Women's History Commons^™

Cora Ann Westmoreland, Kelli Johnson

Oral Histories – NPS AACR Civil Rights In Appalachia Grant

Kelli Johnson conducting an oral history interview with Cora Westmoreland.

This oral history is part of the National Park Service African Americans Civil Rights History and Appalachia Grant Program.

The Women Of Owen Clinic And Their Impact On Rural Mental Health, Mallory Stanley

Manuscripts

The mid-1900s was a pivotal moment in reforming mental health treatment in American Psychiatry. This movement becomes particularly clear when examining the championing work of two women, Dr. Thelma V. Owen and Dr. M. G. Stemmermann, at a rural mental health facility located in Huntington, WV: Owen Clinic Institute. While mental health stigma was at an extreme high among the general population, many factors aligned to allow for a new era of mental health care, including deinstitutionalization, World War II, and the advocation of professionals in the field. In West Virginia, no two people were more outspoken and active in …

"Our Women Are Made Of The Right Stuff": Gender, Politics, And Conflict In Civil War West Virginia, Amanda Romain Shaver

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

“’Our Women Are Made of the Right Stuff:’ Gender, Politics, and Conflict in Civil War West Virginia” examines the lives and contributions of white West Virginia women and argues that they were not merely victims of the war, but dynamic participants whose opinions were influential and whose actions determined the ability of both the Union and Confederate armies to wage war in Appalachia. Striking a balance between the antebellum standards of “True Womanhood” and the emerging ideals of the women’s rights movement, West Virginia women became politically engaged in both the statehood movement and the Civil War. They transformed their …

0843: Katharine Rodier Collection, 1974-2011, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Personal writing, class notes, photograph, professional works, correspondences, professional materials, and mementos of Katharine Rodier during her collegiate career and career in the English Department of Marshall University.

0841: Mary Lois Garrett Collection, 1941-1954, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection spans the years 1941-1954, with the bulk of the research covering the years 1950-1954. File contents were maintained in the way in which they were originally received, but folders have been arranged in a more chronological order. Some notes are entirely handwritten, while logs and records consist of typed templates which have been filled-in by hand. Notes contain illustrations of birds and nests, graphs of bird activity during observance, and descriptions of bird behavior. Nesting logs have mostly been filled out by Mary Lois Garrett, but other authors contributed, including Twila Hessin, Ruth Geib, and an unspecified ornithology …

Creating A Female Athlete: The Power Of Societal Reimaging And Advertising In The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Kaitlyn M. Haines

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The All American Girls Professional Baseball League introduced an acceptable form of female sport to the United States during World War II. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League’s feminine image and high standards of the league provided a new quality team sport that the ever popular softball diamonds of industrial recreation had failed to reach. One of the reasons for their success was the attention to detail in the visual representation of the baseball league. Appearing in a time of heightened advertising and branding, a visual representation of the League was created to fit within the societal norms of …

0839: Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Papers, 1941-2006, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection contains the personal, educational, and professional possessions of Mildred Mitchell-Bateman. The collection includes correspondence, newspaper articles, association newsletters, professional planners, financial documents, plaques, and other personal memorabilia. The materials document Bateman’s various roles within local, state, and national psychology and psychiatric organizations. The collection is organized into six series: Series 1, Personal; Series 2, Education; Series 3, Professional Experience; Series 4, Correspondence; Series 5, Associations; and Series 6, Bound Books, Bound Volumes and list of Newspapers.

To view materials from this collection that are digitized and available online, search the Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Papers, 1941-2006 here.

0833: Huntington League Of The Association Of Junior Leagues International, 1929-2015, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The Huntington Junior League of the Association of Junior Leagues International records consist of newspapers, League Lines, magazines, scrapbooks, organizational materials, cookbook recipes, Garden Club material, horse show material, etc. The focus of the collection is evenly distributed among the different series. The reason the Garden Club series is so large is because there were numerous large items that had to separated. The inclusive dates range from 1929-2015, however most materials are the 1940s to the 1960s.

