Helen Edson McFadden

Helen spent her early years in Berlin where her father was a representative for various American business interests.³ In May 1915, the family moved from Berlin to Switzerland where her father continued to represent American and international businessess.⁴

From New York Times articles that periodically mentioned the family and its activities in Europe, we know a few things about Helen during that period of her life. For example, one article mentions that Helen graduated in June of 1914 from the Williard School for American Girls located in Berlin.⁵ Earlier that same year, a February article in the New York Times indicates that Helen was preparing to attend college in the United States.⁶ A couple of years later, in 1916, the Times reports on Helen's horseback riding activities while a guest at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.⁷ It is likely that she was attending college at the time, but the article does make mention of that fact.

On November 11, 1919, in Washington, DC, Helen E. McFadden married Roland M. Comfort, which is where Helen's story continues.⁸

¹ Date and place of birth that she declared on her U.S. Passport Applications dated February 15, 1915, August 23, 1915, April 16, 1918 and October 29, 1919. Helen's date of birth also is listed on a 1920 passenger list. S.S. Lafayette, LeHavre to N.Y., January 21, 1920, NARA, T715 Roll 2720 Page 12 Line 18.
² Her mother, Anne, was born in Rahway, New Jersey, on June 18, 1871, and her father was born in New York, New York, on October 3, 1865.
³ On her April 1918 U.S. passport application, Helen stated that she had resided in "Berlin, Germany from July 1895 to May 1915." She also stated that her father was residing in Geneva, Switzerland, "for the purpose of representing American business interests." Consular Form 176B, American Consulate, 6 Rue Michel Chauvet, Geneva, Switzerland, April 16, 1918. Passport #20696 is stamped on the front of the application.
⁴ On a U.S. Passport Application dated October 29, 1919, Helen stated that she had resided in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 1915 to May 1919." Passport #134820 is stamped on the front of the application.
⁵ New York Times, June 7, 1914, p. C2..
⁶ NewYork Times, Sunday, Feb. 1, 1914, p. C2.
⁷ New York Times, Saturday, June 24, 1916, p. 11.
⁸ Comfort v. Comfort, 17 Cal 2d 736 - Roland M. Comfort, Respondent v. Helen E. Comfort, Appellant. The date of their marriage is mentioned in this case.

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