Lea Taylor and her siblings were the only children to have lived in the settlement houses, moving to the Chicago Commons Settlement house with her family when she was 11.  Because of this, she likely spent more of her time living in a settlement house than any other resident, from her young age until her retirement, except the four years she attended Vassar College.  

 

This experience of living in a poor neighborhood, among poor residents of Chicago, gave her great credibility to advocate on their behalf. She described her and her peers as the “transitional generation”, between the Progressive pioneers (like her father and Jane Addams), and the era of the social workers.