Rosalie Barrow Edge (November 3, 1877 – November 30, 1962) was an American environmentalist and suffragist. In 1929, she established the Emergency Conservation Committee to expose the conservation establishment's ineffectiveness and advocate for species preservation. In 1934, Edge also founded the world's first preserve for birds of prey—Hawk Mountain Sanctuary near Kempton, Pennsylvania. Edge was considered the most militant conservationist of her time, and she clashed publicly for decades with leaders of the Audubon Society over approaches to wildlife preservation. An environmentalist colleague described her in 1948 as "the only honest, unselfish, indomitable hellcat in the history of conservation".
Early life and family Born on November 3, 1877, in New York City, Mabel Rosalie Barrow was the daughter of John Wylie Barrow and Harriet Bowen Barrow. Her British father was a wealthy accountant and cousin to Charles Dickens, whom he resembled, and a near relative of the painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Her mother traced her ancestry to Dutch merchant Kiliaen van Rensselaer. The youngest of the five surviving children, Mabel was nicknamed "Noble Girl" or "Noblest Girl" by her father. He favored her over her older siblings and treated her as their leader. They went for rides together in Central Park, and he nurtured her early love of animals. When she was 17, while visiting family in England, Barrow met Charles Noel Edge, a British citizen, a graduate of the University of Cambridge and a civil engineer. Their relationship flourished, so when he was sent to Yokohama, Japan, for his work, she followed. They married on May 28, 1909. After traveling in Asia for about three years in connection with Charles's employment, primarily in China and Malaysia, the Edges returned to New York permanently and subsequently had two children: Peter, born in 1913, and Margaret, born in 1915. The marriage was initially very happy, but Charles was frequently absent for work, which, combined with her increasing interest in wildlife, created a rift between them. They separated on February 14, 1924. When Charles died in 1944, he left Rosalie the minimum allowed by New York state law. She challenged the will, winning a larger portion of the estate after about a year in court.
Early activism
On a 1913 trip from England to New York aboard the Mauretania, Edge met and befriended Sybil Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda. Lady Rhondda, a supporter of the United Kingdom's movement for women's voting rights, taught Edge about the cause, focusing in particular on the activities of her daughter Margaret Mackworth, who had recently been jailed for militant suffragette activities. Recounting the tale decades later, Edge described these discussions with Lady Rhondda as her "first awakening of my mind". Edge did not get involved for a few years, during which she settled her family in New York and gave birth to two children. In May 1915, shortly before the birth of her second child, Edge felt that she was about to die, and she responded by making donations to charities and causes. These included the suffragist Equal Franchise Society and the National Association of Audubon Societies. Biographer Dyana Z. Furmansky describes the latter donation as an "odd choice", as Edge had not previously shown any interest in bird conservation. Weeks after giving birth, Edge began participating in the United States' women's suffrage movement, despite Charles Edge's opposition to the cause. She joined the New York State Women's Suffrage Party, becoming corresponding secretary in 1915. Edge gave speeches, wrote pro-suffrage pamphlets and undertook other activities for the cause. When New York State gave women the right to vote, the Party changed its name to the New York State League of Women Voters. From 1919, Edge was the treasurer of the League. The lessons she learned through the campaign, both in her own abilities and the need to engage the public, she took on into her future work. In 1915, the family purchased Parsonage Point in Rye, New York, and it was while there that Edge began to take a strong interest in birdwatching. It was a way for her to bond with her husband and, critically, her son. She started to take an interest in the birds of New York City, joining ornithologists and amateur birdwatchers in Central Park, and befriended the biologists from the American Museum of Natural History who would frequent the park at lunchtime. It was the plight of the bald eagle which inspired her into activism. After reading of the slaughter of 70,000 bald eagles in the Alaska Territory, without any protest from the leading bird protection organizations of the day, she felt it her duty to act. Edge asserted that it was every person's civic duty to protect nature.
Emergency Conservation Committee Edge founded and ran the Emergency Conservation Committee (ECC) from 1929 until she died. Operating mainly from its office in Manhattan, the ECC emphasized the need to protect all species of birds and animals while they were common so that they did not become rare. This view has become more influential among scientists working in conservation.
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