Martha Root

Martha Louise Root (August 10, 1872 – September 28, 1939) was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, then head of the Bahá'í Faith, called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously. Known by her numerous visits with Heads of State and other public figures, of special importance was her efforts with Queen Marie of Romania, considered the first royal to accept Bahá'u'lláh.

Martha Root was born on August 10, 1872 to Timothy and Nancy Root in Richwood, Ohio. She had two older brothers, Clarence and Claude. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, where her father ran a dairy farm. Martha, known as Mattie, was not a typical girl, since her interest lay in books rather than the usual domestic pursuits, and when she was 14 she earned enough money from writing to pay for a trip to Niagara Falls. She distinguished herself in high school and college, attending Oberlin College, where she designed her own program; she then continued to the University of Chicago and earned her degree in 1895.

While she started teaching after her degree, she gave that up to start writing for different newspapers. In the summer of 1900 she worked at the Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph as the society editor, and then in the fall she worked for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. She then started writing about automobiles, which took her to France and then back to Pittsburgh.

In 1909 she met Roy C. Wilhelm who introduced her to the Bahá'í Faith by giving her some literature. While researching the religion for several months she met several members of the Bahá'í community, including Thornton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago, and she, later in that year, declared her faith in the Bahá'í teachings. During this time, she kept on writing and in 1909 she wrote a detailed article for the Pittsburgh Post about the history and teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. She also participated in the first annual Bahá'í convention, which took place in Chicago in 1911.

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