Rebecca Shelley

Rebecca Shelley (January 20, 1887 - January 21, 1984) was a pacifist who lost her American citizenship when she married a German national. She was the publisher of Modern Poultry Breeder.

Biography
She was born in Sugar Valley, Pennsylvania on January 20, 1887 to William Alfred Shelly. In 1904, her family moved to Michigan. In 1907, she attended the University of Michigan and majored in German. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1910.

In 1922, she married Felix Martin Rathmer, a German born electrical engineer. This caused her to lose her American citizenship. She refused to take the naturalization oath because it contained the phrase "bear arms in defense of the country". She did not regain her citizenship until 1944. Her husband died in 1959. 

She died on January 21, 1984 at the Leila Y. Post Montgomery Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan.

References

Other websites
Rebecca Shelley papers at the University of Michigan

Category:1887 births
Category:1984 deaths
Category:Nonviolence advocates