Eleanor Mary Sherman Thackara (1859–1915), is most known as the daughter of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

fame and his wife,

Ellen Ewing Sherman Eleanor Boyle Ewing Sherman (October 4, 1824 – November 28, 1888) was the wife of General William Tecumseh Sherman, a leading Union general in the American Civil War. She was also a prominent figure of the times in her own right. Early yea ...

. Married to a diplomat, she spent a good deal of her time in Europe.

Early life

Childhood

Known as "Ellie" in the correspondence between her and her father, she was one of eight children, but little is known about her childhood. Her mother was a cousin of Mother Angela Gillespie, directress of St. Mary's Academy in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

. In 1864, Ellen Sherman took up temporary residence in South Bend, in order to have her young children educated at St. Mary's and Notre Dame du Lac. In 1879 and at the age of 20, Thackara met Alexander Montgomery Thackara in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

The two began a courtship that lasted a year before their marriage on May 5, 1880, at her parents' home in Washington, D.C.

Family

In 1881, the Lt. Thackara left military service, moving to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

with Thackara to join the family business . While there, the couple spent three years in the town of Rosemont where Thackara gave birth to four children, Alexander Montgomery "Mont", William Sherman "Sherman", Elizabeth, and Eleanor. Thackara was also mentioned in the ''New York Evangelist'' as an upcoming writer as she weighed in on the idea of training schools in Philadelphia, but little else is known about her career in writing.

Later life

Philanthropy

In 1897, Mr. Thackara was appointed by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

to serve as US Consul in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

, France, moving the entire family overseas. He also served as Consul General in Berlin from 1905 to 1913. While living in France, she served with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in Paris, and received awards for her work in the organization. She was elected President of the American Women's Club, a social organization.

Death

In 1913, Eleanor and Thackara returned to Paris when President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

appointed the Lieutenant as Consul General once again. She died two years after their return on July 18, 1915. She was survived by her four children and her husband Alexander.

References

External links

Sherman-Thackara Collection at Villanova University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackara, Eleanor Sherman 1859 births 1915 deaths People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War American expatriates in Germany American expatriates in France 19th-century American philanthropists