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Catherine “la Maréchale” <I>Booth</I> Booth-Clibborn

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Catherine “la Maréchale” Booth Booth-Clibborn

Birth
Gateshead, Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England
Death
9 May 1955 (aged 96)
Newton Abbot, Teignbridge District, Devon, England
Burial
Highgate, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Social Reformer. Salvation Army Captain. Born in Gateshead, England where her father was pastor, she was the oldest daughter of Salvation Army founder William Booth. She began preaching at the age of 15 and later held the rank of Captain in the Salvation Army. She was sent to Paris in March 1881 with of her future sisters-in-law, Florence Soper, Adelaide Cox, and Maud Charlesworth, to preach the Gospel. They wore sandwich boards after they were forbidden to hand out leaflets, and often had mud and stones slung at them as they preached on street corners. They rented apartments in buildings with prostitutes and were frequently criticized by French newspapers for their evangelism. After eight months in France, and the beginning of the first converts, her brother Bramwell gave her the nickname “La Maréchale,” French for the Marshall. In October, an Irish Quaker, Arthur Clibborn, joined the Salvation Army and became her Chief of Staff. They moved from France into Switzerland and faced more opposition. The authorities refused to allow them to rent halls to preach, and they were arrested after holding an open-air meeting in a forest outside Neuchatel. They were tried, acquitted and deported back to France. In February 1887, the two were married and subsequently changed their names to Booth-Clibborn by deed poll upon the insistence of her father. They were transferred to Holland in 1896, a move that proved difficult for her since she did not speak Dutch. After the birth of their tenth child and conflicts with her father, they resigned from the Salvation Army in January 1902, a move which estranged her from her family. They moved to America, living for a time in Zion City, Illinois, outside of Chicago. They became Pentecostals in 1906 and became travelling evangelists in the United States, Europe, and Australia. During World War I, she crossed the Atlantic six times under perilous conditions. Technically still an exile, she returned to Switzerland at the age of 70 and her sermons well received. She died from double pneumonia in 1955 and was buried in a separate cemetery from her parents and siblings. The Kate Booth House in Vancouver, British Columbia, a residential house for domestic violence victims, was named in her honor.
Social Reformer. Salvation Army Captain. Born in Gateshead, England where her father was pastor, she was the oldest daughter of Salvation Army founder William Booth. She began preaching at the age of 15 and later held the rank of Captain in the Salvation Army. She was sent to Paris in March 1881 with of her future sisters-in-law, Florence Soper, Adelaide Cox, and Maud Charlesworth, to preach the Gospel. They wore sandwich boards after they were forbidden to hand out leaflets, and often had mud and stones slung at them as they preached on street corners. They rented apartments in buildings with prostitutes and were frequently criticized by French newspapers for their evangelism. After eight months in France, and the beginning of the first converts, her brother Bramwell gave her the nickname “La Maréchale,” French for the Marshall. In October, an Irish Quaker, Arthur Clibborn, joined the Salvation Army and became her Chief of Staff. They moved from France into Switzerland and faced more opposition. The authorities refused to allow them to rent halls to preach, and they were arrested after holding an open-air meeting in a forest outside Neuchatel. They were tried, acquitted and deported back to France. In February 1887, the two were married and subsequently changed their names to Booth-Clibborn by deed poll upon the insistence of her father. They were transferred to Holland in 1896, a move that proved difficult for her since she did not speak Dutch. After the birth of their tenth child and conflicts with her father, they resigned from the Salvation Army in January 1902, a move which estranged her from her family. They moved to America, living for a time in Zion City, Illinois, outside of Chicago. They became Pentecostals in 1906 and became travelling evangelists in the United States, Europe, and Australia. During World War I, she crossed the Atlantic six times under perilous conditions. Technically still an exile, she returned to Switzerland at the age of 70 and her sermons well received. She died from double pneumonia in 1955 and was buried in a separate cemetery from her parents and siblings. The Kate Booth House in Vancouver, British Columbia, a residential house for domestic violence victims, was named in her honor.

Bio by: Apollymi



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  • Maintained by: AJ
  • Added: Jul 9, 2000
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10606/catherine-booth-clibborn: accessed ), memorial page for Catherine “la Maréchale” Booth Booth-Clibborn (18 Sep 1858–9 May 1955), Find a Grave Memorial ID 10606, citing Highgate Cemetery East, Highgate, London Borough of Camden, Greater London, England; Maintained by AJ (contributor 1003).