Founded in 1984, the GFWC Women’s History and Resource Center (WHRC) collects, preserves, interprets, and promotes the history of GFWC. The WHRC documents the social and political contributions of GFWC clubwomen from 1890 to the present through the GFWC archives and related special collections. Our holdings are available for research by clubwomen, academics, and the general public.
The WHRC collections encompass GFWC’s institutional archives, including convention records, files related to our programs and leadership, and “Clubwoman” magazine (and its predecessors). We hold a robust photograph and audio-visual collection, as well as GFWC ephemera, memorabilia, and the art and artifacts that furnish our historic Headquarters building. We also maintain a reference library collection focused on women’s history, the woman’s club movement, and the history of volunteerism.
Please note: While we do have many state- and club-level archival and photographic materials, we do not maintain official records for State Federations or local clubs, or for outside organizations.
WHRC: From the Archives
Freddie Hilp and the GFWC Overseas Unit Welcome back to our new monthly blog series, direct from the…
WHRC: From the Archives
Welcome! Welcome, readers, to our new monthly blog series, direct from the GFWC Women’s History and …
Research at the WHRC
Learn more about the collections, request research assistance, or make an appointment to visit in person. To inquire about a potential donation, please email us with details: whrc@gfwc.org
LEARN MORE We can`t let #StampCollectingMonth go by without a nod to the GFWC Diamond Jubilee Commemorative postage stamp, designed by New York artist Charles Henry Carter and issued by the United States Post Office in honor of our 75th anniversary in 1966.
The WHRC stamp collection might be hyper-focused on just the one design, but we have a lot of them: loose stamps, full sheets, and first day covers, not to mention plenty of planning correspondence, event programs, magazine articles, and even two of the rejected designs. (Sounds like this topic needs a blog post…)
💌Diamond Jubilee 5 cent stamp first day cover, addressed to the GFWC Archives (before we had a WHRC) under the care of Mildred White Wells. Donated by the family of International Past President Margaret Hasebroock (1964-1966), who presided over the Diamond Jubilee. Memorabilia collection, 1998.009
#clubwomeninhistory
We can`t let #StampCollectingMonth go by without a nod to the GFWC Diamond Jubilee Commemorative postage stamp, designed by New York artist Charles Henry Carter and issued by the United States Post Office in honor of our 75th anniversary in 1966.
The WHRC stamp collection might be hyper-focused on just the one design, but we have a lot of them: loose stamps, full sheets, and first day covers, not to mention plenty of planning correspondence, event programs, magazine articles, and even two of the rejected designs. (Sounds like this topic needs a blog post…)
💌Diamond Jubilee 5 cent stamp first day cover, addressed to the GFWC Archives (before we had a WHRC) under the care of Mildred White Wells. Donated by the family of International Past President Margaret Hasebroock (1964-1966), who presided over the Diamond Jubilee. Memorabilia collection, 1998.009
#clubwomeninhistory
Just dropping in this October to remind you and your loved ones to go ahead and schedule that mammogram, if applicable! Early detection saves lives!
GFWC was on the forefront of this recommendation, urging our members in early 1975 to learn about breast cancer, make self-examinations a regular part of their lives, and participate in the American Cancer Society-National Cancer Institute "demonstration program" studying the efficacy of mammography and thermography. (According to their website, the American Cancer Society officially recommended mammography in 1976.)
GFWC`s resolution no. 170-020, in favor of breast cancer education, diagnosis, and treatment was first approved at the 1986 convention. It has been updated as needed and reaffirmed many times since then, including at this past summer`s convention.
📷"GFWC Clubwoman`s Complete Program of the Month: Lifesaving Facts About Breast Cancer," from the January 1975 issue of "Clubwoman" Magazine
#ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀᴀᴡᴀʀᴇɴᴇss #earlydetectionsaveslives
Just dropping in this October to remind you and your loved ones to go ahead and schedule that mammogram, if applicable! Early detection saves lives!
