Anna Garlin Spencer  Anna Garlin Spencer (April 17, 1851 – 12 February 1931) was an American educator, feminist, and Unitarian minister. Born in Attleboro, MA, she married the Rev. William H. Spencer in 1878. She was a leader in the women's suffrage and peace movements. In 1891 she became the first woman ordained as a minister in the state of Rhode Island. In Providence she was commissioned to develop the Religious Society of Bell Street Chapel which was to be devoted to the religious outlook of James Eddy. She compiled Eddy's views into a Bond of Union to which members of the new society would subscribe. She was later associated with the New York Society for Ethical Culture (1903–1909) and the New York School of Philanthropy (1903–1913).In 1909, she signed on to the call to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Over a long period she was a popular lecturer and wrote on social problems, especially concerning women and family relations. Her writings include "Woman's Share in Social Culture" (1913) and "The Family and Its Members" (1922). Anna Garlin Spencer was born on April 17, 1851, in Attleboro, Massachusetts. At the age of eighteen, she began to write for the Providence Journal. In 1878, Anna Garlin Spencer married Reverend William Spencer. After twelve years of marriage, Rev. Spencer became an invalid. In 1891, she became the first woman minister of RI at Bell Street Chapel of Providence, RI. In 1893, she spoke at the World Parliament of Religion during the Chicago World's Fair. In 1903, she became an associate leader of the NY Society for Ethical Culture. She was an associate director of the NY school for social work and staff lecturer at the NY school of Philanthropy. From 1908 to 1911, she was a special lecturer at the University of Wisconsin and director of the Summer School of Ethics for the American Ethical Union. From 1901 to 1911, she also lectured at the Institute of Municipal and Social Services in Milwaukee. In 1913, she was a professor of sociology and ethic at the Meadville Theological School. In 1919, she removed herself to New York. From this time on, she gave numerous lectures at Teachers College of Columbia University. She still remained active in a number of organizations that included many interests, such as women's rights, social work, and religious education. Spencer died of heart failure on 12 February 1931 in New York City, at a dinner for the League of Nations, which she had worked for many years to help establish.