November 13, 2023

Mai Shashua

10th Grade

Ramaz Upper School

Emily Warren Roebling was an engineer who helped guide the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling was born in Cold Spring, New York, on September 23, 1843. She was the second youngest of twelve children, the closest to her older brother, Gouverneur K. Warren. He was one of the people who led Roebling to work on the Brooklyn Bridge after supporting her decision to get educated. He later became a corps commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Emily visited him; there she met Washington Roebling, an engineering officer on her brother’s staff. Emily and Washington fell in love and got married on January 18th, 1865.

Roebling's father-in-law, John Roebling, was an engineer who first wanted to build the Brooklyn Bridge, which was a bridge that allowed easy transportation between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Roebling and her husband traveled to Europe to study the use of caissons on the bridge. There, their son, John A. Roebling II was born. 

When they returned to New York, Washington became the assistant engineer on the bridge. While working on the bridge project, Washington’s father, John’s foot was crushed which led to his tetanus infection which ultimately led to his death, After his death, Roebling's husband took over the project and was the chief engineer. Throughout his work, he developed a sickness while working in the caissons for the bridge. That led to him not being able to work on the project. That’s when Roebling started to take over. She already had some knowledge on how bridges are built and she kept learning more and took notes on what needed to get done.

Roebling became involved in the bridge project even more, and she took over most of the chief engineer’s tasks. She planned the rest of the bridge’s construction and met with other members of the project team to discuss the project. People later on started to think that she was the brains behind this project. While she was working on the bridge, her husband Washington was still chief engineer. People started to question if he was still suitable for the job due to his not being present during the project. Roebling made great points on why her husband should stay chief engineer and her wishes were respected. This happened one more time after that and still, they listened to her.

The Bridge opened in 1883 and Emily Warren Roebling was the first to ride the carriage with President Chester Arthur across the bridge. Abram Hewitt said, “The name of Emily Warren Roebling will be inseparably associated with all that is admirable in human nature and all that is wonderful in the constructive world of art.” He also called the bridge a monument to the self-sacrificing devotion of a woman and her capacity for her high education.

Roebling moved to Trenton, New Jersey after the bridge was completed with her husband and son. She managed the construction of their house and had an active social life. She traveled a lot and served as a nurse and construction foreman. Her taking over the bridge project made her one of the faces of the project and she will always be remembered.