Geraldine L. Thompson’s Favorite Child

Editor’s note:  Geraldine Thompson is, without question, one of the most important women in Monmouth County history.  Monmouth Timeline is honored to have this account of Geraldine Thompson’s impact from Professor Jane Scimeca, a new contributor.

 

By Jane Scimeca

During the 19th century, Monmouth County was known for its rural farms and popular shore vacation resorts.   While some residents lived in wealthy agricultural areas and cosmopolitan shore towns, others eked out an existence on marginal farmland or in salty inlets.  Many of the immigrant farmers, fisherman and African American domestic servants in the community suffered from illness, poverty and neglect due to scarce health and welfare services.   Local churches and goodhearted doctors provided a modicum of assistance, but the process was woefully inadequate and inefficient.  The county’s unfortunate populations languished in the shadows and county leaders showed little interest in their struggles. Help was needed to coordinate community needs with services and aid. Remarking on the abysmal state of affairs in county care, a newspaper in 1912 commented “There was no unity either of thought or action.”

While many turned a blind eye to the conditions of the under-served, new reform leaders emerged in the late 1800’s to provide both unity of thought and action to society’s problems.  In the 1880’s, two new charity organizations emerged to organize welfare work in New Jersey – the Charity Organization Society and the State Charities Aid Association. These groups challenged the widespread disregard for public health and welfare. The charity aid reformers “wanted to visit, protect, and encourage” people in need. Reformers in urban and rural areas alike were inspired to carry this mission to their counties.

The Monmouth County Branch of the State Charities Aid and Prison Reform Society was founded on June 24, 1912.

This is its story.

 

 

The Cyclone

The founding of this county charity organization is inseparable from its leader, Geraldine L. Thompson. A descendant of the prominent Livingston family, she was born March 2, 1872, and raised among the wealthy in Gilded Age New York. She married a millionaire, Lewis S. Thompson, in 1896, and became the matron of the famous horse stud farm, Brookdale Farm.

An indomitable presence, she emerged to lead the fight for public health and welfare services. Historian James Leiby writes that her “consciousness of wealth gave her a sense of social responsibility which found direction in her feminist heritage and her religious ideal of service.” She never earned an academic degree, nor did she have any training in social work, yet she became known for her relentless advocacy to protect the helpless and for fearlessly compelling officials to serve and protect the community. She became the “moving spirit” behind Monmouth County’s first public health and welfare organization, an entity that became a model for the country and earned her a national reputation. Her colleague, Alfred Beadleston, described her as a cyclone.

At the unlikely age of 40, she was unexpectedly drawn into an unfolding tragedy in her own neighborhood. One day, her young daughters rode their ponies off the farm to explore the village “feeling like Christopher Columbus” when they happened upon a crumbling house with a freckle-faced boy sitting outside. When he saw the girls, he begged them to help him. They tied up their ponies, went inside the dilapidated house and found the mother, father, older sister and baby brother lying in beds too sick to raise their heads. They were dying from tuberculosis, also known as the “white plague.” The girls knew that their mother would help.  They galloped back to Brookdale Farm and raced up the stairs to tell her about the ailing family. Her daughter remarked that “Mama was the kind of woman who if she discovered this in one small house, asked herself how many other small houses, or families down with tuberculosis, are being wiped out?” Thompson became determined to find out how many residents in the county were suffering from the dreaded disease. What she discovered was terrible. Her daughter remembered, “It was everywhere.”

Thompson’s compassion for others was not narrowly focused on tuberculosis. After the troubling discovery in her neighborhood, she initiated investigations that revealed a wide range of health and welfare problems.

 

The Family Business

In retrospect, one could argue that Geraldine Thompson was destined to become a leader in public health and charity work. Fighting for the needy was the “family business.” Geraldine Livingston Thompson’s namesake was her grandmother, Geraldine Livingston Hoyt, a highly regarded New York reformer. She was a founder of the New York State Charities Aid Society and helped to establish the nursing program at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Thompson shared her grandmother’s passion for working to improve the lives of the most vulnerable members of society.

When she was a little girl, Thompson watched her grandmother leave the house early in the morning to take a horse-drawn carriage to the East River, where she was then rowed across to Blackwell’s Island (today Roosevelt Island). The complex of bleak buildings on the 147-acre island housed the city’s poor, mentally ill, and those convicted of crimes.

