Helen Marshall (October 25, 1898 – August 1988) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

Life and work

Helen Edith Marshall was born in

Braman, Oklahoma Braman is a town in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 217 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.1 percent from the figure of 244 in 2000. History Braman was named for railroad developer Dwight Braman, when its post office was ...

, on 25 October 1898. Throughout her life, she lived in the following places:

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

;

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

;

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

;

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

;

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

;

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

;

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

; and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. She had one brother, Leon Soutierre Marshall, that was born in Oklahoma in 1904. Marshall was awarded her A.B. degree from the

College of Emporia The College of Emporia was a private college in Emporia, Kansas, from 1882 to 1974, and was associated with the Presbyterian church. When founded, it was one of two higher education institutions in the city of Emporia; the other at that time was ...

in 1923, her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1929, and her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1934. In between her studies, she taught school from 1916 to 1931. Marshall was appointed an instructor in history at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

in 1930, and then she became professor of history and chair of the social science department at Eastern New Mexico College, in

Portales, New Mexico Portales () is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 12,280 at the 2010 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis, and Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to ...

, from 1934 to 35. She later became an instructor in American history at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is I ...

, where she remained until she retired in 1967 as a full professor. Marshall published ''Dorothea Dix: Forgotten Samaritan'', a

Book-of-the-Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...

alternate in 1937. Almost twenty years later

Illinois State University Press Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

published ''Grandest of Enterprises'' and then ''The Eleventh Decade'' in 1967. Five years later Marshall wrote ''Mary Adelaid Nutting: Pioneer in Modern Nursing'' with a U.S. Public Health Grant. In addition to her books, she contributed articles to the ''Journal of the Illinois Historical Society'' and the ''New Mexico Quarterly''. She died in August 1988 in

Green Valley, Arizona Green Valley is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 22,616 at the 2020 census. Geography Green Valley i ...

, and she is buried in

Sahuarita, Arizona Sahuarita is a town in Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona, United States. Sahuarita is located south of the Tohono O'odham Nation and abuts the north end of Green Valley, Arizona, Green Valley, south of Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The 202 ...

''The Grandest of Enterprises''

Marshall's monograph, ''The Grandest of Enterprises'', provides a detailed history of Illinois State University from 1857-1957. Since it was published in 1956, it has received criticism for its deliberate omissions and falsehoods. The book is accused by other historians as having a literary flair that dilutes the truth and failing to provide proper sources for the information provided. It is hypothesized that her goal was to present the university in the most favorable way possible, thus she ignored any details that contradicted that goal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Helen 1898 births 1988 deaths University of Chicago alumni Duke University alumni 20th-century American historians