Janet Huntington Brewster
Encyclopedia
Janet Huntington Brewster (September 18, 1910 – December 18, 1998) was an American philanthropist
, writer, radio broadcaster and relief worker during World War II in London
.
on September 18, 1910 the daughter of Charles Huntington Brewster, a prosperous automobile dealer and Jennie Johnson, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. Her Grandfather, Charles Kingman Brewster, was the county commissioner of Hampshire County, Massachusetts
. She was also a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster
, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony
and a passenger on the Mayflower
, through his son Jonathan Brewster
. She was also a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Howland
Her first cousin was Kingman Brewster, Jr.
in South Hadley
, Massachusetts
. As a student leader at Mount Holyoke, she met Edward R. Murrow
, a graduate of Washington State College, now Washington State University
, in Pullman, Washington
, and president of the National Student Federation of America.
After graduating from college she considered working at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York, where many years later she would serve on the board. She was also considered acting as a career as well. She was a talented actress who played several roles for a summer stock company in New London, New Hampshire
, including the lead role in Sidney Howard
's, The Late Christopher Bean
. She ultimately moved back with her parents and taught freshman English and commercial law at the high school in Middletown, Connecticut.
. Egbert Roscoe Murrow was born on April 25, 1908, in Greensboro
, in Guilford County, North Carolina
, the son of Roscoe C. Murrow and Ethel F. Lamb. He died on April 27, 1965 at his home in Pawling
, Dutchess County
, New York
.
Janet and Ed were the parents of one child, a son, Charles Casey Murrow, born on November 6, 1945 in west London
. He was a 1964 graduate of Milton Academy
in Milton, Massachusetts
and a 1968 graduate of Yale University
and is currently an educator in Vermont
as well as a co-director of Synergy Learning. He married Liza Ketchum in 1968 and they are the parents of two sons.
She traveled throughout England lecturing for the American Embassy and for the Ministry of Information on American life to schools, civil defense units and other groups. She also gave a course on American history on BBC schools programmes. In 1946 she was awarded the King's Medal for Freedom in recognition of her services to international understanding.
in Greenwich Village
.
In 1953, Janet and Ed reported together on the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
, and on June 21, 1957, she substituted for her husband, who was in Burma, on Person to Person
. Viewers and press reviews lauded her performance, and the program was soon considered one of the best in this popular series.
In the decades following her husband's death, she was tirelessly active in furthering Ed's legacy. She donated some of her husband's papers to the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
, and her own papers plus the remaining papers of her husband her donated to Mount Holyoke College.
. After cremation, her ashes were scattered.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, writer, radio broadcaster and relief worker during World War II in 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...
.
Life
Janet Huntington Brewster was born in Middletown, ConnecticutMiddletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
on September 18, 1910 the daughter of Charles Huntington Brewster, a prosperous automobile dealer and Jennie Johnson, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. Her Grandfather, Charles Kingman Brewster, was the county commissioner of Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Hampshire County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile...
. She was also a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster
William Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...
, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
and a passenger on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
, through his son Jonathan Brewster
Jonathan Brewster
Elder Jonathan Brewster was an early American settler, the son and eldest child of elder William Brewster and his wife, Mary. Brewster had two younger sisters, Patience and Fear, and two younger brothers, Love and Wrestling along with an unnamed brother who died young.-Life:Brewster was born in...
. She was also a descendant of Mayflower passenger John Howland
John Howland
John Howland was a passenger on the Mayflower. He was an indentured servant who accompanied the separatists, also called the Pilgrims, when they left England to settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts...
Her first cousin was Kingman Brewster, Jr.
Kingman Brewster, Jr.
Kingman Brewster, Jr., was an educator, president of Yale University, and American diplomat.-Early life:...
Education
She graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, Connecticut in 1929. While attending high school, she was an outstanding student, head of the debating society and editor of the school magazine. She received her B.A. in economics and sociology in 1933 from Mount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
in South Hadley
South Hadley, Massachusetts
South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,514 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. As a student leader at Mount Holyoke, she met Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
, a graduate of Washington State College, now Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, in Pullman, Washington
Pullman, Washington
Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,675 at the 2000 census and 29,799 according to the 2010 census...
