Helen Marston Beardsley was born in 1892 in San Diego, California. The youngest of five children, Helen became an outspoken defender of civil liberties and peace ideals in San Diego and Los Angeles. She was graduated from the Bishops School for Girls in la Jolla and was a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Helen founded the San Diego chapter of the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom(WILPF) in 1923 and the San Diego chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) in 1933.
Helen married Los Angeles lawyer John Beardsley in 1935 at the age of forty three. She had one son, George Beardsley.
After graduating from Wellesley Helen worked in the Settlement House movement in New York and Chicago. It was in Chicago that she met Jane Addams and took classes at Hull House. In San Diego, Helen worked at Neighborhood House, a local relief agency that primarily aided the immigrant Mexican population. Helen also taught at several "progressive" schools in San Diego county. She grew tired of teaching. Politics caught her attention.
During the 1930's, she and her friend Ettilie Wallace were active socialists. Helen was the secretary of the local Socialist party. In 1934, Helen traveled to the Imperial Valley as part of a delegation of ACLU and WILPF members to enforce a federal injunction requested by the ACLU to allow farmworkers to peacefully assemble. Although she and the other WILPF members were harassed out of town by a grower's union organized by Mexican consulate Joaquin Terrazas, Helen returned to the Imperial Valley several times after that incident to help union efforts.
After the death of her husband, Helen returned to La Jolla in 1961. She lived in a small cottage heated by firewood which she chopped. She reorganized the San Diego WILPF chapter and become lifelong friends with Florence Stevens, a peace activist from Del Mar. Together they worked with the Quakers to demonstrate against nuclear testing, the military draft, and the Vietnam War.
Among Helen's other achievements, they included support for the farmworker's movement and registering voters in Selma, Alabama in the Spring of 1965. Helen's activism continued until shortly before her death in February 1982. The last few years of her life she returned to live at the Marston House with her older sisters Mary and Elizabeth. Upon her passing, the Quakers held a religious service honoring her many contributions towards peace making efforts.
Helen married Los Angeles lawyer John Beardsley in 1935 at the age of forty three. She had one son, George Beardsley.
After graduating from Wellesley Helen worked in the Settlement House movement in New York and Chicago. It was in Chicago that she met Jane Addams and took classes at Hull House. In San Diego, Helen worked at Neighborhood House, a local relief agency that primarily aided the immigrant Mexican population. Helen also taught at several "progressive" schools in San Diego county. She grew tired of teaching. Politics caught her attention.
During the 1930's, she and her friend Ettilie Wallace were active socialists. Helen was the secretary of the local Socialist party. In 1934, Helen traveled to the Imperial Valley as part of a delegation of ACLU and WILPF members to enforce a federal injunction requested by the ACLU to allow farmworkers to peacefully assemble. Although she and the other WILPF members were harassed out of town by a grower's union organized by Mexican consulate Joaquin Terrazas, Helen returned to the Imperial Valley several times after that incident to help union efforts.
After the death of her husband, Helen returned to La Jolla in 1961. She lived in a small cottage heated by firewood which she chopped. She reorganized the San Diego WILPF chapter and become lifelong friends with Florence Stevens, a peace activist from Del Mar. Together they worked with the Quakers to demonstrate against nuclear testing, the military draft, and the Vietnam War.
Among Helen's other achievements, they included support for the farmworker's movement and registering voters in Selma, Alabama in the Spring of 1965. Helen's activism continued until shortly before her death in February 1982. The last few years of her life she returned to live at the Marston House with her older sisters Mary and Elizabeth. Upon her passing, the Quakers held a religious service honoring her many contributions towards peace making efforts.
Helen Marston Beardsley was born in 1892 in San Diego, California. The youngest of five children, Helen became an outspoken defender of civil liberties and peace ideals in San Diego and Los Angeles. She was graduated from the Bishops School for Girls in la Jolla and was a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Helen founded the San Diego chapter of the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom(WILPF) in 1923 and the San Diego chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU) in 1933.
Helen married Los Angeles lawyer John Beardsley in 1935 at the age of forty three. She had one son, George Beardsley.
After graduating from Wellesley Helen worked in the Settlement House movement in New York and Chicago. It was in Chicago that she met Jane Addams and took classes at Hull House. In San Diego, Helen worked at Neighborhood House, a local relief agency that primarily aided the immigrant Mexican population. Helen also taught at several "progressive" schools in San Diego county. She grew tired of teaching. Politics caught her attention.
During the 1930's, she and her friend Ettilie Wallace were active socialists. Helen was the secretary of the local Socialist party. In 1934, Helen traveled to the Imperial Valley as part of a delegation of ACLU and WILPF members to enforce a federal injunction requested by the ACLU to allow farmworkers to peacefully assemble. Although she and the other WILPF members were harassed out of town by a grower's union organized by Mexican consulate Joaquin Terrazas, Helen returned to the Imperial Valley several times after that incident to help union efforts.
After the death of her husband, Helen returned to La Jolla in 1961. She lived in a small cottage heated by firewood which she chopped. She reorganized the San Diego WILPF chapter and become lifelong friends with Florence Stevens, a peace activist from Del Mar. Together they worked with the Quakers to demonstrate against nuclear testing, the military draft, and the Vietnam War.
Among Helen's other achievements, they included support for the farmworker's movement and registering voters in Selma, Alabama in the Spring of 1965. Helen's activism continued until shortly before her death in February 1982. The last few years of her life she returned to live at the Marston House with her older sisters Mary and Elizabeth. Upon her passing, the Quakers held a religious service honoring her many contributions towards peace making efforts.
Helen married Los Angeles lawyer John Beardsley in 1935 at the age of forty three. She had one son, George Beardsley.
After graduating from Wellesley Helen worked in the Settlement House movement in New York and Chicago. It was in Chicago that she met Jane Addams and took classes at Hull House. In San Diego, Helen worked at Neighborhood House, a local relief agency that primarily aided the immigrant Mexican population. Helen also taught at several "progressive" schools in San Diego county. She grew tired of teaching. Politics caught her attention.
During the 1930's, she and her friend Ettilie Wallace were active socialists. Helen was the secretary of the local Socialist party. In 1934, Helen traveled to the Imperial Valley as part of a delegation of ACLU and WILPF members to enforce a federal injunction requested by the ACLU to allow farmworkers to peacefully assemble. Although she and the other WILPF members were harassed out of town by a grower's union organized by Mexican consulate Joaquin Terrazas, Helen returned to the Imperial Valley several times after that incident to help union efforts.
After the death of her husband, Helen returned to La Jolla in 1961. She lived in a small cottage heated by firewood which she chopped. She reorganized the San Diego WILPF chapter and become lifelong friends with Florence Stevens, a peace activist from Del Mar. Together they worked with the Quakers to demonstrate against nuclear testing, the military draft, and the Vietnam War.
Among Helen's other achievements, they included support for the farmworker's movement and registering voters in Selma, Alabama in the Spring of 1965. Helen's activism continued until shortly before her death in February 1982. The last few years of her life she returned to live at the Marston House with her older sisters Mary and Elizabeth. Upon her passing, the Quakers held a religious service honoring her many contributions towards peace making efforts.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
