Joanna Bethune

She was responsible for the growth of philanthropic organizations focused on helping women and children in the first half of the 19th century, many of which were highly successful and trained thousands of students.

Under her mother's suggestion, she married a Scottish merchant named Divie Bethune, a man who at first was broke upon entering New York but over time gained considerable wealth.

With her husband's support and financial backing, she helped found the Orphan Asylum Society, with its own standards of taking care of children.

The New York State gave financial aid to the society and led it to becoming a prime example for charitable organizations, inspiring the creation of other charities.

[3] Divie Bethune inspired his wife to gather other women to form a system of Sunday schools modeled after the ones in England after being turned down by local ministers.

[4] In 1814, Bethune initiated the Society for the Promotion of Industry Among the Poor to give work to people suffering from the struggles brought on by the War of 1812.