Lelia P. Roby (, Foster;

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, Miles Standish; December 25, 1848 – September 18, 1910) was an American philanthropist of the

long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' is a term for the 125-year period beginning with the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was coined by Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg and British Marxist his ...

. She was the founder of the

Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Ill ...

. Thoroughly educated, she was a connoisseur in architecture and art, a linguist, and a well-read lawyer. She did a good deal of literary work under the pen-name "Miles Standish".

Early life

Lelia P. Foster was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, December 25, 1848. Her parents were Captain Thomas Foster, of

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

, and Catherine (Fenn) Foster. Her father and grandfather were clergymen and

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

agitators. She was descended from

Priscilla Mullens Priscilla Alden (, ) was a noted member of Massachusetts's Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims and the wife of fellow colonist John Alden (1687). They married in 1621 in Plymouth. Biography Priscilla was most likely born in Dorking in Surrey, the dau ...

and

John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...

, of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

Colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

. Among her ancestors were many

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

soldiers.

Career

Roby always felt a deep interest in the soldiers who fought in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. She was a regent of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

(DAR). On June 12, 1886, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, where she lived, she founded the order of the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, which started with 25 members, and by 1893, numbered about 15,000 mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of soldiers and sailors who served in the civil war of 1861-65. The members of that order pledged to assist the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

in works of charity, to extend needful aid to members in sickness and distress, to aid sick soldiers, sailors and marines, to look after soldiers' orphan's homes, to see that the children obtained proper situations when they left the homes, to watch the schools, and see to it that the children received proper education in the history of the country and in patriotism. She secured many pensions for soldiers and in countless ways worked for the good of the survivors of the war. Her activities covered a wide range. She had the care and oversight of supplying the soldiers' homes with books, magazines and periodicals; she visited the homes in various parts of the country and looked after the comfort of the old soldiers, and if there were special legislation needed to right their wrongs or give them additional comforts, she went to the State legislatures or to

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, ...

to secure such enactment. Through her efforts, a memorial day was set apart in the schools for the reading of histories and stories of the civil war in preparation for Decoration Day itself. Lilia P

She was one of four women selected by the Chicago Board of Education to represent them before the legislature of the State to help pass the compulsory education bill. It was passed, for a large majority of the legislators were old soldiers, and the fact that Roby was their friend made voting for a measure she advocated an acceptable duty. She was the only woman member of the Lincoln Guard of Honor of

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, and an honorary-member of the Lincoln Guard of Honor of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, an honor conferred on her "for her many acts of devotion to his memory," through Gen.

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

. She was a member of the Chicago Academy of Science; member, Nineteenth Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry; member, Society for the Advancement of Women; and member, American Society of Authors. She also served as president, South Side Study Club of Chicago; and vice-president, Woman's National Press Association of Washington for Illinois. Roby did a good deal of literary work under the pen-name "Miles Standish". She published a large volume entitled ''Heart Beats of the Republic''.

Personal life

She married General Edward Roby, a constitutional lawyer of Chicago. They had two sons, Edward and Charles. After an illness of six months, Lelia Roby died at her residence in

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown. ...

, Illinois, September 18, 1910.

Selected works

* ''Heart Beats of the Republic''

References

External links

* *
Lelia P. Roby ''et al.'' v. Louisa Murphy. (1889)
at ''Reports of Cases Determined in the Appellate Courts of Illinois'', Volume 31, By Illinois. Appellate Court (Chicago: Callaghan & Company, 1890) {{DEFAULTSORT:Roby, Lelia P. 1848 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women writers Daughters of the American Revolution people 19th-century American philanthropists American founders Women founders People from Boston Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century 19th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers Clubwomen Grand Army of the Republic People from Chicago