GFWC was on the forefront of this recommendation, urging our members in early 1975 to learn about breast cancer, make self-examinations a regular part of their lives, and participate in the American Cancer Society-National Cancer Institute "demonstration program" studying the efficacy of mammography and thermography. (According to their website, the American Cancer Society officially recommended mammography in 1976.)
GFWC`s resolution no. 170-020, in favor of breast cancer education, diagnosis, and treatment was first approved at the 1986 convention. It has been updated as needed and reaffirmed many times since then, including at this past summer`s convention.
📷"GFWC Clubwoman`s Complete Program of the Month: Lifesaving Facts About Breast Cancer," from the January 1975 issue of "Clubwoman" Magazine
#ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀᴀᴡᴀʀᴇɴᴇss #earlydetectionsaveslives
The WHRC was saddened to learn of the death of Lilly Ledbetter, whose fight for an equitable salary led to the landmark, bipartisan Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Ms. Ledbetter, a member of Jacksonville, Alabama`s GFWC Progressive Study Club, spoke to the GFWC Board of Directors in 2008 to help prepare them for a day of advocacy on the Hill: thanking those Senators who were in favor of the Fair Pay Act, and urging others to reconsider their opposition votes. The Act was signed into law in January 2009.
In 2021, Ms. Ledbetter spoke at the GFWC Annual Convention. If you have memories of the 2008 or 2021 events, please share them with us!
Our heartfelt sympathies with her family. Thank you for your dedication to the fight, Lilly Ledbetter!
📙Cover of "GFWC Clubwoman," December 2008/January 2009, honoring Ledbetter`s fight.
#equalpayforequalwork #clubwomeninaction
The WHRC was saddened to learn of the death of Lilly Ledbetter, whose fight for an equitable salary led to the landmark, bipartisan Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Ms. Ledbetter, a member of Jacksonville, Alabama`s GFWC Progressive Study Club, spoke to the GFWC Board of Directors in 2008 to help prepare them for a day of advocacy on the Hill: thanking those Senators who were in favor of the Fair Pay Act, and urging others to reconsider their opposition votes. The Act was signed into law in January 2009.
In 2021, Ms. Ledbetter spoke at the GFWC Annual Convention. If you have memories of the 2008 or 2021 events, please share them with us!
Our heartfelt sympathies with her family. Thank you for your dedication to the fight, Lilly Ledbetter!
📙Cover of "GFWC Clubwoman," December 2008/January 2009, honoring Ledbetter`s fight.
#equalpayforequalwork #clubwomeninaction
It`s #WorldEggDay! Our Affiliate Organization, @heiferinternational, is celebrating this annual event and we`re happy to help promote the importance of eggs to communities around the world.
For the WHRC contribution to the day, we`re taking the egg theme in another direction. Please enjoy this eggery craft from the collection, celebrating GFWC`s contribution to the restoration of Independence Hall in the early 1950s. Sadly we don`t have records indicating the maker or donor – if your state federation has a story about the beautiful little goose (?) egg you gave to Headquarters, please let me know! – but it`s a delightful little piece all the same.
🦅🐣 4.5" tall egg, mounted and decorated with ribbon, transfer images of patriotic symbols, and a gold eagle, circa 1954. From the GFWC memorabilia collection.
It`s #WorldEggDay! Our Affiliate Organization, @heiferinternational, is celebrating this annual event and we`re happy to help promote the importance of eggs to communities around the world.
For the WHRC contribution to the day, we`re taking the egg theme in another direction. Please enjoy this eggery craft from the collection, celebrating GFWC`s contribution to the restoration of Independence Hall in the early 1950s. Sadly we don`t have records indicating the maker or donor – if your state federation has a story about the beautiful little goose (?) egg you gave to Headquarters, please let me know! – but it`s a delightful little piece all the same.
🦅🐣 4.5" tall egg, mounted and decorated with ribbon, transfer images of patriotic symbols, and a gold eagle, circa 1954. From the GFWC memorabilia collection.
