Elnora (nickname, "Nora") E. Trueblood was born on a farm 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of Russiaville, Indiana and 55 miles (89 km) north of Indianapolis, Indiana, February 9, 1851.[2][5] She was a daughter of Thomas Elwood and Sarah Jane Trueblood. Her siblings were Lindley (1853–1890) and Flora (1858–1943).[6] Her parents being members of the Society of Friends, well educated and of a progressive spirit, the daughter naturally championed the cause of the downtrodden.[2]
Career
Early in life, she manifested a love for declamation and composition, and her first writings were remarkable for their emphatic denunciation of wrong and earnest pleadings for right.[2]
From 1868 to 1888, she served in the public schools of Indiana as a teacher. The succeeding five years, were given to home and family, but, so successful was she in reaching the public, that she was often called to the platform as a lecturer and organizer.[2]
In October, 1886, she joined the humane workers of Chicago and spent the four succeeding months in writing for the Humane Journal. In March, 1887, she began to organize societies for the prevention of cruelty, holding public meetings and doing whatever she could to awaken thought on the humane question. She published occasional letters descriptive of her travels and work accomplished, and other articles in the Humane Journal.[2] In 1914, The National Humane Review noted that Gause, in continuing her work as Superintendent of the Department of Mercy, of Howard County, distributed 15,000 pages of humane literature that year.[7] In 1919, when she returned home from the Norfolk meeting of the American Humane Association, she gave a three column article to the Kokomo Daily Dispatch, regarding the result of her trip. The publicity which came in this way enabled the message of the convention to reach thousands of people who were not able to attend the sessions.[8]
Personal life
On January 14, 1880, she married William Gause (1842–1885).[6]
^"OUR CORRESPONDENTS". The National Humane Review. Vol. 2. American Humane Association. December 1914. p. 285. Retrieved October 4, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^"OUR FIELD CORRESPONDENTS". The National Humane Review. Vol. 8. American Humane Association. January 1919. p. 17. Retrieved October 4, 2022.