Eleanor Finch
Personal Information
Born: Unknown
Died: Unknown
Country of Birth: Unknown
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Unknown
"“The river,” she said, “only sleeps. The stories do not.” (facebook.com); "
— Eleanor Finch
Professional Life
Field of Study: Librarian
Institution/Corporation: None found
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: None found
Achievements: 1 of the Book Boat Women who, in 1904, transformed old barges into floating libraries
was a schoolteacher from Iowa
spent her savings on purchasing a decommissioned barge & with 2 of her friends refurbished it & christened it The Knowledge Belle, loaded it with shelves, books, kerosene lamps, and a hand-cranked printing press that produced small pamphlets of local poetry and news & the women taught reading lessons right on deck
1 harsh winter after the river froze she walked miles across icy banks carrying sacks of books on her back, ensuring no child missed their reading
no information about her personal life was found