Helen Swift Neilson
Helen Swift Neilson (1869 – 18 June 1945) was an American writer and art collector.
Helen Swift Neilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1869 |
| Died | 18 June 1945 (aged 76) |
| Spouse(s) | Edward Morris (spouse) Francis Neilson |
| Children | Edward Morris, Jr. Nelson Morris Ruth Morris Bakwin Muriel Morris Gardiner Buttinger |
| Parent |
|
| Family | Ira Nelson Morris (brother-in-law) Nelson Morris (father-in-law) |
Biography
Neilson was the daughter of Annie Maria (née Higgins) and Gustavus Franklin Swift, founder of the meatpacking company Swift & Co. Her first husband was Edward Morris, son of Nelson Morris, the founder of Morris & Company, a competitor to her father.[1] They had 4 children: Edward Morris, Jr., Nelson Swift Morris, Ruth Morris Bakwin, and Muriel Morris Gardiner Buttinger.[1][2] In 1913, her husband died and in 1917, she remarried to British politician and writer Francis Neilson, with whom she founded the weekly paper The Freeman in 1920.[3]
She is perhaps best known for her book about her parents called My Father and My Mother.[4]
Neilson died in Chicago. She bequeathed several notable paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Portrait of Janet Law, by Henry Raeburn_MET_DP162153.jpg.webp)
Portrait of Mrs. Thomas Pechell (Charlotte Clavering, died 1841), by John Hoppner_MET_DP162152.jpg.webp)
Portrait of Thomas Pechell (1753–1826), by John Hoppner
References
- Roth, Nelson (Spring 2008). "Nelson Morris and "The Yards"" (PDF). Chicago Jewish Historical Society.
- "Nelson Morris Dies In N.Y. as He Leaves Ship". Chicago Tribune. October 7, 1955.
- In Memoriam: Helen Swift Neilson, The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Jul., 1945), pp. 511-513, on Jstor
- My Father and My Mother, The Lakeside Press, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, 1937