Wellesca Pollock Allen Dyar (February 12, 1871 – 1940) was an American educator and an early adherent to

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

in the United States. She was at the center of a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, society scandal in 1916.

Early life

Wellesca Pollock was the youngest survivor of the thirteen children born to Louise Plessner Pollock and George H. Pollock, at

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is an affluent town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protect ...

. Her brother, George Freeman Pollock, was the founder of

Skyland Resort Skyland Resort is a hotel and resort in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The Skyland Resort, originally called Stony Man Camp, was built in 1895 at what later became the highest point on the Skyline Drive, with a sweeping view of the Shenan ...

in Virginia. Their mother was an educator prominent in the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

movement. Wellesca trained as a teacher, graduating from her mother's Washington Normal Kindergarten Institute in 1891.

Career

Wellesca Pollock trained kindergarten teachers with her mother in Washington, D.C., and taught a kindergarten class for African-American children in the capital. In 1900 she began to identify as a follower of the

, and used the Persian name "Aseyeh" in that context. She traveled to Egypt, Syria, and Palestine to meet

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...

in 1907. Wellesca Pollock made some significant money selling real estate in Washington, D.C. She also did part-time work at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, assisting entomologist and fellow Baháʼí

Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. (February 14, 1866 – January 21, 1929) was an American entomologist. Dyar's Law, a pattern of geometric progression in the growth of insect parts, is named after him. He was also noted for eccentric pursuits which includ ...

Personal life

Wellesca Pollock was at the center of a public scandal when it became known that "Wilfred P. Allen", her absent husband, the father of her three sons (born 1908, 1911, and 1913), was a fiction. Her partner was in fact entomologist

, who had another, legal, wife. The couple officially married after Dyar's divorce, in 1921. Dyar named a Mexican species of moth, ''Parasa wellesca'', for her. Wellesca Pollock Dyar was widowed when Harrison died in 1929, and she died in 1940, aged 69 years.John Kelly
"Dyar and Wellesca, Together at Last and Above Ground"
''Washington Post'' (November 6, 2012).

References

External links

Wellesca Dyar's gravesite
on Find a Grave. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Wellesca American Bahá'ís 1871 births 1940 deaths People from Weston, Massachusetts Educators from Massachusetts Educators from Washington, D.C. 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators Converts to the Bahá'í Faith 19th-century American women educators 20th-century American women educators