Adelaide Wallerstein
American physician and translator (1869–1942)
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Adelaide Dorn Wallerstein McConnell (March 4, 1869 – June 12, 1942) was an American translator, medical doctor, lawyer, and clubwoman, based in New York City.
March 4, 1869
Adelaide Wallerstein | |
|---|---|
Adelaide Wallerstein, from a 1908 publication. | |
| Born | Adelaide Dorn March 4, 1869 Massachusetts, US |
| Died | June 12, 1942 (aged 73) New York City, US |
| Other names | Adelaide Dorn McConnell (after 1911) |
| Occupations | medical doctor, lawyer, translator, clubwoman |
Early life
Adelaide Dorn[1] was from Worcester, Massachusetts.[2][3] She graduated from law school at New York University in 1898,[4] and earned her medical degree at the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women in 1905.[5][6]
Career
Wallerstein practiced medicine from an office in her New York home,[7] and in 1905 founded a free clinic,[8] the East Side Clinic for Children.[9][10] She was president of the clinic for 25 years, until it closed in 1931.[1] She also translated French literature into English.[11]
"There is no better-known clubwoman in New York than Mrs. Harry Wallerstein," noted the cover of Broadway Weekly in 1904.[12] She was president of the Woman's Legal Aid Society when it began in 1898,[13] and president of the Adelaide Wallerstein Auxiliary of the National Army Relief Association for Porto Rico; the latter organization sent books, blankets, and disinfectants to American soldiers during the Spanish–American War.[14][15] During World War I she organized a women's group to assist the Marines.[16] She was also active in the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Women's Press Club of New York.[1] She headed the Philocalian Society in 1907, a group of clubwomen who sought to discourage young women from drinking, low-cut gowns, and late-night socializing in New York.[17]
Adelaide Wallerstein was president of the Rubenstein Club, from 1904 until a controversial ouster in 1909.[18][19] In response,[20] she founded the New York Mozart Society;[21] the society's chorus performed at the White House in 1911, with Arthur Claassen conducting.[22] She was president of the Mozart Society from 1909 to 1937.[1]
Personal life
Adelaide married businessman Henry "Harry" Wallerstein in 1899;[23] they divorced in 1910.[24][25] In 1911 she married businessman Noble McConnell.[26][27][28] She died at the Hotel Astor in New York City in 1942, aged 73 years.[29][1] Congressman Chris Shays is her grand-nephew; he is the grandson of Adelaide McConnell's sister, Lillian Cecile Dorn Shays.