The History Center in Tompkins County

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Women's History Month

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

MARCH

A Girl's Essay

"Boys are men that have not got as big as their papas, and girls are women that will be ladies by and by. Man was made before woman. When God looked at Adam, he said to himself: "Well, I think I can do better if I try again." And he made Eve. God liked Eve so much better than Adam that there have been more women than men. Boys are a trouble. They wear out everything but soap. If I had my way half the world would be girls, and the rest dolls. My papa is so nice that I think he must have been a little girl when he was a little boy. Man was made, and on the seventh he rested. Woman was then made, and she has never rested since."

- Mary Alexander's Scrapbook, Newfield, N.Y. (excerpted from "Women as Bright as Stars: The 19th Century Women of Newfield, New York" pg. x)

Women's History Month evolved from community programming held in Santa Rosa California in 1978 to correspond with International Women's Day. In 1980 President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation recognizing National Women's History Week from March 2-8. Women's History Week was approved on a national scale by Congressional resolution in 1981, and in following years joint resolutions repeatedly designated a week in March to encourage celebrations and commemorations in honor of women's contributions to American and world history. In 1987 a petition from the National Women's History Project was approved by Congress. Resolution L.100-9 proclaimed the full month of March as Women's History Month.

Martha Van Rensselaer (1864-1932) was a prominent figure in the early twentieth century, distinguished for her contributions to women’s welfare and the health of families through her work in the field of Home Economics.

Learn about historic women in Tompkins County from the resources on our website, by visiting our Exhibit Hall, and through exploring our Archival Collections.

PRESENTATIONS & ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCES

Jacqueline E. Melton Scott (1937-2019) was an activist and educator born and raised in Ithaca, New York. "Mama" Scott was a teacher and family liaison at Beverly J. Martin from 1997-2017. Artwork by Maryam Adib (SmarfArt).

Club Essence - The History Center in Tompkins County
Notable Women of Tompkins County - The History Center in Tompkins County
Women Awheel - The Evolution of Bicycles in the 1800's and How it Affected "The Fairer Sex" - Presented by Donna Scott in 2017
Recognizing Women's Right to Vote: The Haudenosaunee - New York Heritage Digital Collections
Timeline of Events in Securing Women's Suffrage in New York State - Prepared by Seneca County Historian Walter Gable - February 2017
Central New York State Women's Suffrage Timeline - Prepared by The History Center in Tompkins County
Women Who Made a Difference - Prepared by The History Center in Tompkins County - 2015
The League of Women Voters - Prepared by The History Center in Tompkins County
Making Their Mark: Cornell Women Through the Ages - Medium - 2019
Self-Guided Tours: Ithaca Literary Tour, Ithaca Women of Note, Ithaca LGBTQ History.

RURAL VOICES IN TOMPKINS ON THE PATH TO WOMEN'S RIGHTS

These resources were created through a Humanities New York grant.

Rural Life for Women in the Early 1900's
Anti-Suffrage Sentiment
Pro-Suffrage Sentiment
Town of Newfield
Town of Lansing
Town of Groton
Town of Dryden
Town of Ulysses

ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION: Women's Voices in Tompkins County
Millicent Clarke-Maynard (October 2018) - 38:22
Karen Yearwood (October 2018) - 37:12
Poppy Singer - 41:02
June Morse - 50:52
Ann Erlich - 19:10 (Holocaust Education Collection)
Ilse Voss - 20:08 (Holocaust Education Collection)
Marion Wimpfheimer - 21:54 (Holocaust Education Collection)
Rose Bethe - 11:27 (Holocaust Education Collection)

**Thanks to a two-year (2021-2022) grant from the Institute of Museum & Library Services, The History Center has been funded to make more of its oral history collections available remotely. Part of this project includes expanding virtual access and lesson plans for Local Sisters of Change, and HerStory Oral History Collections. Contact community@thehistorycenter.net to learn more.

The History Center in Tompkins County · Stop and Listen to HERstory - #TompkinsWomen

WOMEN'S HISTORY LESSON PLANS

Unsung Voices: Black Women and Their Role in Women's Suffrage - National Women's History Museum
Haudenosaunee Women's Influence on Suffrage - New York Digital Heritage Collections
Life Through the Lens: Margaret Bourke-White (2018) (10min)
Digital Classroom Resources from the National Women's History Museum (Over 50 lesson plans and curated videos).
Women in the Workforce 1940-2010 - Lesson Plan (Grade Level 9-12) - United States Census Bureau

ARCHIVES & RELATED COLLECTIONS

Guide to Women's History Archival Collections and written research - The History Center in Tompkins County
Woman Suffrage at Cornell
Elizabeth Mulholland Collection V-64-7-9
Genevieve Cosentini Correspondence Collection V-64-3-2
Ithaca Business & Professional Women's Club V-64-2-8
Jane Dieckmann Book Research Collection V-64-8-3
Jemma Macera Diary Collection V-64-4-6
League of Women Voters Local Records V-63-9-1
Louisa St. John Diary V-64-7-5
Mary Raddant Tomlan Collection V-64-4-3
Women's Community Building Organizations Collection V-64-2-7
Sophronia E. Bucklin Papers Collection V-1-1-4

COLORING PAGES

Ithaca Kitty Coloring Sheet (1pg) - Artist Cindy Kjellander-Cantu

Historic Figures from Tompkins County

Beverly J. Martin - Artist Maryam Adib
Harriet Tubman - Artist Maryam Adib
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper - Artist Maryam Adib
Fred & Phyllis Webb - Artist Maryam Adib
Jacqueline "Mama" Scott - Artist Maryam Adib
Kimi Gengo (2pg) - Unknown Artist
'Women on the Bill' Tompkins County $$ Template (2pg)
Haudenosaunee Woman
Three Sisters - Corn, Beans, & Squash - Arist Daelynn Doxtater
Haudenosaunee Student w/ Mask - Artist Daelynn Doxtater

VIRTUAL EXHIBITS ON WOMEN'S HISTORY

In addition to the displays at our museum on the Ithaca Commons, we're excited to share two interactive virtual exhibits that can be accessed from home or any learning space. Each exhibit features artifacts and research from The History Center archives as well as audio components. Overcoming Barriers to Vote: Woman Suffrage Movement in Tompkins County and Sisters of Change: Unsung Sheroes Whose Names Everyone Should Know.

Virtual Lesson Plan Link - Overcoming Barriers to Vote: Woman Suffrage Movement in Tompkins County: One Hundred + 1 Years in the Making

Virtual Lesson Plan link - Sisters of Change: Unsung Sheroes for Racial Justice Whose Names Everyone Should Know

DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT LOCAL WOMEN by LOCAL WOMEN

Connie Cook: A Documentary

Constance Cook was a remarkable woman who pioneered in the political world, and against perceived opinion about women’s lives. Watch the documentary on her life and work.

Move When the Spirit Says Move: The Legacy of Dorothy Foreman Cotton

A documentary film about the work of a bold yet unsung civil rights activist/educator and those carrying on her legacy.

Stand Up Women: Women and Social Activism in Tompkins County

Stand Up Women™! Social Activism in Tompkins County focuses on older local women social activists. In workshops led by artist/activist Caryl Henry Alexander women expressed their activism through the creation of visual art. In addition, they were interviewed by filmmaker Sue Perlgut about their art and their activism.

TOMPKINS COUNTY HISTORY RESEARCH WRITTEN BY WOMEN

Tompkins County is blessed with a phenomenal number of female educators, writers, philosophers, scientists, doctors, and researchers. This is only a tiny sampling of the body of work produced by female authors who have called Tompkins County home. These books can all be purchased through our online bookstore.