Helen Swift
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helen Swift Morris Neilson was a member of the Chicago family which owned the Swift & Company meat packing business.
In 1890 she married Edward Morris, president of Morris & Company, another meat-packing company. Their daughter Muriel Gardiner, became a renowned psychiatrist.
Edward Morris died in 1913, leaving Helen Swift a millionaire. Recruited by her brother Harold H. Swift, she became a significant donor to the library of the University of Chicago.
In 1917 she was married again, to Francis Neilson, who was one of the editors of The Freeman; when the publication was started she guaranteed its expenses for three years, although her name was not publicly attached to the paper. At the end of three years it had not gained a sufficient circulation to be self-supporting, so she extended her guarantee for another year.
