Ellen Martin Henrotin (July 6, 1847 – June 29, 1922) was a wealthy American society matron, labor reform activist, club leader and social reformer affiliated with social welfare and

suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

Biography

Henrotin was born on July 6, 1847, in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, the daughter of Edward Byam and Sarah Ellen Martin, and the second of six children. During her youth, she lived in England, and attended schools in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, 1860–68. Returning to the US in 1868, she married Charles Henrotin, one of the founders of the

Chicago Stock Exchange NYSE Chicago, formerly known as the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), is a stock exchange in Chicago, Illinois, US. The exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulatory organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Secu ...

, on September 2, 1869, in Chicago. Their children were Edward Clement (born 1871), Charles Martin (born 1876), and Morris Bates (born 1885). She served as Vice President of the Congress Auxiliary of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

, 1893; President of the

General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of approximately 2,300 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Community Serv ...

, 1894-98; President of Fortnightly Club of Chicago; as well as Trustee,

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, 1912–17. She was decorated by the Sultan of Turkey with the Order of the Chefakat, 1893; made an Officier de l'Académie by the French Republic, 1899; and decorated by Leopold II of Belgium with the Chevalier de l'Ordre de Léopold, 1904. She was a member of the Friday Club;

Chicago Woman's Club The Chicago Woman's Club was formed in 1876 by women in Chicago who were interested in "self and social improvement." The club was notable for creating educational opportunities in the Chicago region and helped create the first juvenile court in th ...

; and Woman's City Club. Henrotin lived at 1215

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She died on June 29, 1922, in

Cherry Plain, New York Cherry Plain, also spelled Cherryplain, is a hamlet in eastern Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It comprises the ZIP code of 12040. It is located east of Troy, New York, in the town of Berlin, New York. Cherry Plain is located within ...

. She and Charles are buried at

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is a historic rural cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. At , it is the largest cemetery in the city of Chicago and its first private cemetery. The Entrance Gate and Administration ...

in Chicago.

Selected works

''The Social Evil in Chicago'', 1911, authored by Henrotin who served on the Chicago Vice Commission. The report became a best-seller. A second edition was published weeks later, a third edition was published a few months later, and other editions were also printed.

References

Attribution

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henrotin, Ellen Martin 1847 births 1922 deaths American social reformers American suffragists Activists from Portland, Maine Clubwomen Activists from New York City Burials at Rosehill Cemetery