, and president of the National Student Federation of America.
After graduating from college she considered working at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York, where many years later she would serve on the board. She was also considered acting as a career as well. She was a talented actress who played several roles for a summer stock company in New London, New Hampshire
New London, New Hampshire
New London is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,397 at the 2010 census.The town center, where 1,415 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the New London census-designated place , and is located on a hilltop along New Hampshire Route 114 north...
, including the lead role in Sidney Howard
Sidney Howard
Sidney Coe Howard was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
's, The Late Christopher Bean
The Late Christopher Bean
The Late Christopher Bean is a comedy/drama by Sidney Howard, and was first published in 1932 under the title "Muse of All Work." It was first performed at the Ford's Opera House in Baltimore on October 24, 1932. It would open a week later on Halloween at the Henry Miller's Theatre in New York. ...
. She ultimately moved back with her parents and taught freshman English and commercial law at the high school in Middletown, Connecticut.
Marriage and family
She married Ed Murrow on March 12, 1935 at her parent's home in Middleton, Connecticut. They honeymooned in Mexico, and settled in New York City so he could begin his career at CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Egbert Roscoe Murrow was born on April 25, 1908, in Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, in Guilford County, North Carolina
Guilford County, North Carolina
Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimated the county's population to be 491,230. Its seat is Greensboro. Since 1938, an additional county court has been located in High Point, North Carolina, making Guilford one of only a handful...
, the son of Roscoe C. Murrow and Ethel F. Lamb. He died on April 27, 1965 at his home in Pawling
Pawling (town), New York
Pawling is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 7,521 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Catherine Pauling, the daughter of Henry Beekman, who held the second largest land patent in the county. A misprint caused the U to change to a W and the name...
, Dutchess County
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
, 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...
.
Janet and Ed were the parents of one child, a son, Charles Casey Murrow, born on November 6, 1945 in west 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...
. He was a 1964 graduate of Milton Academy
Milton Academy
Milton Academy is a coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered starting in 9th grade...
in Milton, Massachusetts
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
and a 1968 graduate of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and is currently an educator in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
as well as a co-director of Synergy Learning. He married Liza Ketchum in 1968 and they are the parents of two sons.
War years
During the heavy bombing of London Janet Murrow was arranging for the evacuation of children, not to the English countryside, but to homes generously offered in the United States. She served on the British-American Liaison Board, which helped to ease friction between American GIs and British civilians.She traveled throughout England lecturing for the American Embassy and for the Ministry of Information on American life to schools, civil defense units and other groups. She also gave a course on American history on BBC schools programmes. In 1946 she was awarded the King's Medal for Freedom in recognition of her services to international understanding.
Post war career
She was noted for her work in several organizations including serving as a trustee of Mount Holyoke from 1949 to 1959. She had always hankered after an academic career, and returned to Mount Holyoke College in 1970. She worked for nine years in its Art Museum, eventually becoming the Executive Director of the Art Advisory Committee. She traveled widely, raising over $2m on behalf of the college. She also served on the boards of National Public Radio and the Henry Street SettlementHenry Street Settlement
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded in 1893 by Progressive reformer Lillian Wald.The...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
.
In 1953, Janet and Ed reported together on the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, and on June 21, 1957, she substituted for her husband, who was in Burma, on Person to Person
Person to Person
Person to Person was a popular television program in the United States that ran from 1953 to 1961. Well-respected news reporter Edward R. Murrow hosted it until 1959, interviewing celebrities in their homes from a comfortable chair in his New York studio Person to Person was a popular television...
. Viewers and press reviews lauded her performance, and the program was soon considered one of the best in this popular series.
In the decades following her husband's death, she was tirelessly active in furthering Ed's legacy. She donated some of her husband's papers to the Edward R. Murrow Center of Public Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, and her own papers plus the remaining papers of her husband her donated to Mount Holyoke College.
Death
She died on December 18, 1998 in Needham, MassachusettsNeedham, Massachusetts
Needham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 28,886 at the 2010 census.- History :...
. After cremation, her ashes were scattered.