Florence kelley short biography

Florence Kelley was born in 1859 Philadelphia to a wealthy Quaker family — her father, William Darrah "Pig Iron" Kelley, was a judge, a founder of the Republican Party, longtime member of the House of Representatives, a staunch abolitionist and a friend of Abraham Lincoln.

He was raised in poverty — his widowed mother ran a boarding house in Philadelphia — and he was taken out of school and sent to work at a very young age to help his family make ends meet. His interest in child labor issues stemmed from working long hours as a child — child laborers in those days spent their shifts chewing green tea leaves to stay awake.

William's daughter, on the other hand, was born into wealth and privilege, but that doesn't mean he spared her the gory details of his childhood drudgery.

From her father, Florence — called "Florie" by her family — learned about child labor issues and women's suffra