About Ellen Dean (1846–1908)
Photo of Ellen Dean from To the memory of the following teachers of the Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids, MI: Central High School Alumni Association, 1910)
On September 1, 1903, Ellen Dean, along with four other women, ran unsuccessfully for the Grand Rapids Library Commission. Governance of the library had been under the control of the Grand Rapids Board of Education until 1903, when a charter amendment created a separate library commission elected by popular vote. While no women won seats in the first election, five ran: Mary M. Bryant, Ellen Dean, Alde L. T. Blake, Lois Felker, and Cornelia Steketee Hulst.
Ellen Dean was born on April 8, 1846, in Cannonsburg, Michigan. Orphaned young, she lived with her grandparents until 1860, when she set out on her own to California. She resided there for just a few years before returning to Michigan and settling in Grand Rapids, where she accepted a position as a teacher at a local grammar school and was quickly promoted to a position in the high school.
Although friends pointed to Dean’s thirty-two years of teaching as “her life’s work,” her interests extended well beyond the classroom. She was an active member of multiple women’s clubs, though she also took part in clubs made up of both men and women. One of these was the Social Science Club, where Dean was elected secretary and treasurer in 1899. Dean was also a member of the Grand Rapids Ladies’ Literary Club. In 1879 she was elected its third vice-president (of three vice presidents) and in 1899 she was elected its first vice-president (of two vice-presidents). There she also served as leader of the club’s Italian Renaissance class and as club philosopher, a position in which she was noted for her studies of “Nietzsche, Maeterlinck and other master minds.” And in 1900 she was nominated for the presidency of the Grand Rapids Ladies’ Literary club, but she ultimately lost her bid.
Ladies Literary Club Building circa 1888, Grand Rapids History and Special Collections (GRHSC), Archives, GRPL, GR, Michigan
Dean was active in reform causes and in 1901 was elected president of the Consumers’ League of Michigan, an organization that campaigned for improved working conditions and treatment of workers. Dean was also a passionate advocate of the humanities. In 1899 she spoke on behalf of women’s literary clubs at the annual meeting of the State Library Association in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and in 1902 she delivered an address on “The Necessity of General History in High Schools” at the annual meeting of the North Central History Teachers’ Association.
Dean was a seasoned traveler. Accounts of her adventures enlivened the pages of local newspapers, including one entitled “Perils on the Way” that described her trip through Italy from Sorrento to Salerno. Selections from Dean’s personal letters give a sense of her insatiable wanderlust, which took her anywhere from Nashville to Naples.
On February 25, 1908, Ellen Dean died of complications from a surgery she had undergone while visiting friends in New York. Beloved by her students, she was fondly remembered in 1910 at an event honoring deceased Grand Rapids teachers. Her students memorialized Dean with selections from her personal correspondence. The letters, printed in a book to mark the occasion, offer a window into her rich intellectual life, her unceasing love of travel, and her dedication to teaching. While Ellen Dean could not add a position on the Grand Rapids Library Commission to her list of accomplishments, she contributed to her community as a teacher, storyteller, worker’s advocate, and champion of the humanities.
About Ellen Dean (1846–1908)
Photo of Ellen Dean from To the memory of the following teachers of the Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids, MI: Central High School Alumni Association, 1910)
On September 1, 1903, Ellen Dean, along with four other women, ran unsuccessfully for the Grand Rapids Library Commission. Governance of the library had been under the control of the Grand Rapids Board of Education until 1903, when a charter amendment created a separate library commission elected by popular vote. While no women won seats in the first election, five ran: Mary M. Bryant, Ellen Dean, Alde L. T. Blake, Lois Felker, and Cornelia Steketee Hulst.
Ellen Dean was born on April 8, 1846, in Cannonsburg, Michigan. Orphaned young, she lived with her grandparents until 1860, when she set out on her own to California. She resided there for just a few years before returning to Michigan and settling in Grand Rapids, where she accepted a position as a teacher at a local grammar school and was quickly promoted to a position in the high school.