0835: The Links, Incorporated Collection, 1955-2016, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Established in 1955, the Huntington, West Virginia chapter of The Links, Incorporated is a women’s volunteer organization that works to support culture, education, health and wellness for seniors, adults, and youth in the African American community. The national Links, Incorporated organization, founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, oversees four regional areas, including the Central Area, which consists of 69 Links chapters in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The Huntington, WV chapter is the only Links, Incorporated chapter in West Virginia, and its activities extend to Williamson and Bluefield. Chapter members such …

0807: American Association Of University Women (Aauw), Wv Division, 1929-2011, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection contains paper and multimedia materials related to the American Association of University Women- West Virginia Division from 1929-2011. The collection includes meeting minutes, agendas, and officer reports, publications, initiative plans, and correspondence. Branch yearbooks and statewide directories are also included, as well as workshop materials. The “kits” associated with the collection were produced by the AAUW on a national level, and distributed to chapters. Each kit is representative of AAUW workshops.

0808: Katharine Marie Rodier Collection, 1974-2011, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Personal writing, class notes, photographs, financial records, dissertation, professional works, correspondence, travel information, magazines, cooking recipes, professional materials, and mementos of Katharine Rodier during her collegiate career and career in the English Department of Marshall University.

0804: Grand International Auxiliary To The Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection consists of a membership book for the Grand International Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Division 553, Huntington, West Virginia for the years 1915 to 1954. Information mentioned includes name, initials of husband, and address.

0796: Shirley Foster Streeby Mathews Collection, 1939-2003, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The bulk of the collection contains newspaper clippings that Mrs. Mathews collected over the years about her former students. There are also a few dozen photographs, along with wedding invitations, school pageants and programs, commencements, handwritten and typed correspondence, reunion correspondence, Greenline newsletters (a publication for Marshall University alumni), church programs, funeral/death announcements and holiday cards. Most of the photos are identified on the back.

Marriage Vows And Economic Discrimination: The Married Teacher Problem, Sabrina Thomas

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study analyzes the rapid increase of economic discrimination against married women teachers in the early twentieth century, particularly during the Depression. It challenges the notion that economic discrimination against married women teachers was simple, easy, and largely was unchallenged. I argue that the creation and proliferation of marriage bars in the early twentieth century involved a compounded and multifaceted set of economic and social concerns. Support for this argument is accomplished by examination of the national debate on marriage bars as well as careful investigation of the local debate illustrated in Huntington, West Virginia.

0774: West Virginia State Society, National Society United States Daughters Of 1812 Records, 1982-2009, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection contains the records for multiple chapters of the West Virginia State Society United Daughters of 1812. Chapters mentioned include the First West Virginia Chapter, Joshua Jones Chapter, Captain James Gibson Chapter, and the Lord Calvert Chapter. Records include yearly chapter reports to the West Virginia State Society, newsletters from the National Society, financial records, and assorted correspondence in record books regarding chapter activities. Louise Hickman materials in this collection include notes on chapter meetings, programs and papers presented at programs, and notes about early American music.

0770: Carrie Eldridge Collection, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Carrie Eldridge is a genealogical researcher in Chesapeake, Ohio. This collection contains photocopies of many county record books of the Appalachian areas of West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, ranging from the American Revolution until the end of the Civil War. The collection also contains high quality photographs of one room school houses of Cabell County, West Virginia, an audio cassette oral history, books, and pen nibs.

To view materials from this collection that are digitized and available online, search the Carrie Eldridge Collection here.

0763: Elizabeth Francis Agee Scrapbook, 1929-1934, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection consists of one scrapbook entitled containing photographs, ephemera, and memorabilia collected by Elizabeth Francis (later Agee) during and after her time at Marshall. Materials in the scrapbook include an autograph and note section, dance cards, sorority correspondence and invitations, student government materials, a student directory, event programs, photographs of Francis at Marshall and, later, family photographs, a gradebook for an 8th grade course taught by Francis, and other mixed materials such as handkerchiefs and calling cards. Also included in the scrapbook are slips of paper identifying subjects or items written by Susan Riggs, Agee’s daughter.

