WHRC: From the Archives
Family Connections (Part 1)
By: Joanna Church, Women’s History and Resource Center Librarian
The theme of FAMILY runs strongly through the General Federation of Women’s Clubs collections. Our members often call each other “sisters in Federation,” but sometimes they are sisters in literal truth. Mothers and daughters (and granddaughters), sisters, cousins, in-laws… whether together in one club or members of clubs across the world, they are united by Federation, if not necessarily by geography.
GFWC has always loved to discover* and share those stories so, as the winter holidays approach and many of our members gather with their loved ones, let’s take a look at just a few of the family connections that can be made in the WHRC collections.
*Read to the end to learn about how to share your own GFWC family story with us now!
In 1928, no less than three publications were delighted to share the power of club membership as personified by the Van Riper family: four generations, from 78 year old Sarah Van Riper to her 12 year old great-granddaughter Martha Hickey, who all belonged to the Oneira Club of San Diego County. The San Francisco Examiner published the brief article shown at left in February that year, and the photograph at right appeared in both the California Clubwoman magazine and General Federation News later that spring.
Image: from WHRC collection, MAG 1928.04
Over fifty years later, Clubwoman magazine celebrated another multi-generational club tradition, this time in South Dakota. “A family heritage of GFWC South Dakota service is represented as Amy Keezer – age 5 ½ years – proudly views a picture of her great-grandmother Helen Bates, who was a charter member of the Onida, SD Study Club in 1924 and active in other South Dakota clubs for many years after. Amy’s grandmother, Betty Larrington (seated), has been a member of the Gettysburg Women’s Literary Club of South Dakota since 1947, and in 1979 was named ‘Outstanding Clubwoman of South Dakota.’ Amy’s mother, Helen Larrington Keezer (standing), is president of the GFWC Hecla Federated Study Club. No doubt Amy will carry on her foremothers’ illustrious history of volunteer service in the GFWC.”
Image: WHRC collection, MAG 1980.12
The rosters of many clubs in rural communities were (and are) filled with close-knit families. This photo from the September 1931 issue of The Clubwoman shows members of the newly-formed Chippewa Woman’s Club of Cass Lake, Minnesota, many of whom lived in or had ties to the White Earth Reservation. The meeting shown here was held at the home of Jane Whitefisher Manypenny (1856-1933), a leader in the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) community, who translated the English portions of the meeting for those members who needed it. This photo showcases an array of family connections including: Jane Manypenny, her daughter Angeline Burnett, and her daughter Anna Command; Maggie Thompson and two of her daughters, Irene Tippetts and Elizabeth Broker; and sisters Jane Broker and Nellie Fairbanks, plus Jane’s daughter Madeline Kamppi. (As a bonus, the guests from the Minnesota Federation, Mrs. and Miss Bayliss, were themselves a mother-daughter team.)
Image: WHRC collection, MAG 1931.09
Mother-daughter duos are a long tradition in GFWC, starting as early as the 1890s when both Julia Ward Howe (President of Massachusetts State Federation) and her daughter Florence Howe Hall (Vice President of the New Jersey Federation) served as Federation leaders. Examples from more recent years include Helen Ryan and her daughter Mary Ellen Brock, who both served terms as President of the Bloomfield Junior Club (NJ). In 1997, Mary Ellen – who went on to serve as GFWC International President (2018-2020) – spoke with her mother for the WHRC oral history collection, and their close relationship led to an entertaining (and informative) interview.
Image: WHRC collection, excerpt from OH 0143
We could go on and on – and in fact in 2012, many more stories of GFWC family traditions were shared in Clubwoman magazine (you can read the article here). Help us grow that collection! Do you have a story to tell? We’d love to hear it. Share it in the comments, or reach out to us at whrc@gfwc.org! And tune back in to this blog next month for Part 2, where we’ll take a look at finding family history in the WHRC collections.
Remember to check back next month for more stories from GFWC history (and present)! To learn more about the WHRC collections, visit the WHRC page or contact us at whrc@gfwc.org.
Joanna Church is the Women’s History and Resource Center Librarian at GFWC Headquarters in Washington, DC. She oversees the WHRC collection, handles research requests, and loves sharing our unique resources with fellow lovers of women’s history.
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