Although friends pointed to Dean’s thirty-two years of teaching as “her life’s work,” her interests extended well beyond the classroom. She was an active member of multiple women’s clubs, though she also took part in clubs made up of both men and women. One of these was the Social Science Club, where Dean was elected secretary and treasurer in 1899. Dean was also a member of the Grand Rapids Ladies’ Literary Club. In 1879 she was elected its third vice-president (of three vice presidents) and in 1899 she was elected its first vice-president (of two vice-presidents). There she also served as leader of the club’s Italian Renaissance class and as club philosopher, a position in which she was noted for her studies of “Nietzsche, Maeterlinck and other master minds.” And in 1900 she was nominated for the presidency of the Grand Rapids Ladies’ Literary club, but she ultimately lost her bid.
Ladies Literary Club Building circa 1888, Grand Rapids History and Special Collections (GRHSC), Archives, GRPL, GR, Michigan
Dean was active in reform causes and in 1901 was elected president of the Consumers’ League of Michigan, an organization that campaigned for improved working conditions and treatment of workers. Dean was also a passionate advocate of the humanities. In 1899 she spoke on behalf of women’s literary clubs at the annual meeting of the State Library Association in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and in 1902 she delivered an address on “The Necessity of General History in High Schools” at the annual meeting of the North Central History Teachers’ Association.
Dean was a seasoned traveler. Accounts of her adventures enlivened the pages of local newspapers, including one entitled “Perils on the Way” that described her trip through Italy from Sorrento to Salerno. Selections from Dean’s personal letters give a sense of her insatiable wanderlust, which took her anywhere from Nashville to Naples.
On February 25, 1908, Ellen Dean died of complications from a surgery she had undergone while visiting friends in New York. Beloved by her students, she was fondly remembered in 1910 at an event honoring deceased Grand Rapids teachers. Her students memorialized Dean with selections from her personal correspondence. The letters, printed in a book to mark the occasion, offer a window into her rich intellectual life, her unceasing love of travel, and her dedication to teaching. While Ellen Dean could not add a position on the Grand Rapids Library Commission to her list of accomplishments, she contributed to her community as a teacher, storyteller, worker’s advocate, and champion of the humanities.
Campaign Information
Political Office: Library Commission
Election Year: 1903
Party Affiliation: Nonpartisan race
Elected: No
Biographical Information
Full Name: Ellen Dean
Life Dates: April 8, 1846–February 25, 1908
Birthplace: Cannonsburg, Michigan
Marital Status: Single
Occupation: Teacher
Political Affiliation: Unknown
Social Reform Activism: Women’s Clubs, Labor, Education
Sources
“Against Expansion: Social Science Club Takes a Hand in the National Affairs.” Grand Rapids Herald, November 30, 1898.
“Dies in New York: Miss Ellen Dean Fails to Survive Operation.” Grand Rapids Press, February 26, 1908.
Goss, Dwight. History of Grand Rapids and Its Industries. Vol. 2. Chicago: C.F. Cooper and Co., 1906.
Stinchcomb, Hogue. History of the Ladies’ Literary Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan. n.p.: Clandoin Printery, 1910.
“Miss Ellen Dean, Teacher, Died in New York Hospital.” Grand Rapids Herald, February 26, 1908.
National Consumers’ League, 1901 Annual Report. March 6, 1901.
“Paper by Miss Dean.” Grand Rapids Herald. October 24, 1899.
“Perils on the Way: Miss Ellen Dean Describes Her Trip to Athens.” Grand Rapids Press, August 23, 1902.
“Talked in the Town,” Grand Rapids Press, March 31, 1902.
“Teachers Whom We Know: Miss Ellen Dean, for Many Years a Teacher at the Central High School, is New Librarian at the High School.” Grand Rapids Herald, January 21, 1906.
“The Social Scientists.” Grand Rapids Herald, May 10, 1899.
To the Memory of the Following Teachers of the Grand Rapids, Michigan Central High School, 1907-1911: Miss Annah M. Clark, Miss Emma J. Cole, Miss Catherine MacArthur, Mr. A. J. Volland, Miss Ellen Dean, Mr. A. J. Daniels. n.p.: n.p., 1910.
“Trustees Led the Battle.” Grand Rapids Herald, September 2, 1903.
“Women’s Clubs.” Grand Rapids Herald, April 8, 1900.