Malden Library Event Highlights Life Of Nationally Known 'Soldiers' Friend'

This woman made an impact in the city and across the country during the 19th century.

By Benjamin Pierce, Patch Staff

Sep 17, 2026 1:19 PM EDT

MALDEN, MA — The life of a Malden woman who became nationally known for her work supporting Civil War veterans was recently highlighted at the Malden Public Library.

Historian Dee Morris led the program on Elzina Florence Barker, who lived from 1840 to 1897 and was once described by The Boston Globe as the nation's most widely known "soldiers' friend." Barker became known for encouraging women across the country to provide assistance to soldiers and their families. Her work eventually culminated in the founding of the Woman's Relief Corps in 1883, where she served as the organization's first national president.

The organization grew quickly under Barker's early leadership. A newspaper account published in 1892 reported that approximately 50 women attended the initial national gathering before membership grew to 10,085 by the following national encampment. Nearly $13,000 had also been spent on charitable work during that period. The Woman's Relief Corps worked closely with the Grand Army of the Republic to provide assistance to Union veterans and their families.

Barker also remained active locally, serving as a trustee of Malden Hospital, helping found the Ladies Aid Association and supporting the Soldiers' Home in Chelsea. Her husband, Colonel Thomas E. Barker, served in the Civil War before the couple settled on Chestnut Street in Malden following the conflict.

Barker remained involved in veterans' causes until she died in Malden in 1897. Her influence had spread beyond Massachusetts by that point, as Woman's Relief Corps chapters around the country later held memorial services in her honor. The Malden Evening News described Barker following her death as "a tower of strength to any cause she advanced."

Morris is a scholar and educational consultant specializing in the 19th-century history of Greater Boston. She is the author of "Medford: A Brief History" and "Boston in the Golden Age of Spiritualism: Séances, Mediums & Immortality." The Malden Public Library program was sponsored by the Robinson Lecture Fund.