Did you know that National Newspaper Week has been celebrated annually since 1940? We don`t have many historic newspapers in the WHRC collections (barring the clippings that fill our GFWC Presidential scrapbooks), but we often rely on them for our club history research.
Shown here is a photo that was in our "unidentified" file until yesterday, when I was able to match the "Property of" name at the bottom – Grace G. Chesney of Antioch – with her club, thanks to some genealogy work … and to Mrs. Chesney`s newspaper obituary, which conveniently identified her as "a Past President of The Antioch Woman`s Club." Since the national GFWC archives contain very little in the way of individual club membership rosters, newspaper obituaries are one of the best ways to connect a club member with a club name.
📷 Members of what is now the GFWC Woman`s Club of Antioch, California, on an outing to the "Summit of Mt. Diablo, Calif.," circa 1935. "Property of Grace G. Chesney, Antioch, Calif." Club photo collection, CP CA 076.
@gfwccalifornia
#nationalnewspaperweek #clubwomeninhistory
#identifiedphotosarethebestphotos
Did you know that National Newspaper Week has been celebrated annually since 1940? We don`t have many historic newspapers in the WHRC collections (barring the clippings that fill our GFWC Presidential scrapbooks), but we often rely on them for our club history research.
Shown here is a photo that was in our "unidentified" file until yesterday, when I was able to match the "Property of" name at the bottom – Grace G. Chesney of Antioch – with her club, thanks to some genealogy work … and to Mrs. Chesney`s newspaper obituary, which conveniently identified her as "a Past President of The Antioch Woman`s Club." Since the national GFWC archives contain very little in the way of individual club membership rosters, newspaper obituaries are one of the best ways to connect a club member with a club name.
📷 Members of what is now the GFWC Woman`s Club of Antioch, California, on an outing to the "Summit of Mt. Diablo, Calif.," circa 1935. "Property of Grace G. Chesney, Antioch, Calif." Club photo collection, CP CA 076.
@gfwccalifornia
#nationalnewspaperweek #clubwomeninhistory
#identifiedphotosarethebestphotos
The October #archiveshashtagparty takes us on the road, so of course we had to bring out our best vehicle: "Eastern Victory," a "big yellow touring car" given to Dr. Anna Howard Shaw by her coworkers at the National Woman Suffrage Association to aid in her east coast suffrage campaign. Shaw, and her Votes for Women banner-bedecked car, appeared on the cover of our magazine in August 1915.
🚖"The noted suffrage leader is conspicuous just now along the roads… taking lessons in the big machine which she will soon master according to present progress. `A man`s job, is it? I wish it was as easy to wind the voters up as it is to crank up this motor,` she said puffingly." Magazine collection: "General Federation Magazine," August 1915.
#archivesontheroad #clubwomeninhistory
The October #archiveshashtagparty takes us on the road, so of course we had to bring out our best vehicle: "Eastern Victory," a "big yellow touring car" given to Dr. Anna Howard Shaw by her coworkers at the National Woman Suffrage Association to aid in her east coast suffrage campaign. Shaw, and her Votes for Women banner-bedecked car, appeared on the cover of our magazine in August 1915.
🚖"The noted suffrage leader is conspicuous just now along the roads… taking lessons in the big machine which she will soon master according to present progress. `A man`s job, is it? I wish it was as easy to wind the voters up as it is to crank up this motor,` she said puffingly." Magazine collection: "General Federation Magazine," August 1915.
#archivesontheroad #clubwomeninhistory
Today, the WHRC is thinking of the many, many people affected in ways both large and small by Hurricane Helene. We know that club members are busy working on relief efforts, just as we have done during past disasters. I did a little searching in the archives for prior instances; here, for example, is some information related to GFWC and the deadly Galveston, Texas hurricane in 1900.
