Adelaide Branch: The Hidden Woman
About the Book
Adelaide M. Branch (1873–1948) was a Progressive Era teacher, saleswoman, writer, and reformer who lived under multiple identities. After a highly publicized adultery scandal in late 1913 in Monticello, New York, she emerged the following year in New York City as Mary Douglas— working independently as an author, typist, stenographer, and researcher for leading academics and reformers of her day.
For the first time, this biography reconstructs and ties together Addie's remarkable life through archival evidence, genealogical research, and historical context, revealing how she navigated the constraints of early 20th-century America while pursuing intellectual honesty and social freedom. It explores her cooperative work with progressive activists like Upton Sinclair, Mary Craig Sinclair, James P. Warbasse, Agnes Warbasse, Gertrude Ogden Tubby, and other friends, acquaintances, and neighbors, and examines of her political and fictional writings over the three decades after she started her life over in the city.
"This story reads like a novel, but it's meticulously researched history that is heavily sourced with footnotes. The Progressive Era comes alive through Branch/Douglas's extraordinary journey. It tells the story not just of the tragic 'Monticello incident' of 1913, but of Adelaide's full and extraordinary life as a proud spinster."
— Tom Rue, Biographer
Early Praise from Scholars
"Tom Rue... is a dogged researcher who has managed to put together more information on Melvin H. Couch and Adelaide Branch — the key characters in Monticello’s hidden woman saga— than anyone ever has... Rue now thinks he has an idea, and has discovered a mortgage document signed by Miss Branch while she was there [in Bermuda with Upton Sinclair and Mary Craig Sinclair] — attested to by an official—shedding new light on a most fascinating tale."
— John Conway, Sullivan County Historian, Sullivan County Democrat, July 25, 2008.
Read the full article here.
Publication Timeline
Current Status: Manuscript complete, seeking publication path
Estimated Publication: Spring 2027 (dependent on advance sales and publication path)
Page Count: Approximately 350 pages with illustrations
Features:
- 8 pages of photographs and documents
- Comprehensive bibliographies
- Detailed timeline
- Index
- Genealogical appendices
SUPPORT THIS PROJECT
Use the order form below :
Download Order Form (PDF) | Paypal Link to Pre-Order
Or use this payment link now to donate any amount. DONATE HERE. Thank you!
Contributions help to cover research and publication costs of the Adelaide Branch/Mary Douglas Biography Project.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
Kindly register here to receive updates on the release date and events leading up to it: MAILING LIST.
👤 About the Author
Tom Rue brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to The Hidden Woman, combining four decades of experience in mental health counseling with deep expertise in historical and genealogical research. Holding a B.A. in Psychology (cum laude, Trenton State College, 1983) and an M.A. in Counseling (Rider College, 1985), he approaches biography and genealogy not as detached scholarship -- and in this case, not as a relative of the subject -- but as a trauma-informed use of genealogical methods to construct a scholarly biography of a little-known historical figure whose life and accomplishments are worth remembering.
His professional background providing counseling to victims of trauma informs the author's sensitivity to Adelaide Branch’s story—particularly the treatment she received as a woman in New York's civil courts, institutional psychiatry of her day, and the social pressures of the Progressive Era's reform movements for women's and workers' rights. This perspective allows Rue to contextualize Branch’s life choices not as aberrations, but as strategies of survival within a patriarchal society that offered women few paths to autonomy.
Historical & Archival Credentials
- Lodge Historian, Monticello Lodge #532, F&AM, Sullivan County, New York (1996–)
- Author, Monticello, Arcadia Publications, ‘Images of America’ series (2010) (Buy from the author.)
- Municipal Historian (retired), Village of Monticello, New York (2009–2021)
- Senior Vault Clerk, New Jersey State Library, Bureau of Archives and History (1983–1985)
- Registered Genealogist (retired), National Board for Certification of Genealogists (1983)
- President/Incorporator, Society for Historical Education, Inc. (NJ non-profit, founded 1982)
- Genealogy Instructor, Sons of the American Revolution, Elizabeth, NJ (1982)
- Undergraduate Major, Family and Local History Studies, Brigham Young University (1976–1980)
Rue's work demonstrates how genealogical discipline can restore agency to historically marginalized subjects without resorting to narrative inflation or fictionalizing—a model for intellectual biography rooted in both empathy and evidentiary rigor.
Public Speaking and Media Inquiries
Email hiddenwomanbooks@gmail.com for review copy requests, or if high-resolution graphics are needed for publication.
Advance copies will be made available to qualified reviewers, podcasts, and media outlets.
Download Media Kit [Under construction.]
October 27, 2026 - Historical Lecture on "the Monticello incident" of 1913 and the princpals involved, Sullivan Lodge #521, F&AM, Liberty, New York (by invitation).
August 29, 2026 - Tabletop display at the birthplace and childhood home of Adelaide M. Branch in 1873, as part of Hartwick Heritage Day in concert with Hartwick Historical Society (by invitation).