Elizabeth Boit

Elizabeth Eaton Boit (1849–1932) was an American textile manufacturer and philanthropist.

She was born in Newton, Massachusetts on July 9, 1849. At 18, she was a timekeeper at the Dudley Hosiery Knitting Mill. She became forewoman of the sewing department within five years. She became superintendent of Allston Mills in 1883. She formed a partnership with Charles N. Winship in 1888 and they founded the Harvard Knitting Mill, which specialized in women's undergarments. They moved the business to Wakefield and completed a plant there in 1897.[1] Boit was known for her generosity and set up a profit-sharing program for her employees. At its peak, the plant had 850 employees and produced 24,000 garments per day.[2]

She turned over her interest in the business by the 1920s. She fell ill in her final years and died on November 14, 1932.[1] Her home, the Elizabeth Boit House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Lovett, Robert W. (1974). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-0-674-62734-5.
  2. ↑ Krismann, Carol H. (2005). "Boit, Elizabeth Eaton". Encyclopedia of American Women in Business (1st ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-313-33383-5.
  3. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

Further reading

  • Howe, Julia Ward, ed. (1904). Representative Women of New England. pp. 255–256.
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