Mrs. Hoyt inspected the prisons, workhouses, and asylums and armed with a notebook and a pencil, recorded what she saw. When Mrs. Hoyt’s review was completed, she took her little notebook full of shocking observations to New York State’s capital in Albany. She reported her findings to the governor and to the legislature. Her refusal to ignore human suffering made advocating for helpless people a core family value.

The devastating discovery of the family dying of tuberculosis in her own neighborhood prompted Thompson to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps by investigating the conditions of Monmouth County.

 

 

The Promise of Better Things

Thompson stepped into a leadership position for the first time in 1910 when she became a member of the board of the State Charities Aid and Prison Reform Association. A leading New Jersey reformer, Caroline Wittpenn, one of the most respected women in state charity work, became Thompson’s mentor and friend.

The State Charities Aid Association strove to have branches in each county and Thompson became its ambassador in Monmouth County. One newspaper reported that, “In addition to furthering the aims of the State Organization, the county branches have undertaken various forms of local work that have seemed most needed in their particular counties.” Thompson devoted herself to discovering and furnishing what was “most needed.” This remains central to the organization’s mission today.

Geraldine Thompson inspected the Monmouth County jail much like her grandmother had in New York many years earlier. As representative of the State Charities Aid Association, she exposed that the prisoners were not being adequately fed. Thompson confronted the warden and county officials, who were spending merely 12 cents per day for each inmate. After Thompson’s review, county leaders instructed the warden to increase the amount spent for inmates’ meals. She also recommended that the bathtubs be replaced with showers to improve cleanliness and to prevent the spread of disease.

 

A Failing Grade

The first step in the creation of the county charity group took place in 1911 when Caroline Wittpenn urged Thompson to finance a survey to study the impact of the New Jersey Poor Laws on Monmouth County. The report included the damning statement that there was “the failure of public spirit and philanthropic enterprise in the county.” If this was a report card, Monmouth County received an “F.” In addition to the need for public health and welfare services, the county needed to address an ailing community spirit. Among the disturbing findings was the condition of children and the elderly. Truancy, poor housing and disease were prevalent. The county jail, the only public institution, was used to house orphaned or wayward children. There were neither social workers nor preventative measures taken to assist residents in need. The report concludes that “Disheartened groups…were ready to welcome some form of organization which promised better things.”

Ultimately, the report sparked Thompson to engage volunteers and to raise funds to help the unfortunate. Over the next two years, Geraldine L. Thompson laid the groundwork for a Monmouth County branch of the state organization to bring “better things” to vulnerable residents.

Thompson hired a social worker named Miss Getty L. Button to canvass the county and assess the extent of the spread of tuberculosis as well as problems of neglected children, poverty and the elderly. The press reported that Thompson and Miss Button “have been …taking a very active part in the movement to improve conditions.” Newspaper reports described Thompson organizing meetings between the county officials and the State Charities Aid leaders. Her goal was to encourage coordination of services and to establish “a county institution that would provide adequate protection for the aged and for special cases.”

In the meantime, the state of New Jersey passed new laws requiring county governments to fund health services.

 

 

Through the Efforts of Mrs. Thompson

Years later Thompson would write that “poverty and tuberculosis were walking hand in hand.” The grim reality was that when poor people fell victim to tuberculosis they suffered, died and spread the illness to their family members. If the local or the state government did not provide public health services to care for the sick, the spread of the disease continued to infect more families. Mrs. Thompson was determined to stop the white death in its tracks.

During a May 8, 1912 meeting, the Freeholders were briefed on the new state laws and held hearings on the numbers of poor and incurably sick in the County. Mrs.  Thompson led a delegation and reported that there were 100 indigent poor residing in Monmouth County. Yet, county officials who were tasked with helping the poor “felt incapable of taking care of [them] because of their physical condition.” There were simply too many sick people to care for.  Others in Thompson’s group shared that for every death caused by tuberculosis, there were ten active cases. In short, they argued that the county should comply with the new state law by approving funding for health services. County officials, however, resisted. An Asbury Park resident came forward and made public comments “to assure the freeholders and audience that most of these 13 deaths referred to were…mostly colored help.” It was clear that some in the community were willing to leave suffering people in the shadows.

By the early summer of 1912, the momentum of Thompson’s efforts peaked when she made a dramatic appeal on behalf of the tragic case of a tuberculosis victim named Arkansas Bass.