Knights In White Satin: Women Of The Ku Klux Klan, Kelli R. Kerbawy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Ku Klux Klan is often thought of as a male-dominated organization; however there is evidence that women contributed to Klan efforts and participated in their own group, Women of the KKK. This study analyzes women’s involvement within the KKK during the 1920s. Women’s participation in early progressive movements, including temperance and suffrage, served as a catalyst for women’s involvement with the KKK. This paper explores women’s roles in the Ku Klux Klan as leaders within the WKKK. From earlier social movements, women gained knowledge needed to promote and expand the WKKK and other white supremacist women’s organizations. This paper …

A Heart Of Glass: Women, Work Culture, And Resistance In Huntington, West Virginia’S Glass Industry, Ginny Young

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study analyzes women in Huntington, West Virginia’s glass industry through an examination of interviews with retired selectors of the Owens-Illinois plant that operated on Huntington’s west end for nearly eighty years. It explores the particular ways in which those selectors formed their own work culture and a collective identity of themselves as a group in the years prior to their being organized into the Glass Bottle Blowers Association Local 256. This project argues that the work culture of selecting acted as an “informal organization” through which selectors at Owens-Illinois could act together and separately to resist gender discrimination in …

0757: First Presbyterian Church [Huntington, Wv] Records, 1839-1990, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The First Presbyterian Church of Huntington Archives contain material dating back to the early nineteenth century, with the bulk of the items dating from between the 1880s and the 1990s. The collection consists primarily of 'Minutes of Session,' which relate to official church business; 'Bulletins,' which give information about church sermons, calendars, and events; and 'Church Groups,' which provide information on the social structure and individuals within the Church. There are extensive financial records pertaining to the church, as well as membership rosters for many Church groups, and some marriage/baptism registers. Also included are a few "histories" written by Church …

0762: Sally Cyrus Collection, 1910-2005, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The Sally Cyrus Collection is the donated papers of Sally Cyrus, Peggy Cyrus, and Judy Cyrus. This collection chronicles their material contributions to several prominent Huntington organizations. This collection provides an in-depth look at the lives of one of Huntington’s upper-class families beginning in the 1920s and extending through the 1960s, a period in which Huntington experienced an economic boom and a population increase. The women whose lives are showcased in this collection were educated, socially elite, and financially secure. It is an insight to the gender role of the educated woman in high society and the activities she chose …

Elizabeth Kee : A Clarion Voice Of And For The People Of Southern West Virginia 1951-1964, Shari A. Heywood

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Elizabeth Kee served as the first woman to represent West Virginia in the House of Representatives from 1951-1964. Newly available sources: taped interviews with her son, Jim Kee, from 1978 and 1980; a complete copy of Elizabeth Kee’s entries into the Congressional Record; copies of many of her “Keenotes” columns from the late 1950s and early 1960s; and correspondence between Elizabeth Kee and veterans from West Virginia from 1961-1963 allow a more complete picture of Kee to emerge. Elizabeth Kee was not only a hardworking politician, who laid the groundwork for future programs like the War on Poverty, she was …

0745: Bokair Family Papers, 1916-1971, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The collection consists of paper materials related to the Bokair family, especially Ellen Kathryn Bokair. Items include student newspapers, concert programs, and other memorabilia related to Huntington High School during the mid-1950s, as well as letters to Ellen Kathryn from Job’s Daughters and the American Business Women’s Association. Information on other members of the Bokair family is minimal and includes a wedding invitation, report cards, a ceremony pamphlet, letter, and a newspaper article. While the collection spans the years, 1916-1971, the bulk of items date from the 1950s and 1960s.

