Louisa Woosley

Who was Louisa Woosley?

Louisa Mariah Layman Woosley was the first woman ordained as a minister in any Presbyterian denomination. In the entire Reformed tradition, only Antoinette Brown, a Congregationalist, can claim an earlier ordination. Antoinette's ordination, however, was never recognized by the Congregational denomination and Antoinette departed for the Unitarian Church. Louisa, on the other hand, was eventually recognized as a legitimate member of the Cumberland Presbyterian clergy and served in a variety of church offices for over 50 years.

Woosley, a Cumberland Presbyterian from Kentucky, was ordained by Nolin Presbytery in that denomination on Tuesday, November 5, 1889. Although the constitution of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church did not exclude women from ordination, neither did it include them. A great controversy developed in various church judicatories over the legality of her ordination. Eventually, Kentucky Synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church instructed Nolin Presbytery to remove Louisa Woosley from their rolls. This the presbytery did by granting her the status of minister in transitu to another presbytery. Clearly, although Nolin Presbytery complied with the instructions of the superior judicatory, they had denied their intent. In 1891, Louisa published her only book, Shall Woman Preach which explained and justified her position.