Helen Hartley Jenkins (August 16, 1860 – April 24, 1934) was an American philanthropist who contributed toward creation of health institutions, expansion of universities and supporting social welfare activities.

Biography

Born on August 16, 1860, in New York, NY, Helen Hartley Jenkins was the daughter of

Marcellus Hartley Marcellus Hartley (1827 – January 8, 1902) was an American arms dealer and merchant. He was appointed as an agent by the Union Army to purchase guns from Europe during the American Civil War. He later manufactured cartridges for breech-loading ...

, the founder of

Union Metallic Cartridge Company The Union Metallic Cartridge Company (UMC) was an early manufacturer of cartridge ammunition for small arms. The company was founded in 1867 during the most rapid evolution of cartridge design to date. Following merger with Remington Arms in 1912 ...

which was later merged with

Remington Arms Remington Arms Company, LLC, was an American firearms manufacturer, manufacturer of firearms and ammunition. It was formerly owned by the Remington Outdoor Company, which went bankrupt in 2020 with its lines of business sold to several purchase ...

company, and his wife Frances Chester White. She attended private schools in New York. She was engaged in charitable activities from childhood. Following her father's death in 1902, she inherited a large fortune. In 1903, she, with her nephew Marcellus Hartley Dodge, jointly gave

Hartley Hall Hartley Hall was the first official residence hall (or dormitory) constructed on the campus of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, and houses undergraduate students from Columbia College of Columbia University, Columbia College as we ...

, a dormitory, to

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. A few years later she anonymously donated $350,000 for the building of

Philosophy Hall Philosophy Hall is a building on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. It houses the English, Philosophy, and French departments, along with the university's writing center, part of its registrar's office, and the student lounge of ...

at Columbia. In memory of her daughter Helen who died in 1920, she gave the gates at the main entrance of

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, her daughter's alma mater. She also endowed and equipped the Marcellus Hartley laboratory for research in electricity. She was a principal donor of New York Polyclinic hospital. She also endowed (1910 and 1921) Marcellus Hartley Chair of

Materia Medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

New York University Medical School The New York University Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, the other being the NYU Gr ...

. Between 1907 and 1934, she served as trustee of

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

. She served as president of board of trustees of Hartley House from 1926 to 1934. To promote specialized nursing education and training, she donated $150,000 in 1910 and $200,000 later for creating a new nursing department at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 1909 she established the Slavonic Immigrant Home in New York. She was a benefactor of the Tan Hus Bohemian Presbyterian Church in New York. On June 30, 1892, she married George Walker Jenkins who was the president of American Deposit and Loan Company. They had two daughters. In 1914, Professor Michael Pupin appointed Mrs. H.H. Jenkins and

Helen Losanitch Frothingham Helen Losanitch Frothingham ( sr-cyr, Јелена Лозанић Фротингхам; 12 March 1885 – 6 February 1972) was a Serbian humanitarian aid worker, women's rights activist, nurse and writer. During World War I, she travelled from Se ...

honorary members of the Serbian National Defense Council https://www.nytimes.com/1913/11/25/archives/mrs-hh-jenkins-farmer-she-joins-prof-pupin-in-big-stock-raising.html She died on April 24, 1934, in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Helen Hartley 1860 births 1934 deaths 20th-century American women philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists American Eugenics Society members