BARTON, CLARA, an American phi lanthropist, born in Oxford, Mass., in 1830; was educated at Clinton, N. Y., and early became a teacher, and founded at Bordentown, N. J., a free school, open ing it with six pupils. In 1854 it had grown to 600, when she became a clerk in the Patent office in Washington. On the outbreak of the Civil War she be came a volunteer nurse in the army hos pitals and on the battle-field. In 1864 she was appointed by General Butler to the charge of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James. She was present at several battles, and in 1865 went to Andersonville, Ga., to identify and mark the graves of Union prisoners buried there, and was placed by President Lin coln in charge of the search for missing men of the Union armies. She lectured on her war experiences in 1866-1867. In the Franco-Prussian War, in 1870, she aided the Grand Duchess of Baden in preparing military hospitals, assisted the Red Cross Society, superintended the distribution of work to the poor of Stras burg, in 1871, after the siege, and in 1872 in Paris. She was decorated with the Golden Cross of Baden and the Iron Cross of Germany. On the organization
of the American Red Cross Society in 1881, she was made its President, and in 1884 had charge of the relief of sufferers from the .Mississippi and Ohio floods. She was Special Commissioner for For eign Exhibits at the New Orleans Ex position in 1883, represented the United States at the Red Cross Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1884, and was delegate to the International Peace Con ference in Geneva the same year. In 1889 she had charge of relief of sufferers from the floods at Johnstown, Pa.; in 1892 dis tributed relief to the Russian famine sufferers; in 1896, personally directed relief measures at the scenes of the Armenian massacres; in 1898, at the request of President McKinley, took relief to the Cuban reconcentrados, and performed field work during the war with Spain; and in 1900 undertook to direct the relief of sufferers at Galveston. In 1904 she resigned her presidency of the Red Cross Society. Her published works include: "Story of the Red Cross" (1904) ; "Story of My Childhood" (1907). Miss Barton died in 1912.