MacLeish, Martha Hillard (1856–1947)

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MacLeish, Martha Hillard (1856–1947)

American educator and community leader. Name variations: Martha Hillard. Born Aug 17, 1856, in Hadlyme, CT; died Dec 19, 1947, in Chicago, IL; dau. of Elias Brewster Hillard (minister) and Julia (Whittlesey) Hillard; m. Andrew MacLeish (partner in department-store firm Carson Pirie Scott & Co.), Aug 2, 1888; children: 2 daughters, 3 sons, including Archibald MacLeish (poet).

Was assistant in mathematics at alma mater Vassar College; served as principal of Rockford (IL) Seminary (1884–88); formed West Side branch of Visiting Nurse Association in Chicago; was early contributor to school that became University of Chicago; served as board member, vice-president, and president of Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society of the West; after its merger with another group, served as vice-president for home administration of Woman's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society.

See also Martha Hillard MacLeish (1856–1947) (privately published, 1949).

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