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WHRC: From the Archives

Family Connections (Part 2)

By: Joanna Church, Women’s History and Resource Center Librarian

As we saw in last month’s post, the theme of FAMILY runs through the materials held in the WHRC collections. Family also features strongly in the ways our collections are accessed. Some researchers seek us out because they have discovered evidence of club membership amongst a relative’s belongings, and they want to learn more about that woman’s life. For others, the memory of “Great-Aunt Somebody who I think maybe belonged to a woman’s club…?” serves as a point of connection to those who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the work of GFWC. No matter the context, we’re happy to do our best to help find those relatives and their stories—though I always caution researchers that we can’t guarantee that we’ll find who they’re looking for. For almost the entirety of our history, GFWC has left the tracking of individual membership rosters up to the clubs themselves; most Federated club members’ names and stories have not been recorded in our files.

That being said, the fact that even a small percentage of members are recorded in our archives is a large part of what makes the WHRC collections unique. The accomplishments of countless women throughout history have been lost, erased, discounted, or forgotten – which is why the practice of women’s history is so restorative! – and those who have been remembered tend to be big names. But the stories of “ordinary” women are no less important, especially on a local scale. That’s where our collections shine. The on-the-ground, everyday community work of GFWC clubwomen is remembered here at the Women’s History and Resource Center.

A research request from a relative of GFWC International Past President Louise Graham Brown (1970-1972) helped us confirm the identity of the woman with her in this photograph: Ann Blodgett Brown, Louise’s daughter-in-law, who also served as her aide during her term. Louise is shown at left, with Ann at right; taken at the 1971 GFWC Convention.

Image: from WHRC collection, PRES 1970-72.19

The Crossroads Club of Capleville, Tennessee submitted this document – written for the GFWC Centennial celebration in 1990 – to the WHRC Club History collection. It came in handy recently, when a woman who grew up in Capleville asked us to look for whatever we might have on her family. We discovered that at least two of her relatives belonged to this club, and were named in the history. The stories told here, about the club’s members and the town they worked to improve, helped our researcher connect a little more fully to her family’s life in Tennessee.

Image: WHRC Club History collection, CH TN 012

I can’t resist ending this month’s post on a personal note, even though this accidental-success story might inspire some false hope. One of the first research requests I received, after starting my job here at the WHRC, was about early clubs in the Oklahoma Federation. The best source for that info is the History of Oklahoma State Federation of Women’s Clubs (Luretta Rainey, 1939), a published volume in which the author, somewhat unusually, provided brief histories of individual clubs. While I was reading through the book, my eye was caught by a familiar name: that of my great-great-grandmother Mollie Williams (Mrs. George B.) Mahaffie, the “only surviving charter member” of the Yamprika Club, founded in 1901. Mollie rated not only a personal description, but also a photograph. This was indeed a rare find, but one that made my extended family very happy.

Image: WHRC State History collection.

I really can’t promise you that your own family search will be as successful as any of the ones described here, but we are willing to give it a try! If you have questions about former club members in your family, please reach out and we’ll see what we can come up with for you.

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 fans of women’s history.

Learn More about the WHRC

The Women’s History and Resource Center

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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.

Learn More about the WHRC

The Women’s History and Resource Center

Learn More