Emery, Mary Abbott and Julia Chester. Papers

In 1871, Mary Abbott Emery was appointed secretary of the newly formed Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions and was chiefly responsible for its early development. Though she resigned as secretary in 1876 to marry the Rev. Dr. Alvi T. Twing, she continued to be actively involved. After her husband died in 1882, she was appointed honorary secretary of the Woman's Auxiliary. One of her greatest achievements was assisting in the passage by the 1889 General Convention of the canon that recognized and set standards and qualifications for Deaconesses. In addition, Emery taught a course on church missions at the newly created New York Training School for Deaconesses and visited missionaries around the world, later reporting on their work in articles that she assembled in the book, Twice Around the World (1898).

Mary Abbott Emery’s sister, Julia Chester Emery, was heavily involved with the Woman’s Auxiliary, taking over as secretary when Mary resigned in 1876. In addition, their sisters–Susan Lavinia Emery (1846-1914) and Margaret Theresa Emery (1849-1925)–were involved with The Episcopal Church and the Woman’s Auxiliary, although to a much lesser degree.

Julia Chester Emery was appointed secretary of the Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions in 1876, after her sister Mary Abbott Emery resigned the position. During her forty-year tenure she directed the expansion of the Woman’s Auxiliary into every domestic and missionary diocese of The Episcopal Church and was key to the founding and growth of the United Offering (now the United Thank Offering). She traveled overseas extensively to promote the Auxiliary by addressing the woman’s missionary congress in London in 1897, representing the Diocese of New York at the Pan-Anglican Congress in 1908, and visiting mission stations throughout Europe and Asia. In addition, she authored several books, including “A Century of Endeavor” (1921), the centennial history of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Julia Emery is commemorated in the Episcopal Calendar of the Church Year on January 9th.

In addition to Mary Abbott and Julia Chester, their sisters, Susan Lavinia Emery (1846-1914) and Margaret Theresa Emery (1849-1925) were involved with The Episcopal Church and the Woman’s Auxiliary, although to a much lesser degree.