35o POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THREE DECADES OF COLLEGE WOMEN. 



By FRANCES M. ABBOTT, 



CONCOED, N. H. 



rr^HE following statements relate to the occupations, careers and 

 -*- matrimonial condition of the graduates of the first thirty classes 

 of Vassar College, from 1867 to 1896, inclusive. The records of 1,302 

 women are included. The information is taken from the last general 

 catalogue, which gives the history of all the classes to the end of the 

 century; but the last four, 1897-1900, are not considered in this article. 



The first question that everybody asks is, Do college women marry ? 

 The first ten classes, 1867-76, contain 323 members. Of this number 

 181, or 56.03 per cent., have married. The average age of a college 

 woman at graduation is 22 years. Hence the age of these classes in 

 1900 averaged from 46 to 56 years — most of the members old enough 

 to be grandmothers. It is quite possible that some of the living mem- 

 bers may marry yet, for two instances were found in one class where 

 marriage occurred 24 years after graduation; but making allowance 

 for sporadic eases of this sort, 60 per cent, would probably include the 

 complete marriage record of the graduates of this period. 



These figures would seem to confirm the worst fears of those who, 

 forty years ago, opposed the admission of women to college. It is 

 difficult to make comparisons, because so many circumstances enter 

 into the question of marriage. College women come from all sections 

 of the country and from the most diverse social and pecuniary en- 

 vironment. The rate here given is undoubtedly less than that for 

 the whole female population of the country, but perhaps not less than 

 might be expected for a specialized and highly educated class. 



The tendency of civilization seems to be toward comparatively late 

 and few marriages. One can almost judge of the advancement of a 

 people as a whole (the isolated villages of Miss Wilkins's stories are 

 exceptional) by the number of single women. Females among savage 

 races, as in the animal kingdom, are not allowed to remain unmated. 

 It is an unusual thing in these days for a well-bred girl to marry 

 under twenty. In our mothers' day such a course was eminently 

 proper, and in our grandmothers' time girls married at fifteen or 

 sixteen and afterwards bore that number of children. 



As soon as a country becomes settled and its inhabitants used to 

 material comforts and social privileges, the care and support of a 

 family become a serious matter and early and hasty marriages are 



