Clarissa (Clara) Harlowe Barton

Clara Barton

25 December 1821—12 April 1912

Emmeline B. Wells

Born 25 December 1821 in Oxford, Worcester County, Massachusetts.1 Daughter of Stephen Barton and Sarah (Sally) Stone.2 Began teaching, 1839; founded a school for millworkers and their children, 1845, and established the first free public school in Bordentown, Burlington County, New Jersey, 1852.3 Moved to Washington, DC; one of the first women to serve as a clerk in the United States Patent Office, 1854–1857.4 Nursed wounded soldiers and facilitated their care during the American Civil War; collected and delivered supplies to battlefields, 1861–1865.5 Led postwar search efforts for missing soldiers, 1865–1868; successfully petitioned Congress for funds, February 1866.6 Met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony; aligned herself with the suffrage movement, 1867.7 While in Europe in 1869, learned about the International Red Cross; provided aid during the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–1871.8 Founder and president of the American Red Cross, 1881–1904.9 Attended a reception for the National Council of Women in Washington, DC, 21 February 1891; Emmeline B. Wells and Utah delegates were also in attendance.10 Emmeline B. Wells visited her home in Glen Echo, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1901.11 Spent an evening hosting Emmeline B. Wells and other Utah delegates while they were in Washington, DC, to attend the First Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, February 1902; Barton wrote a verse to Wells and the Utah delegation titled “Adieu to My Beloved Friends of Utah.”12 Died 12 April 1912 in Glen Echo.13

The First Fifty Years of Relief Society

Born 25 December 1821 in Oxford, Worcester County, Massachusetts.14 Daughter of Stephen Barton and Sarah (Sally) Stone.15 Began teaching, 1839; founded a school for millworkers and their children, 1845, and established the first free public school in Bordentown, Burlington County, New Jersey, 1852.16 Moved to Washington, DC; one of the first women to serve as a clerk in the United States Patent Office, 1854–1857.17 Nursed wounded soldiers and facilitated their care during the American Civil War; collected and delivered supplies to battlefields, 1861–1865.18 Led postwar search efforts for missing soldiers, 1865–1868; successfully petitioned Congress for funds, February 1866.19 Met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony; aligned herself with the suffrage movement, 1867.20 While in Europe in 1869, learned about the International Red Cross; provided aid during the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–1871.21 Founder and president of the American Red Cross, 1881–1904.22 Attended a reception for the National Council of Women in Washington, DC, 21 February 1891; Emmeline B. Wells and Utah delegates were also in attendance.23 Emmeline B. Wells visited her home in Glen Echo, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1901.24 Spent an evening hosting Emmeline B. Wells and other Utah delegates while they were in Washington, DC, to attend the First Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, February 1902; Barton wrote a verse to Wells and the Utah delegation titled “Adieu to My Beloved Friends of Utah.”25 Died 12 April 1912 in Glen Echo.26

