Charles Nelson Crittenton

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Charles Nelson Crittenton (1833-1909) was an American philanthropist, born in Adams, Jefferson County, N. Y. He went into the drug business in New York City in 1861; but after 1882, when his five-year-old daughter Florence died, he devoted his time and wealth to the establishment of Florence Crittenton Homes for homeless and unfortunate girls and their infant children. In 1895 the National Florence Crittenton Mission was incorporated to carry on this work. Of these mission homes more than 70 were organized in Mr. Crittenton's lifetime in all the larger cities of the United States and in Marseiles, Tokio, Shanghai, the city of Mexico, etc. The drug-manufacturing company which bore his name was one of the first profit-sharing concerns in the United States. He was an active member of the Prohibition Party.