Colcord, Joanna (1882 - 1960)

Genre: Non-Fiction - Scholarly

Joanna Carver Colcord, a descendant of Searsport seafarers, was born at sea on March 18, 1882, somewhere between New South Wales and Yokohama, Japan. She and her brother Lincoln were well-educated both on shipboard and in Searsport.

She majored in chemistry at University of Maine at Orono, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees by 1909. After some restlessness, she continued her education at the New York School of Philanthropy -- later called the School for Social Work -- earning a certificate in 1911. For over 30 years following, she distinguished herself as a social worker, publishing a number of works. During the Depression she was a strong advocate for some type of social security and health insurance.

Her lifelong love of the sea inspired other titles as well.

Selected Bibliography

  • Broken Homes: A Study of Family Desertion and Its Social Treatment (1919)
  • Roll and Go: Songs of American Sailormen (1924)
  • The Long View; Papers and Addresses by Mary E. Richmond (1930)
  • Community Planning in Unemployment Emergencies: Recommendations Growing Out of Experience (1930)
  • Setting up a Program of Work Relief (1931)
  • Emergency Work Relief, As Carried Out in Twenty-Six American Communities, 1930-1931 (1932)
  • Community Programs for Subsistence Gardens (1933) with Mary Johnston
  • Cash Relief (1936)
  • Songs of American Sailormen (1938)
  • Sea Language Comes Ashore (1945)

Selected Resources