Helen Newell Hills 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.
Early life Helen Newell Hills 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."Mrs. Helen N. Garfield" Daily Boston Globe (August 21, 1930): 3.
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.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. While in Washington, she helped to found the District of Columbia branch of the Woman's Department of the National Civic Federation."Secretaries' Wives Aid the National Civic Federation" Greensboro Daily News (May 20, 1908): 5. via Newspapers.com
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,Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, Case Western Reserve University. 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.Lucia Johnson Bing, Social Work in Greater Cleveland (Welfare Federation of Cleveland 1938): 184. Helen Newell Garfield was herself hard of hearing in adulthood.Finding Aid, Helen Newell Garfield Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository.
For her fundraising work on behalf of war orphans during World War I, she received a decoration from the King and Queen of Belgium."Daughter-in-law of Former President Garfield Dies" Daily News (August 21, 1930): 3. via Newspapers.com She also served as an inspector at the Bureau of Supplies, American Red Cross, screening donated knitted goods for quality and fit."Local Red Cross Chapter Thanked for Knitted Articles" Public Ledger (November 9, 1917): 1. via Newspapers.com
Personal life and legacy In 1890, Helen Newell married lawyer and politician James Rudolph Garfield, a son of President James A. Garfield."Young Garfield Weds Miss Newell" The Washington Post (December 31, 1890): 4. They had four sons, John, James II, Newell, and Rudolph. Their home in Mentor, Ohio, was called "Hollycroft".Thomas D. Matowitz Jr., Mentor (Arcadia Publishing 2015): 98. Her sons James and John served in the United States Army during World War I."James Garfield, Ex-President's Grandson, 75" Boston Globe (July 4, 1969): 29."Death of Garfield Reported" Piqua Daily Call (May 23, 1931): 1. via Newspapers.com
Helen Garfield died in 1930, aged 63 years, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in New Hampshire."Mrs. J. R. Garfield Dies of Injuries in Crash" New York Times (August 21, 1930): 13. Her papers and her husband's papers are archived in the Library of Congress.James Rudolph Garfield Papers , Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress. Some of her teaching materials are in the papers of her son James A. Garfield II in the Western Reserve Historical Society.James A. Garfield II Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society. Garfield's school of speech reading is now the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, affiliated with Case Western Reserve University.Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, University Circle Inc.
References
External links
Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center