Biographical Database of Militant Woman Suffragists, 1913-1920
Biography of Helen Evarts, 1895-1974
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By Caroline Mendez, undergraduate student, SUNY Oneonta
Helen Wardner Evarts was born on June 7, 1895 in Wappingers Falls, New York, to Prescott and Emily C. Evarts. She was the youngest of four children. Helen's paternal grandfather was William Maxwell Evarts who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General, and U.S. Senator from New York. Helen's paternal great-great-grandfather was Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Helen Evarts attended Vassar College. During her years there, she was selected as class president during her first and last semesters. Helen had been a member of the Suffrage Club while in college. The purpose of this club was to promote "equal suffrage sentiment through study and active work." Helen graduated with honors from Vassar College in 1917. She received the Alice Hayes Vocational Fellowship. She then continued her education at Johns Hopkins Medical School, graduating in 1922. She worked in prenatal and obstetrical clinics in New York City.
In May 1919 she participated in the Women's Parade, commemorating her involvement with the National Woman's Party.
Helen Wardner Evarts died on April 16, 1974, in Lexington, Massachusetts at the age of 78.
Sources:
Vassar College, The Vassarion Vol. 29, 1917. Vassar Miscellany Weekly 19, May 1916. Vassar College Bulletin Vol. 5, Annual Catalog, 1916. The Johns Hopkins University Circular, Vol. 39 (1920). Additional biographical information can be found on Ancestry.com and MyHeritage.com
https://archive.org/details/vassarion00vass
A photograph Helen can be found online in The Vassarion, available at https://archive.org/details/vassarion00vass