Wilhelmina Harris

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Wilhelmina Harris
BornMarch 22, 1896 (1896-03-22)
Franklin, Alabama, United States
DiedMay 20, 1991(1991-05-20) (aged 95)
Quincy, Massachusetts, United States
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
OccupationSocial Secretary to Brooks Adams and his wife. Superintendent of Peacefield and later the Adams National Historical Park, National Park Service

Wilhelmina Sellers Harris (March 22, 1896 – May 20, 1991) was an American historian and writer. Harris’ connection to American history began in 1918 when she was hired as social secretary to Brooks Adams (and his wife) the last descendant of US Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams to live in the family home. Harris lived with them at Peacefield for almost a decade until 1927.[1]

In 1948, after raising her family, Wilhelmina Harris applied for and was hired by the National Park Service to work at a recently added park, the Adams family home because of her intimate knowledge of the household. Harris was promoted to superintendent in two years (1950) and continued to serve the Adams family and the National Park Service until her full retirement 37 years later, in 1987.[2] By the time she retired Wilhelmina Harris had written a dozen books on the property, overseen several Adams property construction updates, and received many professional awards.[3]

Personal[]

In 1927, before her work with the Adams family at Peacefield ended, Harris married her West Point educated beau who purchased the stately Victorian home across the street from the Adams family home. Together they raised three sons.

In 1947, Colonel Frank E. Harris died. His grave is in Arlington National Cemetery.[4]

In 1948, Harris was hired by the National Park Service and worked nearly four decades on the Adams family properties which in time became the Adams National Historical Park.

In 1991, Wilhelmina Sellers Harris died at the age of 95, four years after she fully retired from the NPS. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[5] Her obituary was published in the New York Times.[6]

Career[]

In 1918, just out of college, Wilhelmina Harris was hired as social secretary to Brooks Adams, the last descendant of the Adams presidents living in the Adams family home.[1]

For almost a decade, Harris lived with and worked intimately with the family until Brooks’ death in 1926 and his wife's death in 1928.

Two decades later, after Mr. Harris died, Wilhelmina Harris began her work with the National Park Service. She started as an historical aide working on the Adams family properties. In only two years, in 1950, Harris was promoted superintendent of the Adams properties. She was one of the first woman superintendents of the NPS.[7]

Awards[]

  • In 1970, Secretary Hickel of the Department of the Interior presented her with the Department's highest award—the Distinguished Service Award.[8][3]
  • In 1983 she received the Sustained Special Achievement Award for her work on the restoration of the Adams' birthplaces and recently published booklet.[3]

Recognition[]

  • Paul C Nagle's 1983 book “Descent From Glory: Four Generations of the John Adams Family” is dedicated to Wilhelmina Sellers Harris.
  • “She [Wilhelmina (Sellers) Harris] was the National Park Service's first woman superintendent of a national historic site.” [9]
  • Harris is the only non-Adams member of the Adams Family Association.[10]

Publications and Books[]

  • The Adams National Historic Site: a Family's Legacy to America / (Washington, D.C. : National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior: [For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.], 1983), also by Wilhelmina S. Harris (page images at HathiTrust)[11]
  • Furnishings Report, Old House, Vol. I-IX, Harris, Wilhelmina[12]
  • The Brooks Adams I Knew, Yale Review, Wilhelmina S. Harris, (1969)[13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Years later this home became part of the National Park Service’s group of Adams properties called the Adams National Historical Park.
  2. ^ Lambert, Lane (April 23, 2016). "Adams Park at 70: Once a House, Now a Brand". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved 19 Jun 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Holland, F. Ross (March 1984). "Superwoman Wilhelmina Harris" (PDF). COURIER. Retrieved 19 Jun 2021.
  4. ^ See Find-a-Grave page and tombstone photo. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49198643/frank-e-harris
  5. ^ See Find-a-Grave page and tombstone photo. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116690248/wilhelmina-harris
  6. ^ Wilhelmina Harris, 95; Directed Historic Site. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/29/obituaries/wilhelmina-harris-95-directed-historic-site.html, retrieved 27 Jun 2021
  7. ^ Special People: Superwoman Wilhelmina Harris, COURIER, March 1984, p. 16. http://npshistory.com/newsletters/courier/courier-v29n3.pdf
  8. ^ "Department of Interior Awards & Recognition". Retrieved 19 Jun 2021.
  9. ^ See page 42, Deaths section of the National Park Service’s newsletter Courier. Fall 1991. url: http://npshistory.com/newsletters/courier/courier-v36n3.pdf
  10. ^ Special People: Superwoman Wilhelmina Harris, COURIER, March 1984, p. 16. url:http://npshistory.com/newsletters/courier/courier-v29n3.pdf
  11. ^ http://npshistory.com/handbooks/historical/adams/family-legacy.pdf
  12. ^ Furnishings Report on the Adams Family, a 9 volume set. https://archive.org/details/furnishingsrepor00mass
  13. ^ See note at bottom of article about the best writings about Brooks Adams. https://uudb.org/articles/brooksadams.html
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