Jennie Casseday (June 9, 1840 – February 8, 1893) was a 19th-century American philanthropist, social reformer, school founder, and letter writer.

In 1861, she was thrown from a carriage; she survived the resulting spinal injury but was physically disabled, and in pain for the rest of her life.

From that time until her death, she directed from her sick-bed world-wide plans for this philanthropy, personally conducting an immense correspondence in its interests.

[6] Casseday was a normal little girl, born of rich, cultured parents who loved to give their children everything possible for happiness.

[4] In 1844, Samuel bought an elevated plateau in the heart of Louisville and built a big house, providing winter romp-rooms for his daughters and a completely furnished carpenter shop for his son.

Immediately after this, Miss Mary Ann McNutt, Eliza's half-sister, took charge of the household, so continuing in authority as long as the father lived; afterwards, until her own death, keeping the family together.

There was a high stone retaining wall with a plantation border which was filled with lilacs, peonies, altheas, weigelias, golden elder, barberry bushes, calacanthus and moss roses.

[7] Just before Casseday graduated from school, her years of too intensive study exerted her brain[tone], and a fever drifted for months.

In 1861,[8] she was the victim of a terrible accident brought about by runaway horses, an overturned carriage, her body dragged along under the wheels, and maimed forever.

Later she secured baskets of flowers and small fruits and made little detours on her way to school, so as to reach even the poorer districts.

She called to her bedside the influential women of Louisville, recognizing that what she hoped to create demanded team work and organization.

Editors offered their columns; reporters did their best to float her project in a favororable fashion, and The Courier-Journal presented the use of a large room in its building with tables ready for tying up flowers.

In 1889, the "Society of Christian Workers" held its annual meeting in New York City and its secretary requested Casseday to send to it information regarding her Flower Mission work.

When I had finished, Miss Willard, with that quick perception and ready insight for which she is so remarkable, saw how Flower Missions might be grafted on to temperance work and bring forth rich harvests of good to both.

She rose to her feet exclaiming, T have an inspiration; it is to establish a Flower Mission department of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and put you at its head as National Superintendent.'

[15] Just fifteen years after Casseday had become President of the National Flower Mission, her department reported to the National Convention of the WCTU that the Flower Mission Department had distributed more than 1,555,466 bouquets, 34,972 growing plants, 403,691 text cards, 1,398,122 pages of Flower Mission literature, 38,350 tumblers and jars of jelly and preserves, 15,788 bushels of fruit and vegetables, and 134,211 articles of clothing; 317,735 visits had been made to the poor and sick, besides 14,262 to public institutions, while 19,505 drives and outings were given to poor children, invalids and other worthy people.

[18] The district nurse work owed its establishment to Casseday's philanthropy, an outgrowth of contact with the sick poor through the flower mission.

In speaking of the training school for nurses, established in Louisville, Casseday says: "It was born in my heart through the ministry of suffering and a longing to help others, as was my connection with the Shut-In Band."

The members of the Shut-In Hand consisted of men, women and children who are shut in by disease from the outside world, and of invalids who seldom or never left their rooms or beds.

[19] Shortly before her death,[18] the King's Daughters established a Jennie Casseday Free Infirmary in Louisville, which was to benefit poor and sick women.