Ida Isabel Perry Bellows (August 12, 1859 - January 10, 1952) was a

clubwoman The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

, the president of

Ebell of Los Angeles The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women-led and women-centered nonprofit housed in an historic campus in the Mid-Wilshire section of Los Angeles, California. It includes numerous performance spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms and the 1,238-seat Wilshi ...

Early life

Ida Isabel Perry was born on August 12, 1859, in

Geneva, Wisconsin Geneva is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,390 at the 2020 census. The census-designated place of Como is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Lake Como is also located in the town. Geog ...

, the daughter of Olney R. Perry and Susannah Fellows.

Career

Bellows was the president of Ebell of Los Angeles from 1910 to 1912. She was president of the Woman's City Club from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1924 to 1925. She was a member of the City Housing Commission from 1918 to 1922. In 1923, she was a member of the Board of Freeholders, which drafted the Charter. In 1926, she was a member of the Budget Committee of the Community Chest.

Publications

She wrote the biography of her husband, ''Memoir of General E.C. Bellows'', who served for many years in the consular service in Japan.

Personal life

Bellows moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 1905 and lived at 1422 S. Gramercy Place,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She married General Edward Clark Bellows (1856-1929). She died on January 10, 1952, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale). Her will identified Matsu Matsumoto as her companion, the care she gave to Bellows "such as would be expected only from a devoted loving daughter". Matsumoto received part of the estate, personal belongings, and articles of artistic value.

Legacy

The principal beneficiaries of the estate of Ida I. Bellows ($911,064.15 in 2017) were disabled children. Three disabled children's organizations (The Casa Colina Convalescent Home for Crippled Children, the Children's Hospital Society of Los Angeles and the Crippled Children's Society of Los Angeles County) and

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every a ...

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, received the residue of the estate after payment of $10,000 to her companion, Matsu Matsumoto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellows, Ida I. 1859 births 1952 deaths American philanthropists People from Geneva, Wisconsin Clubwomen