Woman Is Appointed to Indian Service at a Handsome Salary

The Register-Leader, May 4, 1907

Friends here of Mrs. Elsie Newton, widow of the late Dr. C. William Newton, who was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Newton, will be pleased to learn of an honor which was recently conferred upon her. The following is a copy of an item recently sent out under a Washington dateline:

"Mrs. Elsie Newton of Washington, D.C., is the first woman to receive a commission as special agent of the Indian Bureau. She was appointed April 23 at a salary of $2,000 per year. She is a daughter of the late General John Eaton, for many years United States Commissioner of Education [and president of Marietta College, 1885-91], and the widow of a physician once in the Indian service. 

"Commissioner Leupp proposes to assign her to the department which purchases supplies for the Indians. He says a woman knows more about what Indian children should wear than a man does, and that she is a better judge of the quality of goods.

"Mrs. Newton will make a tour of the Indian schools of the west, immediately, and take notes on the class of wearing apparel suitable for the Indian pupils in the different localities."

Mrs. Newton is well known in Marietta, where she has frequently visited the parents of her husband.