In a 1999 history of the Wednesday Club of Galveston, member Marilla W. Peters recounted that her great-grandmother Annie Dallam Masterson, also a member of the club, died in the 1900 storm; despite losses such as this, the Wednesday Club worked hard to help their community. As word got out about the disaster, Texas Federation clubs quickly came to the aid of their fellow Texans, demonstrating "the strength and value of this organization." Dimies T.S. Denison of New York, First Vice President of GFWC, encouraged clubs across the country to contribute 25 cents per member to help with recovery. And national fundraising efforts were reported in the General Federation of Women`s Clubs journal "The Club Woman," where our editor noted with pride that "American generosity is something for which to be glad."
💌From "The Wednesday Club – Beginning our 109th Year," 1999 (CH TX 070): "The club engaged exclusively in literary study except for a period of a few months following the disaster of the 1900 Hurricane that almost destroyed the city and killed 6000 of its citizens. It is now listed as the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. However, it did not destroy the determination of the women of the club who began to sew clothing for the victims within a few months of the storm."
💌From "The Club Woman," January 1901 (MAG 1901.01): "Everyone will be glad to know that up to December tenth, the relief fund for Galveston had reached $1,174,508.53. The disaster was awful, but American generosity is something for which to be glad."
#clubwomeninaction
Today, the WHRC is thinking of the many, many people affected in ways both large and small by Hurricane Helene. We know that club members are busy working on relief efforts, just as we have done during past disasters. I did a little searching in the archives for prior instances; here, for example, is some information related to GFWC and the deadly Galveston, Texas hurricane in 1900.
In a 1999 history of the Wednesday Club of Galveston, member Marilla W. Peters recounted that her great-grandmother Annie Dallam Masterson, also a member of the club, died in the 1900 storm; despite losses such as this, the Wednesday Club worked hard to help their community. As word got out about the disaster, Texas Federation clubs quickly came to the aid of their fellow Texans, demonstrating "the strength and value of this organization." Dimies T.S. Denison of New York, First Vice President of GFWC, encouraged clubs across the country to contribute 25 cents per member to help with recovery. And national fundraising efforts were reported in the General Federation of Women`s Clubs journal "The Club Woman," where our editor noted with pride that "American generosity is something for which to be glad."
💌From "The Wednesday Club – Beginning our 109th Year," 1999 (CH TX 070): "The club engaged exclusively in literary study except for a period of a few months following the disaster of the 1900 Hurricane that almost destroyed the city and killed 6000 of its citizens. It is now listed as the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. However, it did not destroy the determination of the women of the club who began to sew clothing for the victims within a few months of the storm."
💌From "The Club Woman," January 1901 (MAG 1901.01): "Everyone will be glad to know that up to December tenth, the relief fund for Galveston had reached $1,174,508.53. The disaster was awful, but American generosity is something for which to be glad."
#clubwomeninaction
This week, it seems like all of social media is celebrating the arrival of autumn. It`s not my favorite season, but I can appreciate a crisp fall day, an apple cider donut, and some colorful scenery… such as the views that the GFWC Board of Directors were treated to (on paper, anyway) fifty years ago. Ten years before that, select club members enjoyed a "Fall Foliage and Conservation Tour" of New England, with visits to historical sites, national parks and forests, and energy infrastructure. The inimitable Mildred Ahlgren, a former GFWC President (1952-1954) who went on to serve over thirty years as Publicity Director, wrote up the experience in her usual exuberant style, including notes on the fall colors:
"All of this [traveling by motor coach] was going on with our eyes glued to fairyland – we were two weeks early for the height of the color of the trees. But the trees knew we were coming and they baked a cake of myriad indescribable colors – two weeks early!"
📷 Cover of the Board of Directors Meeting program, September 15-18, 1974. The meeting was held in Washington DC, but the programs featured glued-on color postcards featuring Harper`s Ferry, West Virginia.
📷 Cover of Mildred Carlson Ahlgren`s "Report of GFWC Fall Foliage and Conservation Tour, September 18-27, 1964." This image of club members at Gettysburg is the only photo I`ve found so far of this trip; no color photos of the "myriad indescribable colors," alas.
