The CLEVELAND LADIES TEMPERANCE UNION was organized on 27 June 1850 by a group of prominent Cleveland women. The first directors included Mrs. Wm. Smith, Mrs. J. A. Harris, and Mrs. J. Gillett; Mrs. C. D. Brayton served as treasurer, and Miss M. A. Brayton and Miss B. M. Williams were the correspondence and recording secretaries, respectively. Members of the Union swore this pledge: "We, the undersigned, do hereby promise and agree, that we will abstain from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage—that we will not provide them as an article of entertainment—and in all suitable ways, will discountenance their use." By 1853, more than 1,400 women had signed onto the Union's pledge of abstinence.
See also TEMPERANCE.
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