Helen Newell Garfield

Helen Hills Newell Garfield (February 12, 1867 – August 20, 1930) was an American socialite and advocate for deaf education. She was herself hard of hearing in adulthood. During World War I, she worked with the American Red Cross and raised funds for the care of French orphans.

Helen Newell Garfield
Helen Newell Garfield, from a
1907 publication.
BornFebruary 12, 1867
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died20 August 1930(1930-08-20) (aged 63)
OccupationSocialite, advocate for deaf education
Known forFounded the Cleveland Association for the Hard of Hearing and the Lake Erie School of Speech Reading (now the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1890)​
Children4
Parent(s)John Newell
Judith Poore Hills
RelativesJames A. Garfield (father-in-law)

Early life

Helen Hills Newell was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of John Newell and Judith Poore Hills. Both of her parents were born in Massachusetts. Her father was a railroad president.[1]

Career

Helen Newell Garfield had four children born in the 1890s, and was a society figure in Washington, D. C., from 1902 to 1909, while her husband James Rudolph Garfield was working with President Theodore Roosevelt in various capacities, including as Secretary of the Interior.[2] While in Washington, she helped to found the District of Columbia branch of the Woman's Department of the National Civic Federation.[3]

Bookplate of James Rudolph Garfield, designed by Helen Newell Garfield

After the Garfields returned to Ohio in 1909, she founded the Lake Erie School of Speech Reading and the Cleveland Association for the Hard of Hearing in 1921,[4] and was involved with the American Federation of Organizations for the Hard of Hearing. She also worked for the creation of lip reading classes in the Cleveland Public Schools.[5] Helen Newell Garfield was herself hard of hearing in adulthood.[6]

For her fundraising work on behalf of war orphans during World War I, she received a decoration from the King and Queen of Belgium.[7] She also served as an inspector at the Bureau of Supplies, American Red Cross, screening donated knitted goods for quality and fit.[8]

Personal life and legacy

In 1890, Helen Hills Newell married lawyer and politician James Rudolph Garfield, a son of President James A. Garfield.[9] They had four sons, John, James II, Newell, and Rudolph. Their home in Mentor, Ohio, was called "Hollycroft".[10] Her sons James and John served in the United States Army during World War I.[11][12]

Helen Newell Garfield died in 1930, aged 63 years, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in New Hampshire.[13] Her papers and her husband's papers are archived in the Library of Congress.[14] Some of her teaching materials are in the papers of her son James A. Garfield II in the Western Reserve Historical Society.[15] Garfield's school of speech reading is now the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University.[16]

References
  1. "Mrs. Helen N. Garfield" Daily Boston Globe (August 21, 1930): 3.
  2. Margaret B. Downing, "Mrs. James R. Garfield, Wife of the Secretary of the Interior, Is the Youngest Matron in the Boudoir Cabinet, and One of the Most Dignified Figures in the High Official Set" The Washington Post (September 1, 1907): E8.
  3. "Secretaries' Wives Aid the National Civic Federation" Greensboro Daily News (May 20, 1908): 5. via Newspapers.com
  4. Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, Case Western Reserve University.
  5. Lucia Johnson Bing, Social Work in Greater Cleveland (Welfare Federation of Cleveland 1938): 184.
  6. Finding Aid, Helen Newell Garfield Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository.
  7. "Daughter-in-law of Former President Garfield Dies" Daily News (August 21, 1930): 3. via Newspapers.com
  8. "Local Red Cross Chapter Thanked for Knitted Articles" Public Ledger (November 9, 1917): 1. via Newspapers.com
  9. "Young Garfield Weds Miss Newell" The Washington Post (December 31, 1890): 4.
  10. Thomas D. Matowitz Jr., Mentor (Arcadia Publishing 2015): 98. ISBN 9781439653647
  11. "James Garfield, Ex-President's Grandson, 75" Boston Globe (July 4, 1969): 29.
  12. "Death of Garfield Reported" Piqua Daily Call (May 23, 1931): 1. via Newspapers.com
  13. "Mrs. J. R. Garfield Dies of Injuries in Crash" New York Times (August 21, 1930): 13.
  14. James Rudolph Garfield Papers, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress.
  15. James A. Garfield II Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society.
  16. Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, University Circle Inc.
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