Elizabeth Cutter Morrow

Elizabeth Reeve Cutter Morrow (May 29, 1873 – January 24, 1955) was an American poet, champion of women's education, and purveyor of Mexican culture. She wrote several children's books and collections of poetry. She and her husband, ambassador Dwight Morrow, collected a wide variety of art while in Mexico and helped popularize Mexican folk art in the United States. Early life Elizabeth Reeve Cutter, called Betty, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Charles Cutter and Annie Spencer Cutter. Besides her twin sister Mary, Betty had three younger sisters. The Cutters lived in Cleveland with their extended family before moving in 1888 to a home Charles built nearby. Annie Cutter raised her children to be pious and respect etiquette, and the Bible was a regular study tool in the Cutters' home. Betty learned to love reading and writing from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Both Mary and Betty were sickly children, and, in 1879, both sisters became ill enough that the family decided to move to New Orleans, Louisiana. Supposedly, the warm weather would cure the girls' sickness. The trip South was meant to be temporary, but Mary's declining health kept the family in New Orleans. On November 22, 1882, Mary died from tuberculosis. Afterwards, Mrs. Cutter became overprotective about Betty's health. In March 1883 Betty was sent to live with her uncle John Spencer, a medical doctor in Dayton, Ohio. Betty disliked her trips to Dayton and began a lifelong habit of writing in a diary to cope with her stress. Through this exercise, she met her uncle Arthur, who encouraged her love of books and writing. Betty's health recovered, and in 1888, she went to the Republican Convention with her uncle Charles, a wealthy man. Betty yearned to live like her uncle, but this dream seemed unattainable as the family lived in modest financial circumstances. Education Cutter attended Smith College from 1892 to 1896. The summer before her sophomore year, her father lost his job and was unable to pay for tuition, so her uncle Arthur paid for her remaining years at Smith. During her sophomore year, Dwight Morrow began a courting with Betty after they met at a dance.