Louise O. Charlton (January 27, 1889 – December 23, 1967) was an American judge and U.S. Commissioner who served in Birmingham, Alabama for over four decades. Active in the women's poll tax repeal movement, she was involved in civil rights activism and conservation efforts in the state.
Early life and education
editIda Louise Owings was born on January 27, 1889, in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Olivia "Ollie" (née Shaffer) and Luther Clay Owings.[1] [2][3] Her father operated a drug store in Louisville and the family of three daughters[3] lived at the family estate Cedar Croft near Jeffersontown.[4] Owings attended both Louisville Girls High School and Radnor College in Nashville, Tennessee.[5][6] In 1908, she was hired as an assistant teacher of primary students at the Jeffersontown Public School[6] and in 1911, was promoted to having charge of the school, shared with Theresa McDermott.[7] She resigned in November, but gave a month's notice and on June 6, 1912, married Kenneth C. Charlton of Birmingham, Alabama.[1][4][8] The couple subsequently had three sons, Kenneth, Luther C. Owings II (1915–1945) who was killed in action in Burma during World War II, and David, before divorcing.[9][10]
Career
editThe couple made their home in Birmingham. Her husband was working as a US Commissioner, prompting Charlton to enroll in the Birmingham School of Law and to begin working in real estate, selling lots to develop Homewood.[11] She became involved in the Alabama chapter of the Federation of Women's Clubs.[12][13] In 1921, she was appointed chair of the organization's civics and conservation committee.[12][13] She was an ardent feminist, writing "Throughout the coming ages this century will be known and recognized as the Women's Era. Her mark will stamp the Twentieth Century as time predominated by feminine influence, ideals and achievements. She has demanded and received privileges heretofore denied her".[13]
When her marriage ended, Charlton moved back to Louisville, to take a job as a school principal, but in 1924, she was hired as a United States Commissioner, at the Birmingham federal courthouse.[11] As a judge, she evaluated evidence regarding complaints of federal agencies. Her typical cases involved transport across state lines of stolen cars, checks stolen from the postal service, counterfeiting, or illegal transportation of liquor.[14][15] Charlton remained on the bench for over 41 years, presiding, while wearing an oxygen mask, in 1965 at the hearing of Ku Klux Klansmen William Eaten, Gary Thomas Rowe, Eugene Thomas, Collie Leroy Wilkinson.[16]
Charlton served from 1931 to 1935 on the executive committee of the Ninth District of the Alabama Democratic Committee and later was the state chair of the Democratic National Committee.[17][2] She was active in the women's poll tax repeal movement.[18] In 1938, she was chosen to organize and chair the inaugural conference of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, an organization formed with the purpose of uniting civic, educational, and political leaders to address social conditions in the South.[19][20] She worked with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt; Virginia Foster Durr a feminist and leader in the poll tax repeal movement; Clyde Helms, a prominent Baptist minister; William Mitch, district president of the United Mine Workers; and Sam E. Roper, president of the Alabama Federation of Labor, among others.[18][19][21]
Charlton was personally attacked for her involvement in the conference and threatened by loss of her seat on the Democratic Committee.[22][23] During the Red Scare and rising McCarthyism, including investigations by the House Un-American Activities Committee, Charlton resigned from the Southern Conference in 1946.[24] Charlton remained active in environmental issues, like questioning a city plan to fluoridate Birmingham's water supply in 1953 and arguing against turning parkland into a highway in 1956.[25][26]
Death and legacy
editCharlton died on December 23, 1967, and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery of Birmingham.[27]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b The Birmingham News 1912, p. 11.
- ^ a b The Birmingham News 1959, p. 13.
- ^ a b U.S. Census 1900, p. 8A.
- ^ a b The Jeffersonian 1912, p. 13.
- ^ The Jeffersonian 1907, p. 6.
- ^ a b The Jeffersonian 1908, p. 6.
- ^ The Jeffersonian 1911a, p. 1.
- ^ The Jeffersonian 1911b, p. 1.
- ^ The Birmingham News 1948, p. 22.
- ^ U.S. Census 1930, pp. 8A–8B.
- ^ a b The Birmingham News 1955, p. 14.
- ^ a b The Anniston Star 1921, p. 5.
- ^ a b c The Clarke County Democrat 1921, p. 1.
- ^ U.S. Census 1930, p. 8A.
