Emily Warren Roebling and the Brooklyn Bridge
—Chrissie

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            One of the most important constructions of the last decades of the nineteenth century is the Brooklyn Bridge. The need for a bridge over the East River to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn had been discussed for decades when engineer John Augustus Roebling proposed a suspension design in 1857. Earlier suggested plans were not tall enough to accommodate the commercial ship traffic on the river. For various reasons, not the least of which was the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), work to bring the design into being was delayed until 1867.

In that year, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company was incorporated with approval (and some funds) from the state of New York. Most of the money needed came from private investments and was expected to be made up in tolls earned once the bridge was open. On-site planning and surveying began in late 1867. During one of the surveys, Roebling was pinned to a piling by the ferry from which he was working. His foot was crushed and required amputation, from which he contracted a lethal tetanus infection. He died on 22 July 1867 after a month of painful incapacitation. The company hired his son, Washington, to continue in his father’s role.

            Washington Roebling was a skilled engineer in his own right, having earned a degree in engineering before working with his father on at least one bridge. He joined the Union army in 1861 and was assigned to the Fifth Army Corps as a member of their engineering team under Major General Gouverneur Warren. During the war, he was introduced to his commanding officer’s sister, Emily Warren. She was well-educated, due in no small part to her brother’s support. Her interest in engineering at a young age led her to be self-taught in the subject, and created a common interest for her and Washington Roebling. After a short courtship, they were married on 18 January 1865. After the war ended, the two spent a “honeymoon” travelling through Europe studying bridge design with an eye to improving on his father’s designs and creating some of their own. They seem to have had a genuine partnership in their work, even if Emily was not given credit. One of their areas of focus was caissons, used for the building of the foundations of bridges and piers.

            John Roebling’s death was shortly after their return home. Given the mantle of Chief Engineer, he threw himself into the project and Emily was right there with him. In 1870, Washington was rendered bedridden by a case of decompression sickness, sustained when he was trying to help workers out of a fire in one of the caissons. Because of her previous involvement, Emily was able to take over the role of Chief Engineer in all but name.  She presented herself as the liaison between her sick husband, who was adamant that he not be seen in his condition, and everyone else working on the Bridge, from the construction teams to politicians. She did this for over a decade, until the bridge was completed in 1883. The year previous, the demonstration of her ability allowed her husband to keep the position of chief engineer, despite calls for his removal due to his illness. Emily had the inaugural carriage ride across the bridge at its opening on 24 May 1883 and was given some credit in a speech made that day, but the extent of her contribution was not truly known at the time.

            After the bridge’s completion, she attended New York University, where she completed a law degree, though she was not able to practice. She used her knowledge to aid many political and charitable causes, including the Women’s Building at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Her work brought her to the attention of Queen Victoria, who received her at court. While on that trip, she also attended the Coronation of Tzar Nicholas II of Russia. In 1899, she was published in the Albany Law Journal with an essay entitled “A Wife’s Disabilities.” In this, she argued in favor of women’s access to the vote and against the laws that prevented married women from owning property in their own right. The essay was signed with her husband’s initials.

            Emily Warren Roebling died of stomach cancer in 1903, at the age of 59.