Alden, Cynthia Westover (1862–1931)

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Alden, Cynthia Westover (1862–1931)

American social worker and journalist. Born Cynthia May Westover, May 31, 1862, in Afton, Iowa; died Jan 8, 1931, in Brooklyn, NY; m. John Alden, 1896.

Worked for New York Recorder, Brooklyn Eagle, Tribune (NY), and Ladies Home Journal; with fellow journalists, organized the Sunshine Society, which sent Christmas cards and gifts to shut-ins (1896); after society was incorporated as International Sunshine Society (1900), served as president for rest of life, while society worked to provide care, services, and legislation for blind infants and children. Works include Manhattan, Historic and Artistic (1892), Women's Ways of Earning Money (1904), and The Baby Blind (1915).