#clubwomeninhistory #fallfoliage
This week, it seems like all of social media is celebrating the arrival of autumn. It`s not my favorite season, but I can appreciate a crisp fall day, an apple cider donut, and some colorful scenery… such as the views that the GFWC Board of Directors were treated to (on paper, anyway) fifty years ago. Ten years before that, select club members enjoyed a "Fall Foliage and Conservation Tour" of New England, with visits to historical sites, national parks and forests, and energy infrastructure. The inimitable Mildred Ahlgren, a former GFWC President (1952-1954) who went on to serve over thirty years as Publicity Director, wrote up the experience in her usual exuberant style, including notes on the fall colors:
"All of this [traveling by motor coach] was going on with our eyes glued to fairyland – we were two weeks early for the height of the color of the trees. But the trees knew we were coming and they baked a cake of myriad indescribable colors – two weeks early!"
📷 Cover of the Board of Directors Meeting program, September 15-18, 1974. The meeting was held in Washington DC, but the programs featured glued-on color postcards featuring Harper`s Ferry, West Virginia.
📷 Cover of Mildred Carlson Ahlgren`s "Report of GFWC Fall Foliage and Conservation Tour, September 18-27, 1964." This image of club members at Gettysburg is the only photo I`ve found so far of this trip; no color photos of the "myriad indescribable colors," alas.
#clubwomeninhistory #fallfoliage
Today is National Voter Registration Day! This "nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy"* has been held each September since 2012. Did GFWC anticipate that by a few years (decades)? Absolutely we did!
Check out this delightful 1950 voter registration brochure, for example. "The responsibility is ours," we said, because "we fought for suffrage; now we should exercise our right to vote." We urged our members to "vote in every election…. See that others also vote, and vote with awareness of the importance of what they are doing." (Please note that all of that was in ALL CAPS in the original. We meant business.)
Check your voter registration today at vote.gov!
📃"Women Should Register and Vote," 1947-1950 administration of GFWC President Dorothea Dutcher Buck; Mrs. T.C. Carroll, Chairman, Citizenship Department.
*Quotation from nationalvoterregistrationday.org/about
Today is National Voter Registration Day! This "nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy"* has been held each September since 2012. Did GFWC anticipate that by a few years (decades)? Absolutely we did!
Check out this delightful 1950 voter registration brochure, for example. "The responsibility is ours," we said, because "we fought for suffrage; now we should exercise our right to vote." We urged our members to "vote in every election…. See that others also vote, and vote with awareness of the importance of what they are doing." (Please note that all of that was in ALL CAPS in the original. We meant business.)
Check your voter registration today at vote.gov!
📃"Women Should Register and Vote," 1947-1950 administration of GFWC President Dorothea Dutcher Buck; Mrs. T.C. Carroll, Chairman, Citizenship Department.
*Quotation from nationalvoterregistrationday.org/about
WHRC field trip! Yours truly is on vacation in Delaware, so I took the opportunity to visit @gfwc_odessa. Today’s club meeting included an open hearth cooking demo (and tasting!) thanks to @historic_odessa – and I got to tour the museum’s historic houses afterward, to boot. Thank you Carla, Carol, and all the other club members who welcomed me!
WHRC field trip! Yours truly is on vacation in Delaware, so I took the opportunity to visit @gfwc_odessa. Today’s club meeting included an open hearth cooking demo (and tasting!) thanks to @historic_odessa – and I got to tour the museum’s historic houses afterward, to boot. Thank you Carla, Carol, and all the other club members who welcomed me!
Journalist, author, and clubwoman Helen M. Winslow (1851-1938) was editor of the GFWC magazine for many years at the turn of the last century. She also published the "Official Register and Directory of Women`s Clubs in America", an annual volume chock-full of resources for clubwomen: listings of fellow clubs, speakers and presenters, and helpful advertisements…
…including advertisements for Winslow`s own novels (very convenient!) such as "The President of Quex," "Peggy at Spinster Farm," and "A Woman for Mayor." We have a copy of "Quex" here at the WHRC Library, but not her other titles as yet. Scroll to the third slide to see why I`m curious to read "A Woman for Mayor," which somehow manages – according to the blurbs, anyway – to appeal to both suffragettes and to the Mayor of Omaha, who believed that elected office is just for men. (I`ll pop some of these tributes to the book into the comments below.)
