Martha Platt Falconer (March 17, 1862 – November 26, 1941) was a pioneer social reformer.
Personal
She was born in 1862 in Delaware, Ohio,U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 to Cyrus and Janette Platt.1870 United States Federal Census She moved to Philadelphia after the death of her mother."Mrs. Falconer Dead," Marysville (Ohio) Journal-Tribune, November 28, 1941, Page 6 She was married to Cyrus Falconer.
She died in East Aurora, New York, aged 79, and was survived by children Helen, Douglas Platt and Cyrus Jr.New York, Death Index, 1880-1956
Career
In 1906 she was appointed head of the House of Refuge, a girls' institution at 22nd Street and Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She later became superintendent of the Sleighton Farm School for Girls, an institution "hailed as a major prison reform for women.""Mrs. Falconer Dies; Pioneer Penologist," The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 28, 1941, image 7
In 1906 she was assistant superintendent of the Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society."M'Kinney Case Up," The Daily Times, June 6, 1906, image 10
During World War I, she had oversight of all reformatories and detention homes for girls in the United States."Bickett Speaks at Samarcand," The Charlotte Observer, North Carolina, November 25, 1919, image 10
Falconer was superintendent of the girls' department of the Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, schools in 1919 and left to take the superintendency of the department for delinquent girls and women in the American Social Hygienic Association, which was connected with the Rockefeller Foundation. In that job she was to "devote considerable attention to the establishing bureaus of women police" throughout the country."Calls for Policewomen," Evening Public Ledger, Philadelphia, October 21, 1919, image 8
In 1919 also, the Martha P. Falconer Infirmary was dedicated at the Samarcand Manor State Industrial Training School for Girls in North Carolina, the construction cost of $12,000 having been obtained by Mrs. Falconer from the federal government.
In 1933, Falconer was living in New York and was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree by Elmira College."Seniors Receive Degrees at Commencement Today; Prize Awards Announced," Elmira (New York) Star-Gazette, June 5, 1933, image 5
References