Josephine MacLeod

Josephine MacLeod
Olea Bull, Betty Laggett and Josephine MacLeod at the Holdts Hotel, Bergon, Norway after dinner with King Haarkon and Queen Maud on July 23, 1906
Born	Josephine MacLeod 1858 United States
Died	1949 Hollywood, California
Residence	New York City
Nationality	American
Other names	Joe Jo-Jo Yum Tantine
Occupation	Religious activist
Years active	1895–1949

Josephine MacLeod (1858–1949) was an American friend and devotee of Swami Vivekananda. She had a strong attachment to India and was an active participant in the Ramakrishna Vivekananda movement. She was given the nicknames "Tantine" and "Jo Jo" by Vivekananda. She considered Swami Vivekananda to be her friend and helped him with his finances. She and Sister Nivedita exchanged letters discussing their positive impressions of Swami Vivekananda and they competed with each other for his attention. Josephine was not a sanyasin, unlike many others such as Sister Nivedita or Sister Christine. She was instrumental in spreading Vivekananda's message on Vedanta in the West. She had many contributions to the initial and the later phases of the development of the order of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. She was a contributor to many causes espoused by Sister Nivedita, the most famous disciple of Vivekananda, including that of contributing financially towards the development of Indian National Movement esp. in Bengal and elsewhere in India.

Josephine was born in 1858 to John David MacLeod and Mary Ann Lennon. Josephine's father was an American of Scottish descent. Her native place was Chicago. The couple had three sons and three daughters. Two of their daughters, Besse or Betty (1852—1931) and Josephine (1858—1949), became disciples of Swami Vivekananda. Betty married Mr. William Sturges of Chicago in the year 1876, and had a son named Hollister and a daughter named Alberta, who were also intimately connected with the Vedanta Societies and Ramakrishna order. Being unmarried herself, Josephine stayed with Betty and her family. After the death of William Sturges in 1894, Betty married Mr. Francis Legett, a businessman of New York, in 1895. Swami Vivekananda attended this marriage in Paris. Ridgely Manor, which later became famous as one of the places to accommodate Swami Vivekananda during his travel to Americas and Europe in 1899, belonged to the Legett family. Josephine was known by several other nicknames, including Joe, Jo-Jo, Yum and Tantine (meaning "Aunty").