What do you think, folks – should I seek out some or all of Winslow`s books, and report back? Any GFWC ESO members want to join me in some historical-novel explorations? And do my IG followers have other woman`s-club-themed fiction I should add to the Library collection and/or my TBR pile?
📄 ad for "The President of Quex" from the 1907 volume of Winslow`s "Official Register"
📘the Register and our copy of the book, reunited
📄 ad for "A Woman for Mayor" from the 1910 "Official Register"
#clubwomeninhistory #arethereanyclubscalledQuexinreallife
Journalist, author, and clubwoman Helen M. Winslow (1851-1938) was editor of the GFWC magazine for many years at the turn of the last century. She also published the "Official Register and Directory of Women`s Clubs in America", an annual volume chock-full of resources for clubwomen: listings of fellow clubs, speakers and presenters, and helpful advertisements…
…including advertisements for Winslow`s own novels (very convenient!) such as "The President of Quex," "Peggy at Spinster Farm," and "A Woman for Mayor." We have a copy of "Quex" here at the WHRC Library, but not her other titles as yet. Scroll to the third slide to see why I`m curious to read "A Woman for Mayor," which somehow manages – according to the blurbs, anyway – to appeal to both suffragettes and to the Mayor of Omaha, who believed that elected office is just for men. (I`ll pop some of these tributes to the book into the comments below.)
What do you think, folks – should I seek out some or all of Winslow`s books, and report back? Any GFWC ESO members want to join me in some historical-novel explorations? And do my IG followers have other woman`s-club-themed fiction I should add to the Library collection and/or my TBR pile?
📄 ad for "The President of Quex" from the 1907 volume of Winslow`s "Official Register"
📘the Register and our copy of the book, reunited
📄 ad for "A Woman for Mayor" from the 1910 "Official Register"
#clubwomeninhistory #arethereanyclubscalledQuexinreallife
This Labor Day weekend, don`t forget the holiday`s history! Labor Day is older than you might think; it was recognized by several states by the 1880s, and named a national holiday by Congress in 1894. Countless women and men contributed to labor reform during that era, including – no surprise! – many General Federation of Women`s Clubs leaders such as the woman shown here, Ellen Martin Henrotin of Chicago.
Labor issues, particularly those facing women, were a major concern for Henrotin throughout her life. She was GFWC`s second President, serving from 1894 to 1898, but that was only one of her many leadership roles, and she went on to serve as President of the Women`s Trade Union League 1903-1907. In 1907 she worked with Jane Addams – another GFWC clubwoman – on the Chicago Industrial Exhibit, intended to showcase the progress of women`s labor (which, thanks to a strike by women working in the exhibit itself who objected to the way their work was portrayed, became its own artifact of labor history).
#Clubwomeninhistory #laborday
This Labor Day weekend, don`t forget the holiday`s history! Labor Day is older than you might think; it was recognized by several states by the 1880s, and named a national holiday by Congress in 1894. Countless women and men contributed to labor reform during that era, including – no surprise! – many General Federation of Women`s Clubs leaders such as the woman shown here, Ellen Martin Henrotin of Chicago.
Labor issues, particularly those facing women, were a major concern for Henrotin throughout her life. She was GFWC`s second President, serving from 1894 to 1898, but that was only one of her many leadership roles, and she went on to serve as President of the Women`s Trade Union League 1903-1907. In 1907 she worked with Jane Addams – another GFWC clubwoman – on the Chicago Industrial Exhibit, intended to showcase the progress of women`s labor (which, thanks to a strike by women working in the exhibit itself who objected to the way their work was portrayed, became its own artifact of labor history).
#Clubwomeninhistory #laborday