Monday, September 5, 2016

Ellen Hardin Walworth - Author, Historian, Activist

In my last blog, I highlighted the struggles in Ellen’s personal life but like all great people, she did not let the difficulties be her legacy.

As a passionate advocate for the importance of studying history and historic preservation, Walworth was one of the founders of the The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and was the organization's first secretary general and the first editor of The American Monthly Magazine, the DAR's official magazine.

Walworth had a strong interest in the restoration and preservation of historical sites. She was on the forefront of the movement to raise public funds to purchase and restore historical properties. In 1876, Walworth advocated for funds to renovate George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon.

Walworth was interested in science and presented a paper, Field Work By Amateurs, to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at the August 1880 Conference in Boston and published in Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In the paper, Walworth passionately advocated for more participation by women.

On July 12, 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition, Walworth presented her paper, The Value of National Archives to a Nation’s Life and Progress to the American Historical Association, arguing for the creation of a national archives in the United States. The National Archives grew out of this advocacy.

Ellen Hardin Walworth died on June 23, 1915, and was laid to rest in the family lot at Green Ridge, near Saratoga, New York.