Biography
Evangeline Cory Booth was born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1865, in London. She was the seventh child of William and Catherine Booth, the founders of the Salvation Army. She grew up in a home of constant activity and sacrifice, with the work of the Army always at the center. As a child, she was a strong and lively girl who loved horses and music. She said that she was converted at the age of five, and she began to take part in the Army's work as a young girl.
At sixteen, she began serving with the Salvation Army in the slums of London, where she sold copies of the paper, the War Cry, in the streets and pubs. She often dressed as a flower girl to get into the places where the poor gathered. She also took part in rescue work for girls who had fallen into prostitution. She was a gifted speaker, and she had a rich voice that drew crowds. She soon rose in the ranks of the Army. In 1888 she was made a field commissioner in London, where she directed the work among the poor.
In 1896 she was sent to Canada to be commander of the Army's work, and she served there for eight years. She guided the Army in a time of growth and gave special attention to the work in the Yukon during the Gold Rush. In 1904, she was named commander of the Salvation Army in the United States. She held that post for thirty years, until 1934. Under her command, the Army grew from a small work to a major force in American life, with hundreds of centers across the nation. She reorganized its structure, set up hospitals, homes for women, children's centers and relief programs.
Her most famous work came during the First World War, when she sent teams of Salvation Army workers to serve the American soldiers in Europe. The women who went served coffee and doughnuts to the soldiers in the trenches, and they were called the Doughnut Girls. They also gave comfort and prayer to the wounded. The Army's work won the admiration of the public and the soldiers, and funds poured in. She became a famous figure in her own right and was honored with the Distinguished Service Medal in 1919. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1923.
In 1934 she was elected General of the Salvation Army, becoming the first woman to hold the highest post in the organization. She served as General until her retirement in 1939. She traveled widely and spoke to huge crowds. She also composed songs and wrote poetry, and she had a gift for music. She held strongly to the Army's doctrine and to its mission of reaching the poorest of the poor.
She was a woman of strong will and dramatic presence. She could be imperious, and she did not like to be challenged. Some of her fellow officers found her hard to work with. She had a number of disputes within her family over the direction of the Army. She never married and gave her life to the work. In her later years, she lived in a quiet home in New York State.
She died on July 17, 1950, at the age of eighty-four, in Hartsdale, New York. Her life shows what the daughter of a great movement can do when she takes up its cause and carries it to a new land. She gave herself to the cause of the poor, and she opened the way for women to lead.