Kent, Elizabeth Thacher
(22 Sept. 1868–15 Aug. 1952)
- J.D. Zahniser
Extract
Kent, Elizabeth Thacher (22 Sept. 1868–15 Aug. 1952), social reformer, suffragist, and environmentalist, was born Elizabeth Thacher in New Haven, Connecticut to Thomas Anthony Thacher, a professor and administrator at Yale, and his second wife, Elizabeth Baldwin Sherman. Both parents boasted long American lineages dating back to pre-Revolutionary times. Called “Bessie” or “Bess,” the young Elizabeth was the only girl among nine children in the blended family. She attended private schools in Connecticut. She shared a close bond with her cousin, Elizabeth Selden White, who lived nearby. The cousins married Yale classmates of Elizabeth’s brother William. Elizabeth Thacher married William Kent in ...