Bass was a 12-year-old African American boy from Long Branch. The force of his heartbreaking story broke through the county government’s resistance.

Despite her five-foot four-inch frame, Thompson was a charismatic presence on any stage, large or small. Describing her ability to tell a great story, her daughter remarked that “The theater lost a great actress.” On this day, Thompson explained that Bass was severely ill with tuberculosis that spread from his lungs to his bones. One of his arms was recently amputated and his other limbs were also infected. She implored the county government to pay for his medical care; care that his family could not afford. Acute patients, like Bass, needed a place to go to be cared for as they faced the end.

He had been rejected by several sanatoriums but one hospital in Pennsylvania offered to take him for $9 per week. The need for special hospitals to care for the poor suffering from tuberculosis was severe. It is possible that he was refused a bed because of his poverty or because he was incurable but most likely, it was because he was African American. Blacks and the poor were impacted more severely than the white and middle class. Historian Barbara Bates argues that “[d]espite this high frequency of tuberculosis, hospitals and sanatoriums often excluded blacks, and neither money nor personal recommendations could assure them acceptable care.”

Geraldine Thompson appealed to their duty to protect public health. Tubercular patients became more infectious as the disease entered its later stages. Arkansas Bass was likely to infect the other members of his family if he was left to die at home. She explained that a baby had recently died in the house from tuberculosis and that there were seven-year-old twins who were not yet impacted but were in danger of infection. Their mother was in jail.

After her appeal, the Board attorney, Ruliff V. Lawrence, was instructed to explore if county funds could be used for this purpose. Two weeks later, the newspaper reported that Arkansas Bass was taken to Trenton Municipal and County Hospital for Tuberculosis on June 22, 1912, through “the efforts of Mrs. Lewis S. Thompson.” Her impassioned plea on Bass’ behalf had persuaded the leaders to change their policy.

After more than two years of pressuring leaders of the county government, Bass’ case was a turning point in the movement for public health and welfare reform.  Within days of Arkansas Bass’ admission to the tuberculosis hospital, the Monmouth County State Charities Aid and Prison Reform Society formed on June 24, 1912. Thus, the sorely needed county welfare organization was born.

 

 

A Force for Good to Remedy Every Evil

Geraldine L. Thompson hoped for a big crowd for the first meeting on June 25, 1912. In addition to helping the unfortunate, Thompson sought to change the culture of disregard by welcoming the community to her home at Brookdale Farm. If the new organization was going to thrive, it needed members who accepted their responsibility for their neighbors.  The local papers invited anyone who wanted to attend. All were welcome and if they were arriving by train, Mrs. Thompson offered to send a car to the Red Bank train station to fetch them.

The goals were ambitious; to remedy every evil.  The mission was to shine light on any and all problems.

On the eve of the founding of the County’s charity organization, a local newspaper proclaimed, “Monmouth County has an exceptional opportunity to bring together its charitable and civic forces into an organization that will be a power for good in all that involves the welfare of those who for any reason have either temporarily or permanently lost their normal places in the social order.”

The group that emerged has been a force for good ever since.

Only six months after its founding, the young organization received praise from leaders. The president of the state organization, Seymour Cromwell, reported to New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson that “one of the most interesting developments” of the year was the establishment of the Monmouth County Branch. He reported that the work being done in Monmouth County was already being hailed at national conferences as well as in Canada.

Almost immediately, the Monmouth County Branch became “its most active and successful chapter.”  The welfare agency was a nationally recognized organization known for providing public health nursing, fostering coordination for services and maintaining a partnership between voluntary and tax supported agencies.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt even noted their success in her column, “My Day,” and praised Thompson’s “driving power” to get people to feel concern for the whole community. Roosevelt wrote on October 5, 1946: “There is one county in New Jersey – Monmouth – which I think does an exceptionally good job through its social services, and this is largely due to an outstanding citizen. Mrs. Lewis Thompson has had a hand in all the welfare organizations of the State, but as she lives in Monmouth County, that county’s organization for social service reflects her interest and personality. She cares about people and this interest at home has taken her to her State capitol and to Washington, D.C… Mrs. Thompson, of course, could not do her work alone and she has had splendid cooperation. But she gives inspiration and energy and courage such as few citizens give to their welfare work of their communities.”

