Episode 29: Emily Warren Roebling
Emily Warren was born on September 23, 1843 in Cold Springs, NY. She was the second youngest of 12 children. Emily attended Georgetown Visitation Convent all-girls preparatory in Washington DC. There she studied many subjects such as ancient and modern history, geography, mythology, composition, French, algebra, geometry, bookkeeping, astronomy, botany, meteorology, chemistry, and geology. She also studied housekeeping, domestic economy, crochet, tapestry, embroidery, watercolor, piano, and guitar to become better ‘marriage material’. She graduated in 1860 with honors. When she was 20 years old, she attended a military ball with her older brother and met civil engineer Washington Roebling. It was love at first sight. They were married less than a year later and moved to Cincinnati while Washington worked with his father John Roebling, also a civil engineer, on the Ohio River Bridge construction. Then Emily and Washington moved to Europe so Washington could study new bridge design techniques. There Emily gave birth to their only son John A Roebling II. They returned to the US so Washington could start working with his father who was named chief engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge project. Two days after his design was approved John’s foot was accidentally crushed by a ferryboat and his toes were amputated. Two weeks later, he died from a tetanus infection and his son Washington was made chief engineer in his place. While this was happening Emily began to study civil engineering to help with the bridge design and construction. During the construction, Washington contracted caissons disease, aka the bends, and became paralyzed and bedridden for the remainder of the construction. For 11 years, Emily stepped in and worked as the chief engineer on the project. To the public she was merely passing messages for her husband to hide the severity of his condition, but many people came to the house to speak with Washington and Emily was the one who helped them solve their engineering dilemmas. She also became the face of the ceremonial events for the bridge such as the first walk under the bridge and the first crossing in a vehicle. She was even credited in Abram Hewitt’s speech at the opening ceremony. After the bridge was completed, the Roeblings moved to Trenton, NJ where Emily oversaw construction of their new home. 1899, Emily graduated from the Women’s Law Class of New York University. She continued to do many speaking engagements over the years. In December 1902 she got suddenly sick and died on February 28, 1903 at only 58 years old.
Caryatid: Dawn Harrison
Dawn is a bridge engineer who got a Bachelors in Civil Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a Masters in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley. She has worked on many different types of projects over her career including pedestrian bridges, suspension bridges, and cable-stay structures. A few of her most noteworthy projects are the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement in California, the New Bridge for the St. Lawrence in Montreal, and the A30 in Montreal. According to LinkedIn, she currently works for the New York City Department of Transportation as the lead engineer on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway design-build project.
References
Lewis, Anna M. “Emily Warren Roebling” Women of Steel and Stone: 22 Inspirational Architects, Engineers, and Landscape Designers. 103-110. United States: Chicago Review Press, 2017.
Prnewswire.com. 2021. Arup Promotes 12 in New York, 31 Throughout Americas Region. [online] Available at: <https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arup-promotes-12-in-new-york-31-throughout-americas-region-300072887.html> [Accessed 13 April 2021].
Images: Mighty Girl Staff, 2021. Emily Warren Roebling & Brooklyn Bridge. [image] Available at: <https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=25975> [Accessed 14 April 2021].
