New-York tribune., 1901-12-02
LEFT MONEY TOBABY GIRLS
ONE-THIRD OF THE ESTATE OF r. 2.
ROTHWELL BEQUEATHED TO
THE SOPHIA FUND.

By the will of Richard P. Rothwer of The
Engineering and Mining Journal" about $40,0O0
is beQueathed to the Sophia Fund. for the care
OF destitute baby girls between the ages OF
three and six years Mr.. Rothwel was mem
Der of the Lotos Club. and endowed the Sophia
Fund apparently because Of the esteem in which
he held Mrs. Sophia Brauenlich, the former sec
retary and treasurer of the Scientific Publishing
Company. of which Mr.. Rothwen principal
owner. Mr.. RothwelTs will filed short
time ago He named executors Frank j.
Pratt, Miss Eta Hudgins and John E. RothWell
Miss Hudgins has been appointed superintend-
ent OF the fund, the management of which is in
teresting many charitably inclined people.
Lawyers say that the provisions in the Will
leaving one-thrd of his S120 600 estate to charity
really make the instrument invalid. as the will
was drawn long as sixty days before Mr.
Rothwell's death John n. Lewis, counsel for the
fund, says in substance that the wording of the
will is such that its provisions would all be
carried into effect by the executors whether the
Will contested not. There is no proba-
bility of a contest
Mrs. Brauenlich was a woman of frail ply
sique, but of enduring pluck. After studying at
Packard's Business College. she began work in
the office of The Engineering and Mining Jour
nal' in 1879. Her energy and ability finally
covered every department of the paper. She
the first American woman elected a Fellow
of the Imperial Institute of London. After Mrs
Brauenlich's death. in 1898, Mr. Rothwe and
others started in her honor the Sophia Fund
with gifts amounting to $4,000 This fund was
incorporated on May %. 1900, by the State
Board of Charities. The fund is remarkable for
the extraordinary safeguards thrown around the
children which it cares for. Only absolutely
healthy babies between three and six years old
taken. and if foster parents are not found
for the children the fund exercises a supervision
them to the age of eighteen years, when
they are expected to be self-supporting. The OBJ
ject of the fund is to remove friendless girl ba-
ings. and neither racial religious lines are
regarded in the selection of the babies.
The fund hands over babies to prospective
parents on probation for year. During the
year the superintendent of the fund, Miss Hudg-
ns, has the privilege Of visiting the babies
The foster parents sign agreement TO care
for the baby in all respects as II II were thelr
own. They also agree not to bind her out 10
service or surrender her for adoption TO any
person or corporation make a servant OF her
If the child for any good reason Is not accepted
the fund pays S12 month for all the time the
child has been cared for. If the officers of the
fund think the child is not being well cared for,
they can take her away.
The estate of Mr.. Rothwell is in process Of set
tlement, and il is expected that by the first OF
the year Miss Hudgins and her associates VIII
have the fund in full practical operation. The
fund has several destitute babies under its care
now and the results thus far have been ernl-
nently satisfactory