Emily Gibson Braerton

Emily May Gibson Braerton (January 14, 1884 – November 16, 1966) was an American activist who was an early advocate of historic preservation in the western United States. She was the Vice President General for the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) from 1950–1953 and remained an Honorary Vice President General until her death in Santa Ana, California in 1966. She was a member of the DAR's Peace Pipe Chapter and served as Colorado State Regent from 1950–1953.[1]

Emily Braerton 1952.
Emily Braerton 1952.

Braerton was born on January 14, 1884, in Council Grove, Kansas, to Albert Eugene Gibson (Tiffin, Ohio 1851–1909) and Lillian Griffith (Tiffin, Ohio 1851–1939). She was the great niece of William Harvey Gibson, the "Silver Tongued Orator" and Union Army Brigadier General from Ohio. She was a direct descendant of Colonel John Gibson, a U.S. Revolutionary officer and of Robert Coe, who arrived in Boston in 1634.[2][3][4][5] She attended the University of Kansas in 1902–1903.[6]

During Braerton's tenure as national vice president, the DAR worked to redress denying Marian Anderson the right to perform at Constitution Hall in 1939.[7] On 14 March 1953, Anderson sang to an unsegregated audience in Constitution Hall as part of the American University concert series.[8] This performance was repeated at Constitution Hall on 1 April 1956.[8] On 24 October 1964, Anderson began her farewell American tour from Constitution Hall.[8][9][10]

Braerton was particularly supportive of issues concerning the disabled. She was the mother of five daughters (Emily Louise, Lillian Joan, Mary Lee, Susan Frances, and Lucy Jean), one of whom died in infancy and another one suffered from cerebral palsy caused by premature birth. She was married to Warder Lee Braerton, a law graduate of the University of Kansas (1903) and partner in Braerton, Simonton & Brown Insurance based in Denver, Colorado.[6][11][12]

She died in Orange County, California, in 1966.[13]

Footnotes
  1. "1944–1961". Coloradodar.org. 2011-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  2. Bartlett, J. G. (1911). Robert Coe, puritan: His ancestors and descendants, 1340–1910, with notices of other Coe families. Boston, Mass: Pub. for private circulation by the author.
  3. Bigger, D. D. (1901). Ohio's silver-tongued orator: Life and speeches of General William H. Gibson. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Pub. House.
  4. Emily Gibson Braerton Papers, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
  5. DuBin, Alexander. Five Hundred First Families of America. New York: Historical Publication Society, 1975.
  6. Graduate Magazine of the University of Kansas, Vol. 12, p. 394.
  7. "Marian Anderson". English.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  8. "National Society – Marian Anderson and the". DAR. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  9. Published: April 23, 1993 (1993-04-23). "The Real Marian Anderson-D.A.R. Story – New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  10. "A Photo Essay on Marian Anderson and Her Lincoln Memorial Concert". English.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  11. "Mary Lee Braerton Carroll: Memories of my Life," unpublished paper, Grand Rapids, MI, 1994.
  12. The Graduate Magazine of University of Kansas, volume 12, page 394, 1913.
  13. California, Death Index, 1940-1997
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