Person

Ellen Collins

A wealthy, unmarried New Yorker channels her privilege into pioneering humanitarian efforts during the Civil War, founding a relief organization that transforms the lives of soldiers and, after the war, fights for education and justice for formerly enslaved Americans.

In short · Working since 2013, 2 decades active.

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Biography

Ellen Collins was an American philanthropist and civic reformer who dedicated her life to New York City. Born into a wealthy family, she became a founding member in 1861 of the Woman's Central Association of Relief, the New York branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, which provided aid to sick and injured Civil War soldiers. She worked alongside notable reformers such as Louisa Lee Schuyler. After the war, Collins continued her reform efforts, collaborating with figures like Josephine Shaw Lowell to support education for formerly enslaved individuals through the National Freedman's Relief Association.

Filmography · 3 of 3

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