Footnotes

1 Oxford, MA, Vital Records, 1714–1894, microfilm 754010, Births/Marriages/Deaths/Intentions 1714–1866, p. 598, 25 Dec. 1821, FamilySearch Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (FamilySearch Library hereafter FSL).
2 Oxford, MA, Vital Records, 1714–1894, microfilm 754010, Births/Marriages/Deaths/Intentions 1714–1866, p. 598, 25 Dec. 1821, FSL; Oxford, MA, microfilm 859254, Marriages and Intentions of Marriage, 1799–1839, p. 8, 22 Apr. 1804, FSL; Vital Records of Oxford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Franklin P. Rice, 1905), 109; “Sarah ‘Sally’ Stone Barton,” North Cemetery, Oxford, Worcester Co., MA, Memorial ID 20888999, Find a Grave, accessed 24 June 2024, findagrave.com.
3 Merle Curti, “Barton, Clara,” in Edward T. James, ed., Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971), 1:104; Elizabeth Brown Pryor, Clara Barton, Professional Angel (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987), 20, 28–30.
4 Curti, “Barton, Clara,” in James, Notable American Women, 1:104; Percy H. Epler, The Life of Clara Barton (Macmillan, 1930), 25–26; Pryor, Clara Barton, 56–64.
5 H. E. S., “Barton, Clara,” in Allen Johson, ed., Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 2 (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929), 19; William E. Barton, The Life of Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross (Houghton Mifflin, 1922), 1:121–300.
6 Curti, “Barton, Clara,” in James, Notable American Women, 1:105; Clara Barton, Memorial to 39th Congress, 1 Feb. 1866, available at United States House of Representatives, History, Art, and Archives, history.house.gov.
7 Pryor, Clara Barton, 150–151.
8 Barton, Life of Clara Barton, 2:1, 3–8, 10–32.
9 Barton, Life of Clara Barton, 2:120–172, 300.
10 Emmeline B. Wells, Diary, 22 Feb. 1891, Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells, Church Historian’s Press, churchhistorianspress.org/emmeline-b-wells; M. Y. R., “A Glimpse of Washington,” Woman’s Exponent (Salt Lake City), 1 Mar. 1891, 132.
11 Wells, Diary, 2 Mar. 1901.
12 Wells, Diary, 12 and 28 Feb. 1902; Ida Husted Harper, ed., The History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 5 (National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922), 23, 25, 31; Susa Young Gates, “The Red Cross,” Relief Society Magazine, Sept. 1917, 496–497.
13 Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915, microfilm 2399101, Deaths, 1912, vol. 79, p. 288, 12 Apr. 1912, FSL.
14 Oxford, MA, Vital Records, 1714–1894, microfilm 754010, Births/Marriages/Deaths/Intentions 1714–1866, p. 598, 25 Dec. 1821, FamilySearch Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (FamilySearch Library hereafter FSL).
15 Oxford, MA, Vital Records, 1714–1894, microfilm 754010, Births/Marriages/Deaths/Intentions 1714–1866, p. 598, 25 Dec. 1821, FSL; Oxford, MA, microfilm 859254, Marriages and Intentions of Marriage, 1799–1839, p. 8, 22 Apr. 1804, FSL; Vital Records of Oxford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Franklin P. Rice, 1905), 109; “Sarah ‘Sally’ Stone Barton,” North Cemetery, Oxford, Worcester Co., MA, Memorial ID 20888999, Find a Grave, accessed 24 June 2024, findagrave.com.
16 Merle Curti, “Barton, Clara,” in Edward T. James, ed., Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971), 1:104; Elizabeth Brown Pryor, Clara Barton, Professional Angel (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987), 20, 28–30.
17 Curti, “Barton, Clara,” in James, Notable American Women, 1:104; Percy H. Epler, The Life of Clara Barton (Macmillan, 1930), 25–26; Pryor, Clara Barton, 56–64.
18 H. E. S., “Barton, Clara,” in Allen Johson, ed., Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 2 (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929), 19; William E. Barton, The Life of Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross (Houghton Mifflin, 1922), 1:121–300.
19 Curti, “Barton, Clara,” in James, Notable American Women, 1:105; Clara Barton, Memorial to 39th Congress, 1 Feb. 1866, available at United States House of Representatives, History, Art, and Archives, history.house.gov.
20 Pryor, Clara Barton, 150–151.
21 Barton, Life of Clara Barton, 2:1, 3–8, 10–32.
22 Barton, Life of Clara Barton, 2:120–172, 300.
23 Emmeline B. Wells, Diary, 22 Feb. 1891, Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells, Church Historian’s Press, churchhistorianspress.org/emmeline-b-wells; M. Y. R., “A Glimpse of Washington,” Woman’s Exponent (Salt Lake City), 1 Mar. 1891, 132.
24 Wells, Diary, 2 Mar. 1901.
25 Wells, Diary, 12 and 28 Feb. 1902; Ida Husted Harper, ed., The History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 5 (National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922), 23, 25, 31; Susa Young Gates, “The Red Cross,” Relief Society Magazine, Sept. 1917, 496–497.
26 Massachusetts Vital Records, 1911–1915, microfilm 2399101, Deaths, 1912, vol. 79, p. 288, 12 Apr. 1912, FSL.