Timeline of Marjorie O’Connell Shearon’s life
Year, Age, Place
What was she doing?
Footnotes provide more information, including links to the relevant letters or other writings that describe that time in her life.
1890, 0, Newark, NJ
Born August 15th, moved to NYC as an infant.
1893-1908, 3-18, NYC
Attended Ethical Culture School in NYC (scholarship). https://www.ecfs.org/en/who-we-are/
1908-1911, 18-21, NYC
Attended Barnard College in NYC (scholarship); the summer after her freshman year, when she was 18, she began an affair with her geology professor, Dr. Amadeus Grabau. He was married to writer Mary Antin and they had a daughter. The affair continued until she broke it off in 1918.
1911-1916, 21-26, NYC
Went to graduate school in paleontology at Columbia University, NYC; MA in 1912, PhD in 1916; Dissertation: The Habitat of the Eurypterida, 278 pp. [sea scorpions]; Curtis Scholar 1912-1913; Curator in Paleontology at Columbia University 1914-1916 (lectured to graduate students). https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Habitat_of_the_Eurypterida;
1917, 27, NYC
Awarded Sarah Berliner Fellowship in science, $1,000 for one year post-doc research at AMNH.
1918, 28, NYC
Broke up with Dr. Grabau [he left for China in the fall of 1920]; Marjorie meets Edna Baker and Barnum Brown.
1919, 29, NYC
Spent year helping Edna Baker, alcoholic Broadway actress, and worked at various low-paying jobs.
1917-1922, 27-32, NYC
AMNH (sometimes paid, sometimes volunteered), worked on Barnum Brown’s Cuban ammonite fossils and wrote the manuscript of a book The Jurassic Ammonites of Cuba (never published due to financial constraints); 1920 – wrote letters to Barnum Brown while he was in the field; see “Letters to Barnum Brown.”
1922, 32, NYC to St. Louis
Left AMNH after dispute about credit for an Encyclopedia Britannica entry; in February, she began her solo hike cross-country, ending up in St. Louis; See “Memoirs from 1923.” BB married Lilian McLaughlin.
1923, 33, St. Louis
Did flood relief work in Beardstown, Illinois; did fund raising for Salvation Army; worked in the “Negro slums” of St. Louis for a social work agency. Met and worked for William Shearon in some sort of real estate business. Wrote her “memoirs.”
1924, 34, NYC
Marjorie drove back to NY – camping in her car along the way. In November, she went to work for Macy’s Depositors’ Account Department (second largest private bank in New York). Worked for Macy’s until 1929.
1927, 37, NYC
Marjorie married William Shearon, who she had met and worked for/with in St. Louis. He divorced his wife to marry her. The day after the wedding, he informed her that he would not allow her to have children, as he already had 3 children.
1928, 38, Long Island, NY
Marjorie and William Shearon buy a house on Long Island.
1929, 39, NYC
Stock market crash; Marjorie resigned from Macy’s and started work for the New York Opera Comique, Inc., run by E. Roland Harriman. Worked for them until Thanksgiving 1934, when they closed due to the deepening Depression.
1934, 44, NYC
Lost her job when Opera Comique closes; unemployed for 8 months, husband also loses his job. **Letter dated 11/22/1959
1935 (?), 45, NYC
Timing unclear, different sources are contradictory. Briefly worked with State Welfare Department doing research on “the plight of the aged,” then got a job with the Emergency Relief Bureau in NYC, as a case worker out of Queens, NY. Resigned when her boss, Ralph G. Hurlin, left to return to the Russell Sage Foundation.
1935, 45, Washington, DC
Social Security Act had passed in August, sponsored by Senator Robert F. Wagner, Dem., of NY. In December, Marjorie went to Washington DC to work with WPA Bureau of Research & Statistics. Hired under Senator Wagner’s patronage quota.
1936, 46, Wash DC
In the spring, Marjorie switched from WPA to Social Security Board’s new Bureau of Research & Statistics, Marjorie joined staff spring 1936. In November, she was tasked with writing a legal brief to support the Social Security Act in a challenge before the Supreme Court (on loan to SSB Office of the General Counsel for 6 months). She produced: Economic Insecurity in Old Age, 221 pp. Supreme Court case won in May, 1937.
1937, 47, Wash DC
Marjorie went back to SSB R&S, working under Isidore S. Falk, a bacteriologist. Falk wanted universal health care, compulsory for all US citizens. She claimed Falk’s staff was full of “socialists” who underestimated costs and overestimated needs.
1938, 48, Wash DC
Marjorie began compiling her “research files” dating back to 1919 on “movement to nationalize medicine in the US and around the world.” These files are now at the Univ. of Oregon. She claimed everyone involved in the movement to nationalize medicine in the US had “Communist” ties, including Falk, Wilbur J. Cohen, and Abe Fortas.
