Jennie Powers spent almost forty years of her life as a righteous humanitarian. At a time when politics, personal ambitions, and private interests are occupying so much of our public conversation it is important to remember a person whose life was spent compelling thoughtless and mean-spirited people to be kind. She devoted the best years of her life to battling cruelty – cruelty to animals and cruelty to children. Her name should go down in the annals of great New Englanders. This sentiment appeared in a 1936 article printed in many Vermont newspapers at the time of Mrs. Powers’ death.
Jennie Powers was born in Brattleboro in 1864. She served as Windham County investigator for the Vermont Humane Society and continued her animal protection work in nearby Cheshire County, NH. She also took on the role of child welfare worker and deputy sheriff. Her role was to act as agent for the county to examine claims of child and animal abuse. She carried a gun on most of her investigations and was often challenged by those accused of abuse.
From 1898 to her passing in 1936 she was an unwavering advocate for the protection of those who could not defend themselves, animals and children. For example, in 1934, when she was seventy years old, she still investigated the cases of over seventy children who were victims of cruelty and abuse.
It is stories of people like Jennie Powers that give us a sense of what has come before, and what we can strive to be in the future. Jennie Powers grew up in Brattleboro, a child of a Civil War veteran. She saw wrongs in the world. She dedicated her life to righting them. She challenged the expectations of the day. For close to forty years animals and children in three states benefited from her efforts. As a 1903 newspaper said of her, she possessed a “courageousness and determination of purpose which would be found wanting in most men.” A 1936 article reviewing the many contributions Jennie Power’s made for the benefit of others said, “Reforms are seldom brought about except through the efforts of devoted souls who blaze the way.” Jennie Powers was a devoted trailblazer.