Representative women of New England/Cora B. Ayling

by Mary H. Graves

CORA BELLE AYLING was born December 16, 1870, in the village of Paw Paw, Ill., her parents uniting the blood of the old Scotch Presbyterians with that of the English. Her father, Alfred Stainbrook, in early life settled at his old home as a breeder of high-grade horses. A man of striking personality, he represented the best type of the pioneer, and to his little daughter Cora, who became his constant companion, he was the ideal of all that was best in man- hood. In those long days they spent in the saddle, riding over the great sweep of prairie, his strong character impressed on the child its absolute fearlessness, its sincerity, its hatred of shams and hypocrisy. To this day she is wont to exclaim, "I have yet to meet my father's equal."

In 1880 the Stainbrooks moved to Cleveland, Ohio, the father becoming interested in a manufacturing concern. Cora attended the public schools, showing remarkable ability in mathematics, and studied to prepare herself for teaching. Her plans were abruptly changed by the sudden death of her father while trying to save the lives of some of his men after an explosion of chemicals. The girl of seventeen found herself the responsible head of the family, with an invalid mother and two young sisters depedent on her for support. She bravely confronted the problem of bread-winning, and succeeded in maintaining the home, giving her sisters a business education as a basis for their own independence. For in time Cora held the position of book-keeper; CORA B. AYLING but her energies required a more active life, and for several years she travelled through the Middle States, representing a Chicago firm, a cereal food house. Her salary, seventy-five dollars a month for the first two months, was then increased to three thousand dollars a year and expenses. In 1894 she married Arthur Putnam Ayling, a native of Boston, then a glass manufacturer in Milwaukee, Wis. She was elected treasurer of the company, the Northern Glass Works, and had practical charge of the office and sales department. In 1898, her health failing, the Aylings moved to a delightful country house in Bridgewater, Mass., where the rest and outdoor life proved restorative. Later, when her husband^s business interests took him to the remote Southwest, Mrs. Ayling assumed the business management of a new Boston publication, the Brown Book, which in less than two years achieved a most remarkable success. She is also the president of the Automatic Addressing Machine Company, and has interests in various other enterprises.

Personally Mrs. Ayling is a woman of rather slight physique, far too slight for the stress the mind would impose upon it; but her indomitable will carries her through tasks that might well deter many men. Her rather quizzical gray eyes have an almost clairvoyant power in reading those with whom she comes in contact. Her mind rapidly grasps the salient points of any proposition, ignoring unimportant details, and her deductions are seldom in error. She places her objective points clearly, and attains them by very direct methods, possessing strong executive ability. She systematizes the work of her assistants, and inspires intense loyalty in those about her. Mrs. Ayling is a member of the New England Women's Press Club, and was a charter member of the Ousamequin Club of Bridgewater.