Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/708

Rh Four children were born to them, two of whom with their father have passed on. During 1873-1874, Mrs. Ellis with her family were sojourning for a time in California. The great "temperance crusade," which had started in Ohio, found its way to the Pacific coast, and Mrs. Ellis, with other women, united in a movement to bring about better conditions in that western state. Upon their return to New Jersey in 1876, she identified herself with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of that state, and in 1880 was elected corresponding secretary of the state union, a position she held for fifteen years. In 1895 she was appointed legislative superintendent for the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, a position she still holds. For sixteen years she has spent her winters, or the time during the sessions of Congress at Washington, D. C, looking after the interests of temperance legislation. Mrs. Ellis has done much platform work, also, having spoken at Chautauquas, conventions, etc., in nearly every state in the union. Mrs. Ellis was appointed by President Taft as delegate to the Thirteenth International Non-Alcoholic Congress which met at The Hague in September, 1911, an official certificate from the department of state making her a representative of this government

Mrs. Ella Alexander Boole was born at Van Wert, Ohio, where she attended the graded and high schools, after which she entered the University of Wooster at Wooster, Ohio, being graduated in the classical course in 1878. Her record in college was second in her class of thirty-one, twenty-eight of whom were young men, and she was awarded the first prize in the Junior Oratorical Contest. After her graduation, she served as assistant in the high school in her native town for five years and in 1883 was married to the Rev. William H. Boole, an honored member of the New York East Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Her interest in the temperance work began at the time of the Crusade when as a schoolgirl she came in touch with that mighty movement. Her platform work began in 1883 and since that time she has been actively engaged in the prosecution of religious, temperance and philanthropic work. She has served New York Woman's Christian Temperance Union as an officer since 1885, having been elected corresponding secretary, first vice-president, secretary of the Young Woman's Branch, and in 1898 was elected president of the state. In 1903 she was elected secretary of the Woman's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, United States of America, and her active leadership in home missionary work was felt not only in that church but in Interdenominational home missionary endeavor. In 1909 she was again elected president of New York State Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which position she still holds.

As a member of the Woman's Press Club, chairman of the Woman's Anti-Vice Committee of New York City, president of the Allied Forces for Civic and Moral Betterment in the state of New York, and of many important committees in philanthropic work, she is well known among literary people and her platform experience has extended all over the nation.