Representative women of New England/Elizabeth E. Boit

by Mary H. Graves

ELIZABETH E. BOIT

ELIZABETH EATON BOIT, one of the founders and owners of the Harvard Knitting Mill, Wakefield, was born in Newton, Mass., July 9, 1849. Her parents were James Henry and Amanda Church (Berry) Boit, who were married May 7, 1846, her mother being a daughter of Isaac and Phoebe (Emerson) Berry, of Bridgton, Me. Her paternal grandfather, John Boit, a native of Boston, turned his attention to farming and resided in Groton, Mass. He married Rebecca Wesson, and had a family of eleven children.*- Miss Boit's father was born in Groton, Au- gust 13, 1824. He learned the trade of an engineer, but later engaged in the paper manufacturing business at Newton Lower Falls for many years. For twenty years he served as janitor of the Hamilton School building at the Lower Falls, and he was for a long period sexton of Saint Mary's (Episcopal) Church. He died January 16, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. James Henry Boit celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding in 1896. They reared six daughters: Julia Amanda, born April 12, 1847, who died March 15, 1861; Elizabeth Eaton, the subject of this sketch; Clara Rebecca, born February 3, 1851; Harriet Maria, born August 11, 1853; Helen Augusta, born November 29, 1859; and Susan Henrietta, born January 31, 1864, who died May 4, 1886. Clara R. married on October 20, 1870, G. W Morse, of Newtonville, Mass.; Harriet M. married March 1, 1881, A. C. Wiswall, of Wellesley, Mass.; and Helen A. married June 26, 1882, Dr. ¥. W. Freeman, of Newton Lower Falls.

Elizabeth Eaton Boit pursued her elementary studies in the Newton public schools; and after her graduation from the grammar school she took a two years' course at Lasell Seminary, Auburndale. When eighteen years old she accepted the position of timekeeper in the sewing, or finishing, department of the Dudley Hosiery Knitting Mill, Newton, of which H. B. Scudder was at that time agent. The able and whole-souled manner in which she performed her duties soon caused her promotion to the post of assistant forewDman, from which she was shortly aft<»rward advanced to the position of forewoman; and in five years' time she was given full charge of the finishing department. When Mr. Scuckler established the Allstou Mills at AUston, Mass., for the manufacture of hosiery and children's scarlet-wool goods, she accepted the superintendency of the new enterprise, which she retained for five years, or until the property was sold.

Desirous of connecting herself with a business in which she could have a personal financial interest, she formed a partnership with Charles N. Winship, formerly of the Dudley Mill and afterward foreman of the knitting department of the Allston Mill. In 1888 the firm of Winship, Boit & Co. established the Harvard Knitting Mill at Cambridge, Mass., from which city they moved to Wakefield in the following year, and resumed operations in the Wakefield Block, occupying one floor. They inaugurated their enterprise with a small capital but with a thorough knowledge of the business, Miss Boit assuming charge of the finances as well as the general superintendency of the finishing department, while Mr. Winshi]) attended to the knitting and other branches of the work. The laudable aim of placing gooils upon the market which should be a credit to themselves, serving also to elevate the standard of the American textile fabric industry, resulted in securing such a wide popularity and increasing demand for the Harvard brand of underwear as to make necessary the enlargement of their facilities from time to time, until they were at length compelled to erect a building for their exclusive use.

The present Harvard Knitting Mill, which stands upon an acre of ground in the immediate vicinity of the Wakefield station of the Boston & Maine Railway, was completed in 1897, and is fully equipped with modern machinery and appliances for producing the highest quality of knit goods. The building, which is of brick and is one hundred and eighty-two feet long by sixty-seven feet wide, with a three-story wing, forty by thirty feet, contains three floors and a basement. The basement is used for storage purposes. The folding, packing, and shipping are all done on the first floor, which also contains the business offices. The second floor is devoted to the finishing department, while the knitting room is located on the third floor. There are in use one hundred and fifty-five knitting machines, one hundred and twenty sewing machines, eight looping machines, and twenty winders, operated by a force of over three hundred hands and producing five hundred and fifty dozen articles daily. The products, which consist of cotton, cotton and silk, woollen, and woollen and silk knit goods, arc distributed to the retail trade by Messrs. William Lselin & Co., of New York City.

Miss Boit is said to be the only woman in the United States who is actively engaged in conducting a textile fabric manufactory. Although her numerous business duties are so exacting as to demand her closest personal attention, she has found time to familiarize herself with various other interests and institutions, among them the Ladies' Aid Society of Massachusetts. She was for a time treasurer of the Aged AA'omen's Home, and also of the Kosmos Club (a local literary organization). She is especially interested in the welfare of young girls, particularly those in her employ, and avails herself of every opportunity to further the progress and well-being of the wage-earners of her sex.