Elsie Clews Parsons
An Unstoppable Woman

Elsie Clews Parsons (1874-1941) of New York had a remarkable career as an anthropologist, sociologist, and feminist. Born into a prominent family, she opposed societal norms and held radical viewpoints, such as “trial marriage,” discussed in her first sociology textbook, The Family (1906).

Parsons earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College in 1896 and her Ph.D. in sociology by 1899 at just 24. Though she never intended to marry, she wed congressman Herbert Parsons in 1900, joining an influential family in Rye. The couple split their time between Rye and Washington, D.C., where she befriended former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Parsons’ contributions to sociology and anthropology were widely recognized and valued, establishing her as a major scientific figure. Devoted to anthropology, she became the first woman president of the American Anthropological Association (1940).