- ^ Lackey 1952, p. 53.
- ^ McMichael 2015, pp. 104–106.
- ^ Owen 1931, p. 57.
- ^ a b The Virginia Beach News 1938, p. 5.
- ^ a b Wilkerson-Freeman 2002, p. 345.
- ^ The Jeffersonian 1938, p. 4.
- ^ Ashby 1980, p. 155.
- ^ Egerton 1995, p. 295.
- ^ Johnson 1939, p. 15.
- ^ Ashby 1980, pp. 233–234.
- ^ The Birmingham News 1953, p. 7.
- ^ Wortsman 1956.
- ^ Death Records 1967.
Bibliography
edit- Ashby, Warren (1980). Frank Porter Graham, A Southern Liberal. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair Publishing. ISBN 0-89587-009-6.
- Egerton, John (1995). Speak Now against the Day: The Generation before the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4557-4.
- Johnson, Charles S. (January 1939). "More Southerners Discover the South". The Crisis. 46 (1). New York, New York: The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.: 14–15. ISSN 0011-1422. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- Lackey, Orlean (October 5, 1952). "Judge Charlton—Warmth, Justice in Work". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. p. 53. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- McMichael, Pate (2015). Klandestine: How a Klan Lawyer and a Checkbook Journalist Helped James Earl Ray Cover Up His Crime. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61373-073-7.
- Owen, Marie B. (1931). Alabama Official and Statistical Register. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History. OCLC 1004877192.
- Wilkerson-Freeman, Sarah (May 2002). "The Second Battle for Woman Suffrage: Alabama White Women, the Poll Tax, and V. O. Key's Master Narrative of Southern Politics". The Journal of Southern History. 68 (2). Athens, Georgia: Southern Historical Association: 333–374. doi:10.2307/3069935. ISSN 0022-4642. JSTOR 3069935. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- Wortsman, Gene (March 13, 1956). "Proposed Lane Park Land Sale Draws Fire". Birmingham Post-Herald. Birmingham, Alabama. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Birmingham Public Library digital collections.
- "1900 U.S. Census, Louisville City, Jefferson County, Kentucky". FamilySearch. Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration. June 11, 1900. p. 8A. NARA publication T623, Roll 530, lines 37–42. Retrieved November 15, 2020.(subscription required)
- "1930 U.S. Census, Homewood City, Jefferson County, Alabama". FamilySearch. Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration. April 9, 1930. pp. 8A–8B. NARA publication T626, Roll 31, lines 48–52. Retrieved November 15, 2020.(subscription required)
- "Alabama Deaths, 1908–1974: Louise Owings Charlton". FamilySearch. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Public Health. December 23, 1967. Film #1909109, image 411. Retrieved November 15, 2020.(subscription required)
- "Bible Class Fetes U.S. Judge-Teacher". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. January 27, 1959. p. 13. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Cleanest Town Contest". The Clarke County Democrat. Grove Hill, Alabama. April 14, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Federation News". The Anniston Star. Anniston, Alabama. February 4, 1921. p. 5. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Her Interests Have Never Lagged on Job, or Elsewhere". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. April 8, 1955. p. 14. Retrieved November 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Kentucky Comment". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. July 11, 1912. p. 11. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Last Tributes Are to Be Paid Sgt. Owings, Killed in Service". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. June 15, 1948. p. 22. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Popular Couple". The Jeffersonian. Jeffersontown, Kentucky. June 13, 1912. p. 13. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "School Begins Sept. 7". The Jeffersonian. Jeffersontown, Kentucky. August 27, 1908. p. 6. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "School Opens". The Jeffersonian. Jeffersontown, Kentucky. September 21, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Southwide Welfare Meet at Birmingham in Nov". The Jeffersonian. Jeffersontown, Kentucky. September 15, 1938. p. 4. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- "The Pros and Cons—Fluoridation of City's Water Heard on 'Democracy at Work'". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. November 14, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "(untitled)". The Jeffersonian. Jeffersontown, Kentucky. November 7, 1907. p. 6. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Virginia Editor on Committee for Human Welfare". The Virginia Beach News. Virginia Beach, Virginia. November 18, 1938. p. 5. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- "Will Teach Another Month". The Jeffersonian. Jeffersontown, Kentucky. November 23, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved November 15, 2020 – via Newspaperarchive.com.