Helen Starrett 2
Helen Martha Ekin Starrett 1840-1920

In honor of Women’s History Month, I’ll be spending March honoring the memory of my great great grandmother, Helen Martha Ekin Starrett. She was an extraordinary woman who accomplished a great deal during her eighty years of life. In addition to the traditional roles of a 19th Century daughter, wife, and mother, she was also many other non-traditional things. She was a business owner, a patent holder, a newspaper editor, a published author, and a suffragist. Until the end of her life, she was considered a mentor and an inspiration to thousands of girls and women throughout the country.

I can’t wait to share stories of her early days as a student, teacher, and principal before and during the Civil War, and as a school owner afterwards.

And her stories of her experiences during the suffrage movement– her friendship with Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Rev. Olympia Brown, and others… her life was simply fascinating!

As her great great granddaughter, I have always taken great pride in the fact that her blood flows through my veins, and it has always been a dream of mine to share her story. I hope you’ll find her as fascinating as I do.
© Julie Dirkes Phelps

Photographer, Author, Researcher, Archivist, and Storyteller.

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