Wilhelmina Harris

rdf:langString Wilhelmina Harris

rdf:langString Wilhelmina Harris

rdf:langString Wilhelmina Harris

rdf:langString Quincy, Massachusetts, United States

rdf:langString Franklin, Alabama, United States

rdf:langString Social Secretary to Brooks Adams and his wife. Superintendent of Peacefield and later the Adams National Historical Park, National Park Service

rdf:langString Wilhelmina Sellers Harris (March 22, 1896 – May 20, 1991) was an American historian and writer. Harris’s connection to American history began in 1920 when she was hired as social secretary to Brooks Adams and his wife, Evelyn. Adams was the last descendant of U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams to live in the family home, Peacefield, also known as the Old House, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Harris lived and worked with them for almost seven years. In 1948, after raising her family, Wilhelmina Harris applied for and was hired by the National Park Service to work at Peacefield, which it had recently added to its portfolio of historic sites, because of her intimate knowledge of the household. Two years later, Harris was promoted to superintendent and she continued to serve the Adams family and the National Park Service until her full retirement 37 years later, in 1987. By the time she retired, Wilhelmina Harris had written a dozen books on the property, overseen several Adams property construction updates, and received many professional awards.