1941, 51, Wash DC
Marjorie resigned from Falk’s office at Social Security due to all the “socialists” and goes to work for the Public Health Service.
1945, 55, Wash DC
Marjorie resigned from PHS in January, because it was also full of “socialists” who supported universal health care. Her husband William was undiagnosed with cancer, but already a semi-invalid.
1945-1948, 55-58, Wash DC
Marjorie began working for Senators Taft and Donnell to defeat compulsory medical insurance bills (Wagner-Murray-Dingell/WMD bill, “National Health Insurance Act”). Paid at first by Republican National Committee and donations from American Medical Association (AMA) and National Physicians’ Committee (NPC), which were opposed to Truman’s plans. Eventually put on Senator Taft’s staff. Helped Senators during Congressional Hearings in 1948, and testified herself; succeeded in preventing a vote on Act. [**Newspaper story, google books – see below]
1946, 56, Wash DC
William Shearon had two cancer operations; $10,000 bill causes financial woes.
1947, 57, Wash DC
Reduced work for Senator Taft to half-time in July; began publishing her weekly “analytical legislative paper”; first issue July 2, called American Medicine and the Political Scene.
1948-1950, 58-60, Nationwide and internationally
Marjorie travelled across the US, and to Europe and the UK, speaking against compulsory universal health insurance; continued publishing her weekly newsletter.
1950-1966, 60-76, Wash DC
In 1950, the name of the weekly paper changed to Challenge to Socialism. In 1956, she helped Alaska with a mental health bill.
1959, 69, Wash DC
Marjorie began friendship/correspondence with Dr. “Bob” Robins.
1960, 70, Wash DC
William Shearon died of cancer; Marjorie began physical affair with Dr. Robins, continued voluminous correspondence with him until 1964.
1961, 71, Wash DC
Received a bequest of $5,000 from old college friend, travelled around the world.
1962, 72, Alaska and Canada
Travelled to Alaska and Canada.
1966,76, Wash DC
Stopped publication of Challenge to Socialism due to financial constraints.
1967, 77, Wash DC
Marjorie published William J. Cohen: The Pursuit of Power, 269 pp.; testified against Abe Fortas in his confirmation hearings to become a Supreme Court judge, accusing him of Communist ties.
1970
Dr. Robins died.
1974, 84, Wash DC
Last letter, addressed to E. Kemp. Marjorie dies.
Year, Age, Place
What was she doing?
Footnotes provide more information, including links to the relevant letters or other writings that describe that time in her life.
1890, 0, Newark, NJ
Born August 15th, moved to NYC as an infant.
1893-1908, 3-18, NYC
Attended Ethical Culture School in NYC (scholarship). https://www.ecfs.org/en/who-we-are/
1908-1911, 18-21, NYC
Attended Barnard College in NYC (scholarship); the summer after her freshman year, when she was 18, she began an affair with her geology professor, Dr. Amadeus Grabau. He was married to writer Mary Antin and they had a daughter. The affair continued until she broke it off in 1918.
1911-1916, 21-26, NYC
Went to graduate school in paleontology at Columbia University, NYC; MA in 1912, PhD in 1916; Dissertation: The Habitat of the Eurypterida, 278 pp. [sea scorpions]; Curtis Scholar 1912-1913; Curator in Paleontology at Columbia University 1914-1916 (lectured to graduate students). https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Habitat_of_the_Eurypterida;
1917, 27, NYC
Awarded Sarah Berliner Fellowship in science, $1,000 for one year post-doc research at AMNH.
1918, 28, NYC
Broke up with Dr. Grabau [he left for China in the fall of 1920]; Marjorie meets Edna Baker and Barnum Brown.
1919, 29, NYC
Spent year helping Edna Baker, alcoholic Broadway actress, and worked at various low-paying jobs.
1917-1922, 27-32, NYC
AMNH (sometimes paid, sometimes volunteered), worked on Barnum Brown’s Cuban ammonite fossils and wrote the manuscript of a book The Jurassic Ammonites of Cuba (never published due to financial constraints); 1920 – wrote letters to Barnum Brown while he was in the field; see “Letters to Barnum Brown.”
1922, 32, NYC to St. Louis
Left AMNH after dispute about credit for an Encyclopedia Britannica entry; in February, she began her solo hike cross-country, ending up in St. Louis; See “Memoirs from 1923.” BB married Lilian McLaughlin.
1923, 33, St. Louis
Did flood relief work in Beardstown, Illinois; did fund raising for Salvation Army; worked in the “Negro slums” of St. Louis for a social work agency. Met and worked for William Shearon in some sort of real estate business. Wrote her “memoirs.”
