Josephine Shaw Lowell (1843-1905), American social reformer and philanthropist, influenced legislation and organizations creating modern programs for the poor and needy.

Josephine Shaw was born in West Roxbury, Mass., on Dec. 16, 1843, into a family marked by social and intellectual distinction. She was raised on Staten Island, N.Y. During 1851-1855 the family lived and traveled in Europe, where "Effie" proved brilliant in her absorption of cultures and languages. She continued her education in New York and Boston.

When the Civil War broke out, Josephine Shaw worked intensively for a branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. On Oct. 31, 1863, she married Col. Charles Russell Lowell of Massachusetts and joined him on the fighting front in Virginia. She had already lost her brother, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, in the war. On Oct. 19, 1864, her husband died in the Battle of Cedar Creek, Va. Six weeks later their daughter, Carlotta Russell Lowell...