My Scrapbook

Ohio Women
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These items highlight some of the experiences and accomplishments of Ohio women. View all items in the Ohio Women subject category. Also visit a separate scrapbook on Women's Suffrage in Ohio.

Betsy Mix Cowles Letter to Sister Regarding Education for Women

"I do hope the time is not far distant when females will feel [and] act that they are made for something more than to flutter or to serve," wrote Betsy in 1839.
Kent State University

Rebecca Thompson Galloway Diary

Greene County, Ohio native Galloway kept this diary from 1840-1842. It focuses primarily on her everyday life, but also mentions noteworthy issues of the day, such as abolition.
Greene County Public Library

Hadley Abolitionist Quilt

This quilt was made in 1842 by Quaker women of Clinton County, Ohio and Wayne County, Indiana who had been disowned by the mainstream Quaker meetings due to their anti-slavery activities.
Clinton County Historical Society

Marion Edison Sampler

Thomas Edison's oldest sister Marion created this sampler in 1845 when she was 15. Apparently she was an unwilling student--the last line of the sampler is incomplete.
Edison Birthplace Museum

Piqua Female Bible Society Scrapbook

Piqua was a frontier canal town, but the Female Bible Society sought to "civilize" its citizens. Rachel Johnson, one of the founders of the group, went door-to-door to recruit women of Piqua to join.
Flesh Public Library

Butter Molds

Ursuline Sisters of Brown County used these tools in the mid 19th centry, pressing butter into the wooden mold and then pushing it through the cylindrical housing to create a shape.
Ursulines of Brown County

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe's epic anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was inspired, in part, by a visit to the home of abolitionist John Rankin in Ripley, Ohio.
Ohio Historical Society

Christianity in the Kitchen: A Physiological Cook Book

The 1857 book discusses nutrition and its relationship to moral and ethical values. Author Mary Mann, wife of educator Horace Mann, discouraged consumption of processed and fatty foods, labeling them "death in the pot."
Antioch College

Lucinda Lenore Merriss Cornell Diary Entries

Lucinda's diaries document the home front during the Civil War in Westerville, Ohio. She describes a trip to Columbus to hear President Abraham Lincoln.
Otterbein College

Elisabeth Griselle Medical Pocket Instrument Case

This medical instrument case belonged to Elisabeth Griselle, who graduated from Western Reserve Medical School in 1856.
Dittrick Medical History Center

Notice Not to Sell Intoxicating Liquors

The Findlay city clerk kept these affidavits of citizens who wanted family members to be prohibited from drinking alcohol. Many entries were made by women asking that their husbands or sons not be served.
Center for Archival Collections-BGSU

Lucy Webb Hayes Photograph

In 1876, Lucy became the first to be called "First Lady" and the first to have graduated from college. When Congress banned children from rolling out their Easter eggs on the grounds of the Capitol, Lucy invited the children to the White House.
Hayes Presidential Center

Wood Thrush Nest and Eggs

Genevieve Jones had a childhood dream of creating a multi-part book that illustrated the nests and eggs of Ohio birds as a complementary volume to J. J. Audubon's Birds of America.
Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Crazy Quilt

A member of the Motz/ Potten family made this crazy quilt in 1879. Fabrics were cut into random shapes, pieced together, and quilted.
Lillian Jones Museum

Margaret Grey-Eyes Solomon Photograph

Margaret Grey-Eyes Solomon was a member of the Wyandot tribe who was relocated to Kansas and later returned to live in Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
Wyandot County Historical Society

Ida Saxton McKinley Crocheted Slippers

These wool bedroom slippers were among 4,000 pairs Ida Saxton McKinley made and distributed to friends, veterans and orphans or sold at auction.
McKinley Museum and National Memorial

Laura Fry Pottery

Laura Fry developed a technique of applying pigment evenly to ceramics by using an atomizer and gained a patent for her work.
Ross C. Purdy Museum

Mina Miller Edison Lace Gown

Mina Miller, the future wife of Thomas Edison, wore this Venetian white lace gown for her graduation from Akron High School in 1883.
Edison Birthplace Museum

Eliza Jane Thompson Photograph

For 25 years, Mother Thompson was hailed as a beloved leader of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
Highland County Historical Society

Frances Dawes Hand-Carved Bed

Frances Bosworth Dawes carved the head and footboard panels of this cherry-wood bed in the late 1800s. Frances was the daughter of Sala Bosworth, a prominent Marietta artist.
The Castle

Annie Oakley Photograph

Sharpshooter Annie Oakley grew up in rural Darke County, Ohio. This image was taken in London, where she demonstrated her shooting skill for Queen Victoria.
Darke County Historical Society

Woman's Tourist Club Programs

This club was instituted in 1894. Members "toured" other countries through study and discussion; programs were in keeping with the countries chosen for the year.
Mechanicsburg Public Library

Gallipolis Daily Journal Special Women's Edition

This silk taffeta newspaper is a special edition of the Gallipolis Daily Journal. It was produced in 1895 by the Thursday Club, a women's study and literary group.
Dr. Samuel Bossard Memorial Library

