Caroline F. Ware

Caroline Farrar Ware (1899–1990) was a professor of history and a New Deal activist. Her work focused on community development, consumer protection, industrial development, civil rights, and women’s issues.

Caroline “Lina” Ware was born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her family belonged to the New England Unitarian church, and had a history of social concern. Her family belonged to the New England Unitarian church, and had a history of social concern. Ware’s great great grandfather, Henry Ware, dean of the Harvard Divinity School, controversially established Unitarianism in the institution. Ware’s great grandfather, Henry Ware, Jr., also a faculty member of the Harvard Divinity School, published unorthodox ideas and was also deemed a controversial figure. Her grandfather was Charles Pickard Ware. During the Civil War he worked in Port Royal, South Carolina, with some of the first newly freed people to be liberated by the Union Army. Caroline’s father, brother, and various cousins were all graduates of Harvard College. Caroline’s father, also named Henry Ware, was a municipal judge, lawyer, and member of the Brookline town meeting. Her mother was involved in community service, such as volunteering with the Girl Scouts and the church. Her family strongly advocated for the education of women.

Ware attended local private schools before choosing to enroll in Vassar College over Bryn Mawr College. At Vassar, Ware became a student of Lucy Maynard Salmon, a professor of history. Salmon emphasized the importance of observing ordinary people’s lives and thinking independently. She taught Ware how to carry out careful research methodology, and encouraged her to use primary sources. Several of Vassar’s faculty at the time taught that knowledge was the foundation of “responsible conduct”.

Ware received her A.B. from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie in 1920, her A.M. from Radcliffe College, a women's college associated with Harvard University in 1924, and her Ph.D. in 1925. Ware was an associate professor of history at Vassar from 1925–1930 and from 1932-1934. After graduating from Vassar College with an A.B. (artium baccalaureus), Ware taught summer school in the state of Kentucky’s mountains. At the age of eighty-four, Ware reflected that her first trip to the south was the first time she had encountered segregation. In the fall, Ware began teaching at a preparatory school for girls in Pennsylvania, the Baldwin School. The school was founded in 1881 with the purpose of preparing young women for admission into Bryn Mawr College.

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