Eugenia Williamson Hume

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Portrait photo from Werner's Magazine, 1899

Eugenia Williamson Hume (1865–1899) was a 19th-century American elocutionist,[1] and educator. She was one of the best educated and most accomplished women in St. Louis, Missouri in her day.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Eugenia Williamson was born in 1865.[3] She was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. E. J. Williamson. Her ancestry was characterized as old Anglo-American.[2] She always lived in St. Louis.[1]

Hume's early training was with Mary Hogan Ludlum. She also studied for an extended period with Emma Dunning Banks. In 1889, Hume graduated from the National School of Elocution and Oratory.[1][4]

Career[edit]

Hume was prominent in elocutionary work in St. Louis. She and her sister, Mazy Williamson, also gave elocutionary entertainments in various parts of the West.[1] In 1897, the sisters gave entertainments together in Missouri, Eugenia doing the poses and Mazy giving the recitations, some of the most successful of which were by Banks.[5]

Having shown talent in that field early on, she began teaching at the age of 18,[1] and was known as a teacher for many years before graduation from elocutionary school.[3]

Hume was charter member of the St. Louis Branch of the Association of Elocutionists,[4] as well as a member of various other societies and institutions.[1] She was also actively engaged in religious and benevolent work.[1]

Personal life and death[edit]

On April 18, 1899, she married Dr. John R. Hume, a leading physician of St. Louis and professor of physiology at Barnes Medical College.[1]

Eugenia Williamson Hume died at St. Louis, October 13, 1899, at the age of 34,[1] from a valvular lesion of the heart, after an illness of five hours.[2] Her burial was in Bellefontaine Cemetery.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituary". Werner's Magazine: A Magazine of Expression. 24 (4). Werner's Magazine Company: 445. December 1899. Retrieved 1 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ a b c Brockman, William Everett (1926). Early American History: Hume and Allied Families. William Everett Brockman. p. 135. Retrieved 2 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b c "Death of Mrs. Eugenia W. Hume". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 12 October 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 2 May 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ a b National Speech Arts Association (1898). Proceedings ... The Association. p. 185. Retrieved 2 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Werner, Edgar S. (December 1897). "Readers and singers". Werner's Voice Magazine. 20 (4). E.S. Werner: 575. Retrieved 2 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.