Great-aunt M.R.L.

I regularly check the sitemeter for my blog to see what search terms are bringing people here. Someone searched for Emarel Freshel and looked her up on my Hammer Genealogy post. I looked at their search results and found various mentions of Emarel and her husband Curt as distinguished vegetarians. A detailed page at the Vegetarian Museum talks about Emarel:

Legacy of The Millennium Guild: Victorian Era to the Late in the 19 th Century, Maude Russell Lorraine Sharpe was an advocate for animal liberation. And ardent anti-vivisectionist, Ms. Sharpe became a vegetarian and worked well into the 20 th Century for the rights of animals. She was also a talented artist who designed the well-known Wisteria lamp manufactured by the Tiffany company.

A socialite based in Boston, Masschusetts, Sharpe was author of The Golden Rule cookbook, in which she combined recipes and philosophy, including these words: 'Do Unto Others As You Would That Others Should Do Unto You Even Though They Be Four-Footed And Dumb'. To see an image of the book’s cover click here: http://www.cookbkjj.com/MM071.ASP?pageno=237


In 1911 Sharpe established The Millennium Guild, an organization founded after the Biblical promise of a return to paradise, and dedicated to vegetarian and anti-vivisection advocacy.
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What is more , stylish and much-admired beauty Sharpe hosted fashion shows featuring non-animal-derived furs, feathers, and leathers. The press reported on these events without ridicule, but with curiosity about the fashionable vegetarian lady and the members of her unusual groyup devoted to the liberation of animals from the slaughterhouse, fur trap, and vivisection laboratory.

Sharpe, later “MRL Freshel’ and her spouse Curtis Freshel at their celebrated Boston area mansion held lectures by phsycians and other experts on vegetarian subjects, showed slaughterhouse films, and had a bakery.

Businessman Curtis Freshel introduced Bakon Yeast, a meaty flavoring, to the US, to enhance the flavor of vegetarian foods.

Together, Mrs. Freshel and her husband and their Millennium Guild published a book of writings by emeninet authors, statesmen and scholars against vivisection.

Personally, I'm not a vegetarian although I admire their love of animals. With my food allergies including wheat and soy, I'd probably feel hungry a lot if I didn't eat meat.

Oh, you can see her lamp at various sites like TiffanyDirect. It's pretty - I'd like one for Christmas!