Women's Group Outing by Interurban Train Photograph

Interurbans enabled women in smaller towns to take advantage of offerings of the city.
Center for Archival Collections-BGSU

Carry Nation Souvenir Hatchet

Temperance advocate Carry Nation sold souvenir hatchets such as this to pay jail fines, since she was frequently arrested for disturbing the peace.
Portage County Historical Society

Bowling Green Normal College Gymnasium Photograph

This postcard shows a women's physical education class at Bowling Green Normal College (now Bowling Green State University) circa 1914-1919.
Center for Archival Collections, BGSU

Barberton Ladies' Band Photograph

The band organized in 1914 and gave many performances which included marching (in high heels) at Lake Anna Park and other local Barberton-area events.
Barberton Public Library

Lillian and Dorothy Gish Photograph

The Ohio-born sisters were popular actresses in the early 20th century.
Massillon Museum

Atlas Underwear Company Women Workers Photograph

Piqua was once known as the "underwear capital of the world." Fifteen manufacturers operated there from 1880-1980. The industry was a major employer of local women.
Flesh Public Library and Museum

Grove City High School Girls Basketball Team Photographs

The photographs date from 1916-1918.
Southwest Public Libraries

Women Marines on Parade Photograph

Among the women of the United States Marine Corps marching in Washington D.C. in 1919 was Ouida M. Okey of Monroe County, Ohio.
Ohio Historical Society

Mary A. Carpenter 4-H Sunshine Clothing Club Notebook

Fifteen-year-old Mary A. Carpenter of Prairie Depot, Ohio was a member of the Sunshine Clothing Club, a 4-H Club in Wood County. She used the notebook to record her work on a sewing project in 1932.
Center for Archival Collections, BGSU

Matilda Jane Dunbar Photographs

Matilda Jane Dunbar, mother of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, was born a slave in Kentucky. She supported her children by washing clothes for local white families, including the family of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Dayton & Montgomery Co. Public Library

Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Mother's Room Photographs

The library was one of the first in the nation to have a room devoted to helping women with issues of child-rearing, housekeeping, and other daily life concerns. These photos date from the mid 1930s.
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning Co.

Miss America Marilyn Meseke Trophy

Twenty-one-year-old Marilyn Meseke of Marion, Ohio was crowned Miss America in 1938.
Marion County Historical Society

Miss America Marilyn Meseke Photographs

For the talent competition, Meseke tap danced to three songs: "How'd You Like To Love Me," "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise," and "Joseph, Joseph."
Marion County Historical Society

St. Francis Hospital Nursing Cape

Madonna Argood, a nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, wore this cape over her white nursing uniform in the 1940s.
Medical Heritage Center, OSU

Youngstown Steel Door Company Women Employees Photographs

During World War II the company produced gas tanks for aircraft and employed women workers to replace the men who were serving in the armed forces.
Youngstown Historical Society of Industry and Labor

Scioto Ordnance Plant Line Workers Photograph

The factory was a major employer in the area and manufactured "goop bombs" and other explosives for World War II.
Marion County Historical Society

World War II WAVES Bus Photograph

The WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service) was the women's branch of the Navy. It was created during World War II.
Lorain Public Library System

Toni Morrison Yearbook Photograph

This circa-1945 photograph shows Noble Prize winning author Chloe Wofford, better known as Toni Morrison.
Black River Historical Society

Gold Star Mothers Quilt

Mrs. Earl E. Shaeffer of Zanesville made this quilt around 1945. Each segment of the star bears the name of a military person from Muskingum County who died in World War II.
Pioneer & Historical Society of Muskingum

Dalton High School All-Girl Band Yearbook Page

The band was created in 1947, when nearly all of the boys in the school joined the football team instead of the band.
Dalton Community Historical Society

Anne O'Hare McCormick Photograph

In 1936, Columbus native McCormick became the first woman appointed to the editorial board of the New York Times. A year later she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
Ohio Dominican University

National Association of Colored Women Photograph

This photo from the 1940s or 1950s shows four early members of the National Association of Colored Women, a group founded in 1896 that focused on job training, childcare, civil rights, and scholarships for African American women.
Center for Archival Collections

Woman's Christian Temperance Union Meeting Photograph

This meeting of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union was at Helen Robinson's home in Worthington, Ohio in 1960.
Worthington Historical Society

Betty June Myers Photographs

An Ashland native, Dr. Myers was a scientist for the National Institute of Health in Washington, D.C. in the late 1960s.
Ashland University

Judith Resnik and Discovery Crew Photographs

Akron native Judith Resnik was the only woman on the crew of the space shuttle Discovery during its seven-day mission in 1984.
Ohio Historical Society

Ann Grossman Photograph

Tennis player Grossman of Grove City enjoyed a successful professional career in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Southwest Public Libraries

Sarah Fisher with Sprint Car Photograph

Racecar driver Fisher, a native of Commercial Point, Ohio, became the youngest person to pass the Indy Racing League rookie test in 1999. In 2000, she became the youngest woman to compete and place in the Indianapolis 500.
Southwest Public Libraries