Emily Warren Roebling

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Emily Roebling

Emily Warren Roebling (1843 – 1903) was born to Phoebe Lickley and Sylvanus Warren, in the village of Cold Spring, New York, on the eastern shore of the Hudson River. She would later become the daughter-in-law of John A. Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge. After John Roebling died of tetanus, her husband Washington Roebling took charge of the project. However when he was struck down with caisson disease (decompression sickness) during the works, Emily Roebling became a constant advocate of her husband and became his spokesman. She learned civil engineering and directed much of the work during the final stages of the building of the bridge.

Emily participated in many civic organizations, such as Sorosis and Daughters of the American Revolution. She was significant in the organization of a quarantine camp at Montauk Point, Long Island, for soldiers returning from combat in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. She acquired a Law Certificate following her studies at the New York University School of Law program for women. Also a researcher and writer, Emily edited and published The Journal of the Reverend Silas Constant and Richard Warren of the Mayflower and Some of his Descendants. She died in 1903 from the effects of muscular atrophy.

Her most famous brother was General Gouverneur Kemble Warren, who served in the American Civil War, most notably in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was reprimanded by General Philip Sheridan following the Battle of Five Forks but was exonerated posthumously (pardoned after his death) by a court of inquiry. Emily, along with her husband, were strong supporters of his in the endeavor to clear his name.

The Emily Roebling Scholarship is given yearly to deserving female Engineering students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.