Elizabeth Watkins (philanthropist)

Elizabeth Josephine Watkins (1861-1939) was a philanthropist, best known for funding hospitals and scholarship halls in Lawrence, Kansas.

She was born Elizabeth Josephine Miller in New Paris, Ohio in 1861.[1] Her family moved to Lawrence, Kansas in 1872,[1] where she attended preparatory school at the University of Kansas.[2] In 1875, her father's death forced her to leave school and find work to financially support her family.[3] She worked at J.B. Watkins Land and Mortgage Company, where she eventually became the secretary to the company's wealthy founder and president, Jabez Bunting Watkins.[3] In 1909, Elizabeth Miller's mother died, and she married J.B. Watkins.[1] J.B. died in 1921 and left his entire fortune of $2.4 million to Elizabeth Watkins.[1]

Watkins' major donations include building the Watkins Scholarship Hall at KU (1926), Lawrence Memorial Hospital (1928), Watkins Memorial Hospital (1931), Watkins Nurses Home (1937), and Miller Scholarship Hall at KU (1937).[3] She also donated the Watkins Bank Building to the City of Lawrence in 1929 (a property initially belonging to her husband through his role as president of Watkins National Bank).[3] This building was used as Lawrence City Hall until 1970, when it was transferred to the Douglas County Historical Society, which now runs the Elizabeth Miller Watkins Community Museum there.[3]

Elizabeth Watkins died in 1939.[3] She bequeathed substantial property to the University of Kansas, including her home, which is now the Chancellor's residence.[3] Her papers are held with those of her husband in the KU Kenneth Spencer Research Library.[4]

Further reading

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Burchill, Mary Dresser; Hoagland, Norma Decker (2023). The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Miller Watkins: A Pioneering Philanthropist. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 9780700634248.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "LAWRENCE IN PERSPECTIVE: Elizabeth Watkins". 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  2. ^ "The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Miller Watkins". University Press of Kansas. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Miller Watkins – Watkins Museum of History". www.watkinsmuseum.org. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  4. ^ "Collection: J. B. Watkins papers | Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections". archives.lib.ku.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
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