Ellen Webster Palmer was an early advocate for breaker boys and child labor laws.  Born in 1839 in Plattsburg, New York, Palmer later relocated to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where she worked as an elementary school teacher. She married Henry Wilbur Palmer in 1861, and together they had eight children. 

Palmer became notable for her advocacy for breaker boys—young boys aged six to nine who endured grueling 10-12 hour shifts in the coal mines six days a week.  At that time, child labor laws either did not exist, or were not enforced to protect them from being put to work in the mines.

In 1891, she helped establish the Boys Industrial Association (BIA), which by 1899 operated its own building in downtown Wilkes-Barre.  The BIA provided instruction in mathematics, reading, and writing. During summer, Palmer organized trips for the breaker boys to Lake Nuangola for recreation. She was supported by Mary L. Trescott, Luzerne County’s first female lawyer, who served as secretary of the BIA and assisted in expanding and relocating the association to a larger facility.