Ada Bessie Swann

Ada Bessie Swann
Swann, from a 1928 publication
Born(1887-04-22)April 22, 1887
Tewksbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 15, 1963(1963-10-15) (aged 76)
Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Other namesAda Bessie Swann Gore
OccupationsHome economist, cookbook author, magazine editor, broadcaster

Ada Bessie Swann Gore (April 22, 1887 – October 15, 1963) was an American home economist, editor, broadcaster, and cookbook author. She was home services director of the Public Service Electrical & Gas Company, chair of the Electrical Women's Round Table, and a contributing editor of Woman's Home Companion magazine.

Early life

Swann was born in Tewksbury, Massachusetts,[1] the daughter of Alfred Swann and Martha S. Huckle Swann. Her parents were born in England.[2]

Career

Swann became home services director of the Public Service Electric & Gas Company of Newark in 1917.[3] She and her department were responsible for publicizing the safe uses of new gas and electric appliances in the home, including for laundry, lighting, cleaning, food storage, and cooking.[4][5] She hosted a radio cooking program,[6] lectured to women's clubs,[7] and published a cookbook as part of this work.[8] She promoted modern appliances as more reliable and more efficient than previous methods, and women as responsible managers of the home, saying "There isn't so much grace of Providence about a successful home. Somebody is pretty sure to be making it so."[9]

In 1923 Swann was a founding member and chair of the Electrical Women's Round Table.[10][11] She was elected president of the New Jersey Home Economics Association in 1928.[12] In 1930, she was chair of the Home Services Subcommittee of the National Electric Light Association,[13] and spoke at the first National Home Service Conference in Chicago.[14] In the 1930s she was home service director of Woman's Home Companion.[7][15]

Publications

  • "A Gas Company's Contribution to the Better Home Movement" (1923)[16]
  • "The Value of a Home Service Department to a Gas Company" (1925)[17]
  • Public Service Radio Cooking School Recipe Book (1928)[18]
  • "New Ideas in Home-making" (1930s newspaper column)[19][20]

Personal life

Swann married Francis Porter Gore. Her husband, an insurance executive, died in 1960[21] and she died in 1963, in Newton, Massachusetts, in her seventies.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mrs. F. Porter Gore". The New York Times. 1963-10-17. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  2. ^ "Palmer Obituary: Mrs. Martha Swann". The Springfield Daily Republican. 1945-09-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Rasic, Alexandra (2020-08-04). "From the Homestead Kitchen: When Cooking with Gas was New". The Homestead Blog. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  4. ^ Goldstein, Carolyn M. (2012-05-28). Creating Consumers: Home Economists in Twentieth-Century America. University of North Carolina Press. doi:10.5149/9780807872383_goldstein. ISBN 978-0-8078-3553-1.
  5. ^ "Creating 'Better, Happier Homes' with the Help of Gas". American Gas Journal. 119: 335. October 16, 1923.
  6. ^ "Ada Bessie Swann to Broadcast Again". Pittston Gazette. 1923-05-12. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Home Service Expert Comes to Buffalo for 3 Speeches". The Buffalo News. 1938-01-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Goldstein, Carolyn M. (January 1997). "From Service to Sales: Home Economics in Light and Power, 1920–1940". Technology and Culture. 38 (1): 121–152. doi:10.1353/tech.1997.0141. ISSN 1097-3729.
  9. ^ "Girls of Today Better Housekeepers than Their Grandmothers, Says Expert". The Boston Globe. 1923-06-03. p. 62. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Electrical Women Form Organization". Electrical Merchandising. 34 (6): 5766. December 1925.
  11. ^ "Century Club – The Women's International Network of Utility Professionals". WiNUP. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  12. ^ "News Notes: New Jersey". Journal of Home Economics. 10 (8): 611. August 1928.
  13. ^ Cassels, Lilian (January 1928). "Electric Home Service Wins a College Degree". Electric Light and Power. 6 (1): 44.
  14. ^ "Home Service Workers Hold First National Conference". Electric Light and Power. 8 (5): 103. May 1930.
  15. ^ "American Women Enjoy Life, Says Home Service Director". The Buffalo News. 1938-02-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Swann, Ada Bessie (January 1923). "A Gas Company's Contribution to the Better Home Movement". American Gas Association Monthly. 5 (1): 47–48, 59.
  17. ^ Swann, Ada Bessie (July 25, 1925). "The Value of a Home Service Department to a Gas Company". The Gas World. 83 (2140): 78.
  18. ^ Swann, Ada Bessie; Public Service Electric and Gas Company; WAAM (Radio station : Newark, N.J.) (1928–1930). Public Service Radio Cooking School recipe book. Newark, New Jersey: Station WAAM.
  19. ^ Swann, Ada Bessie (1930-10-04). "New Ideas in Home-making". The Chatham Press. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Swann, Ada Bessie (1935-02-22). "New Ideas in Homemaking". The Chatham Press. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-12-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "F. Porter Gore, Insurance Aide; Chairman of Brokers and Adjusters Firm Dies- Led Professional Group". The New York Times. 1960-05-18. p. 41. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
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