0731: Claudia Peyton Papers, 1921-1984, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection consists primarily of correspondence sent from Claudie to family and church members in the United States between 1921 and 1979. Some early letters from the 1920s contain photographs of her time in Africa. Other materials include printed material such as her publication “Twenty Years in Africa”, a Mount Union Sentinal Newsletter, a poster and letter about her book “Forty-Six Years in Africa”, letters from her adopted children in Africa about her estate, negatives of her last visit to Huntington in 1963, unrelated birth announcements sent to family members, and envelopes.

0734: Huntington High School Papers, 1890-2003, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection is an artificially created collection from different donors, consisting primarily of scrapbooks, programs, and other ephemera related to Huntington High School. Ephemera includes a 1920 issue of the Tatler student newspaper, commencement programs, and materials created during various class reunions for the classes of 1921, 1928, 1929, 1937, and 1945. Scrapbooks for the class of 1921 reunions and Myrtle R. Cooke’s “The Girl Graduate’s Scrapbook” include extensive amounts of photographs and printed material related to the reunions and Huntington High School respectively. Cooke’s scrapbook also includes unrelated family materials.

Discourses Of Disappointment: The Betrayal Of Women's Emancipation Following The French And Russian Revolutions, Crystal Denise Helton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Questions relating to gender are worth pursuing in order to more accurately discern the impact of the French and Russian Revolutions on society more broadly as opposed to just political leaders, well-known historical figures, or those predominately male citizens that comprised the upper echelons of their respective movements. A careful analysis of secondary sources, or the historiography on women’s place within the French and Russian Revolutions, reveals that, in spite of their use of egalitarian rhetoric, the revolutionary governments in France and Russia continued to view women based upon conventional standards. Discourses written by and about women before, during, and …

0725: Carrie Irby Letters, 1925-1927, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection is principally composed of letters exchanged between Carrie Irby and Lillie Way, but also includes letters to and from Russell Way and Alfred Irby while Alfred and Lillie were away selling lingerie and other garments in various towns throughout southern West Virginia. Issues discussed in the letters include money, exemplified through Carrie working and being subsequently told to quit to be a good mother and Alfred having money issues, romance, such as the affairs of Carrie’s sister Lillie, and relationship issues such as Lillie traveling for work away from her children and her husband being put into a …

Emily Greene Balch: Crusader For Peace And Justice, Tara S. Lambert

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Emily Greene Balch was the second American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and worked throughout her lifetime to better the world for her fellow humans. As one who was shaped by the Progressive Movement in both character and action, she has nonetheless never received the historical spotlight given to other workers of her time such as Jane Addams. A survivor of protest against war, she has been virtually ignored despite her many activities and writings on behalf of peace, suffrage, and social reform. Even Mercedes M. Randall, who wrote the only biography of Balch, fails to fully examine …

0709: Huntington League Of The Association Of Junior Leagues International Papers, 1929-1997, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The records of the Huntington League of the Association of Junior Leagues International consist of newsletters, yearbooks, annual reports, program materials and other published materials, scrapbooks, and production books from the Junior Leagues's programs. The focus of the collection primarily covers the League's publications and papers from their programs and activities. The inclusive dates range from 1929 to 1997, however, most materials are from the 1950s through the 1970s. The Huntington League's children's theater papers begin ca. 1929 (Series IV), and the cookbook can be found in the publication "League Lines".

Spanish Women And The SeccióN Femenina: Rhetoric, Imagery, And Ideology, Julia Hudson-Richards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Women never discover anything; they lack, of course, the creative talent; reserved by God for male intelligence. We can do nothing more but perform for better or worse, the tasks which men give us.

Pilar Primo de Rivera, 1942.

Though at the time of its founding in 1934 the women’s section of the Spanish fascist party may have been insignificant to many, the Sección Femenina in a few short years was installed as the premier government agency with regard to the political status of Spain’s women. With the consolidation of the Franco regime, the Sección Femenina was placed in charge …