1924, 34, NYC
Marjorie drove back to NY – camping in her car along the way. In November, she went to work for Macy’s Depositors’ Account Department (second largest private bank in New York). Worked for Macy’s until 1929.
1927, 37, NYC
Marjorie married William Shearon, who she had met and worked for/with in St. Louis. He divorced his wife to marry her. The day after the wedding, he informed her that he would not allow her to have children, as he already had 3 children.
1928, 38, Long Island, NY
Marjorie and William Shearon buy a house on Long Island.
1929, 39, NYC
Stock market crash; Marjorie resigned from Macy’s and started work for the New York Opera Comique, Inc., run by E. Roland Harriman. Worked for them until Thanksgiving 1934, when they closed due to the deepening Depression.
1934, 44, NYC
Lost her job when Opera Comique closes; unemployed for 8 months, husband also loses his job. **Letter dated 11/22/1959
1935 (?), 45, NYC
Timing unclear, different sources are contradictory. Briefly worked with State Welfare Department doing research on “the plight of the aged,” then got a job with the Emergency Relief Bureau in NYC, as a case worker out of Queens, NY. Resigned when her boss, Ralph G. Hurlin, left to return to the Russell Sage Foundation.
1935, 45, Washington, DC
Social Security Act had passed in August, sponsored by Senator Robert F. Wagner, Dem., of NY. In December, Marjorie went to Washington DC to work with WPA Bureau of Research & Statistics. Hired under Senator Wagner’s patronage quota.
1936, 46, Wash DC
In the spring, Marjorie switched from WPA to Social Security Board’s new Bureau of Research & Statistics, Marjorie joined staff spring 1936. In November, she was tasked with writing a legal brief to support the Social Security Act in a challenge before the Supreme Court (on loan to SSB Office of the General Counsel for 6 months). She produced: Economic Insecurity in Old Age, 221 pp. Supreme Court case won in May, 1937.
1937, 47, Wash DC
Marjorie went back to SSB R&S, working under Isidore S. Falk, a bacteriologist. Falk wanted universal health care, compulsory for all US citizens. She claimed Falk’s staff was full of “socialists” who underestimated costs and overestimated needs.
1938, 48, Wash DC
Marjorie began compiling her “research files” dating back to 1919 on “movement to nationalize medicine in the US and around the world.” These files are now at the Univ. of Oregon. She claimed everyone involved in the movement to nationalize medicine in the US had “Communist” ties, including Falk, Wilbur J. Cohen, and Abe Fortas.
1941, 51, Wash DC
Marjorie resigned from Falk’s office at Social Security due to all the “socialists” and goes to work for the Public Health Service.
1945, 55, Wash DC
Marjorie resigned from PHS in January, because it was also full of “socialists” who supported universal health care. Her husband William was undiagnosed with cancer, but already a semi-invalid.
1945-1948, 55-58, Wash DC
Marjorie began working for Senators Taft and Donnell to defeat compulsory medical insurance bills (Wagner-Murray-Dingell/WMD bill, “National Health Insurance Act”). Paid at first by Republican National Committee and donations from American Medical Association (AMA) and National Physicians’ Committee (NPC), which were opposed to Truman’s plans. Eventually put on Senator Taft’s staff. Helped Senators during Congressional Hearings in 1948, and testified herself; succeeded in preventing a vote on Act. [**Newspaper story, google books – see below]
1946, 56, Wash DC
William Shearon had two cancer operations; $10,000 bill causes financial woes.
1947, 57, Wash DC
Reduced work for Senator Taft to half-time in July; began publishing her weekly “analytical legislative paper”; first issue July 2, called American Medicine and the Political Scene.
1948-1950, 58-60, Nationwide and internationally
Marjorie travelled across the US, and to Europe and the UK, speaking against compulsory universal health insurance; continued publishing her weekly newsletter.
1950-1966, 60-76, Wash DC
In 1950, the name of the weekly paper changed to Challenge to Socialism. In 1956, she helped Alaska with a mental health bill.
1959, 69, Wash DC
Marjorie began friendship/correspondence with Dr. “Bob” Robins.
1960, 70, Wash DC
William Shearon died of cancer; Marjorie began physical affair with Dr. Robins, continued voluminous correspondence with him until 1964.
1961, 71, Wash DC
Received a bequest of $5,000 from old college friend, travelled around the world.
1962, 72, Alaska and Canada
Travelled to Alaska and Canada.
1966,76, Wash DC
Stopped publication of Challenge to Socialism due to financial constraints.
1967, 77, Wash DC
Marjorie published William J. Cohen: The Pursuit of Power, 269 pp.; testified against Abe Fortas in his confirmation hearings to become a Supreme Court judge, accusing him of Communist ties.
1970
Dr. Robins died.
1974, 84, Wash DC
Last letter, addressed to E. Kemp. Marjorie dies.