a Better World and Songs of the Evangel. The Salvation Army Evangeline Booth College
The Salvation Army Evangeline Booth College
The Salvation Army Evangeline Booth College is a theological school affiliated with The Salvation Army and located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is named after General Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army....

 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 is named after her, as is 'The Evangeline Booth Lodge' in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 which is "a haven for families and individuals suddenly homeless because of eviction, disasters such as a fire or flood, loss of utilities, domestic violence, being stranded while traveling, or other crises."

General Evangeline Booth lived in Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsdale is located at ....

, until her death at the age of 84 from arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...

. She is interred in Kensico Cemetery, near White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...

.

External links

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