Elizabeth Caroline Dowdell

Elizabeth Caroline Dowdell (née Thomas; 1829-1909) was an American leader of women's patriotic and religious organizations.

She was the first woman in the nation who suggested the organization of the missionary society in connection with the church, and by her efforts, put into operation the WMS of the MEC,S.

[1][2] A ready and eloquent speaker, Dowdell made no pretension as a platform speaker, but her duties frequently brought her before large congregations and religious bodies, and she was direct, earnest, and eloquent in presenting any cause, and more especially the one great cause that was her life work and closest to her heart: missionary work.

Renowned for her hospitality and culture, for nearly half a century, the Dowdell home in Auburn, Alabama entertained many of the foremost people of the South.

B. Ross), President of the Alabama Division, UDC, she pays a tribute to Elizabeth Caroline Dowdell, Mrs. Ross's mother:—[1][2] "Soon after the war a young woman in her Alabama home dreamed a dream and saw a vision, and she wrote to the bishop of a great denomination : 'You men say you could never have borne the brunt of the battle if it had not been for the organized work of the women at home.

Mrs. Crawford Dowdell, of Auburn, who was placed at the head of the organization in her own Slate and was probably the first Alabama woman to preside over an assemblage of women?

[1][2] Elizabeth Dowdell died at her home in Auburn, Alabama, on August 16, 1909, after a sudden illness became fatal.