 

 

Evolving to Meet Changing Community Needs

The name of the organization changed twice during its long history, reflecting the evolving needs of the communities as well as the growing public/private response to the general need for social services. It was renamed the Monmouth County Organization for Social Services in 1918. In 1994, it took its current name: the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group (VNA HG).

Over one hundred years after its founding, the organization still nimbly responds to the needs of the community and represents the energy and compassion of its founder, Geraldine L. Thompson.

Years after its founding, Geraldine Thompson’s daughter joked that the charity organization was “my Ma’s favorite child.” The remark made in jest, however, touched on the truth that Geraldine Thompson gave the storied organization life.

 

About the Author

Jane Scimeca is a distinguished Professor of History at Brookdale Community College, where she specializes in teaching World History and Women’s History. She has earned a Master of Arts degree in History and Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from Rutgers University. Professor Scimeca is also the host of New Books in Women’s History, a podcast on the New Books Network where she discusses new scholarship in women’s history with writers and historians. Professor Scimeca is currently working on a biography of Geraldine L. Thompson titled, “Mrs. Thompson Saves the Day.” Because she epitomizes the quality of excellence in education, Professor Scimeca was awarded the 2023 Barringer Award.

 

Sources:

Babcock, Elisabeth T. Family Memories, 1900-1985. Thompson Family Papers, private collection.

Babcock, Elisabeth T. Letter to Jim Truncer. (1982).  Collection of Monmouth County Park System, June 29, 1982.

Bates, Barbara. (1992). Bargaining for Life: A Social History of Tuberculosis, 1876-1938. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, Penn., P. 292.

Boy Incurable Taken to Hospital. (1912). The Freehold Transcript and The Monmouth Inquirer, Freehold, N.J., June 28, 1912, P. 1.

Change Name of State Aid Body. (1918). Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, N.J., July 12, 1918, P. 1.

Chosen Freeholders: Charities Agent Inspects County Jail. (1911). Monmouth Democrat, Freehold, N.J., May 25, 1911, P. 1.

County Help for Incurables Urged. (1912). Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, N.J., May 9, 1912, P. 2.

County Hospitals for Tuberculosis. (1912).  Trenton Evening Times, Trenton, N.J., May 16, 1912, P. 7.

Ellis, William J. (1945). The Story of New Jersey, Vol. II, Edited by William Starr Myers, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. New York, N.Y., P. 80.

Feeding Prisoners. (1911).  Freehold Transcript and The Monmouth Inquirer, Freehold, N.J., May 26, 1911, P. 1.

Freeholders Asked to Erect Several Homes for County. (1912). The Daily Record, Long Branch, N.J., May 9, 1912, P. 1.

Leiby, James. (1967). Charity and Correction in New Jersey: A History of State Welfare Institutions. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Mrs. Geraldine L. Thompson Tells of Her Busy Life. (1940). Keyport Enterprise, Keyport, N.J., August 15, 1940, P. 3.

Monmouth Society Praised. (1912).  Keyport Weekly, Keyport, N.J., December 6, 1912, P. 3.

Meytrott, Cornelia. (1922). “County Organization for Child Welfare in the State of New Jersey.” County Organization for Child Care and Protection. U.S. Children’s Bureau Pub. No. 107. Washington, D.C.P. 73-91.

Organize Local Reform Society. (1912).  Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, N.J., June 21, 1912, P. 1.

Organized for Charity. (1912). The Daily Register, Red Bank, N.J., June 26, 1912, P. 9.

Objects Of Charity Workers in County. (1912). Daily Record, Long Branch, N.J., June 21, 1912, P. 16.

Pleas for Victim of White Plague. (1912).  Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, N.J., June 13, 1912, P. 2.

Poor Overseers to Meet at Freehold. (1912).  Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, N.J., February 22, 1912, P. 1.

Report 1920-1921. (1922). Monmouth County Organization for Social Services. Monmouth County Archives, Manalapan, N.J, P. 21.

Roosevelt, Eleanor. (1946). “My Day, October 5, 1946.” The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital Edition, 2017, accessed 5/20/2024. Available: https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1946&_f=md000461.

Thompson, Mrs. Lewis S. (1935). History of the Allenwood Sanatorium-The Tuberculosis Hospital of Monmouth County. Written at the request and published in part by the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce in “New Jersey at the Crossroads,” 1935. P. 7.

Northern Monmouth Branch of the American Association of University Women. (1977). A Triangle of Land: A History of the Site and the Founding of Brookdale Community College. Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, N.J., P. 64.