Tag Archives: first woman

Pioneer Women of the Ohio Valley

31 Monday Dec 2018

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This photo is the inset of the book, “American Grit” Edited by Emily Foster – University Press of Kentucky

Women’s rights were of little importance to early settlers of the Ohio Valley. Survival in a territory inhabited solely by Native Americans, who’s land they had “purchased” (approved for passage by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787). Women were given the task of “dealing with them,” while their husbands were off clearing the land, building homes or foraging food.  Of course missionaries were in the territory shortly before purchasing land was allowed and so the first “white” child to be born in the Ohio Valley was a German girl. Her name was Johanna Marie Heckewelder, born in Salem, near the Muskingum River on April 16, 1781.

Much like what I had read in the book “They Saw the Elephant,” about women travelling cross country to California for the Gold Rush – 1849, women made their living the best they could. In the case of Ohio settlers though, women and men were working together – for the most part – as a team. Unfortunately the division of labor meant that women would do anything that was needed but not so for the men. This means that men did not step over into “women’s” roles so it was not entirely equal. Early pioneer women might be called upon to “fell trees,” or build homes, or clear a path to their homes but they still had to cook the meals, give birth, and tend to the children at the same time. How they compared to the California women is that they figured out how to make money or barter for goods so that they could have food to put on the table for their children. The California women might not see their husbands for months on end (while they hoped to win the “lottery” at that time which was a chunk of gold). The Ohio women had their husbands nearby, though not always.

Constructing a Lean-to

It was interesting to note, but not surprising, that Depression was a big issue in this time period. Many times these settlers had purchased land in lots that might include 120 acres. This meant being close to town was not always the case. And, as such, these folks would become very isolated from a social life. They lived in fear of the Natives due to an inability to communicate and, after British soldiers left the valley in 1812, a wave of kidnappings and raids began (between 1812-1825), leading to the “Indian Wars.” If this weren’t enough to worry about, until their home was built, living in a lean-to meant being in fear of wildlife. Sometimes men deserted their families and women were left to figure it all out, on their own, with their children. In other cases, women had to become nurses or healers and had the additional task of figuring out which herbs would work best to cure what ailed their spouses.

A more formal lean-to

American Grit, is a book edited by Emily Foster (University Press of Kentucky), which is based on the letters and journals of Anna Briggs Bentley. Anna was a woman who came from Maryland and was raised in a somewhat affluent household. I say somewhat because her father, Isaac Briggs – a friend of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, just didn’t seem to be very good with money management or good ideas. When he died, he left the family deep in debt. Anna, the oldest child, and her husband left Maryland to try and establish a life in Ohio.

Anna and her husband, quickly learned how to establish roots in Ohio – which would have been hard for a woman used to servants. In their case, they were nearer to other people and she seemed to be very good at petitioning family or guests travelling in her direction to bring her things. She, like other women, also became handy in the art of bartering.

Anna’s family was of the Quaker faith and so, on top of building a homestead, she was eager to get this community going as well. What is interesting about this book is that while she was properly educated, she is poor at spelling and grammar which the editor, Ms. Foster, chose to leave in. Therefore, I found it quite humorous that Anna was chosen to be a schoolmarm for the children of their village. I imagine if any of her students went off to college, they would have been prepared for a rude awakening.

Geauga County couple

If you would like to read learn more about early pioneer life in Ohio or many other states around the country, there are a lot of books written about this. The Ohio History Museum, in Columbus, features many artifacts from this time period as well. The first chapter of the book “The History of Ohio’s Daughters” subtitled “Buckeye Women,” by Stephane Elise Booth gave a very good account of this time period. She mentions several women in this chapter and what they were able to accomplish as a Pioneer Woman in the Ohio Valley.

Honor the Ladies!

14 Wednesday Nov 2018

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I felt it was important to put something together, as a memorial for women in Ohio’s history. I have been working on this for the last couple of months and then met up with a graphics artist that I was referred to. Samantha Vickers is in Cleveland and runs a company called Intentions Studio Design. We spoke on the phone and I explained how I wanted the emblem to look. I wanted something that would be formal and elegant as this was the style in our history when these women would have been around. It was important to get a design that these women would be proud of. She had it in one take and I was really surprised. You never really know if you are explaining yourself correctly until you see the finished product.

The women on this design have all passed. They are not ALL of the women in history in Ohio because you wouldn’t have been able to read the names if we did this. These are not even ALL of the women who have passed. This sample is based on women that I have written about or are preparing to do so. The names that are highlighted are women were “First” to achieve in the state of Ohio or wherever they became famous. The women that are considered for an Ohio Women’s History list are women who were either born in Ohio or those who made history here. For example, Mildred Wirt Benson (aka Carolyn Keene) was born in Ladora, Iowa and grew up there until she graduated college. When she came to Ohio, she began to write and eventually penned the “Nancy Drew Series,” or at least the majority of the stories. There are other women, like Natalie Clifford Barney who born here and lived here only 10 years. However, she went to boarding school in France and eventually stayed in Paris and ran a “Salon,” which was an intellectual gathering place for forty years. (She is not on the emblem but written about here on my blogposts).

If you click on Women’s History Store, above, you will see this emblem featured on products for men, women, youth and toddlers. This online store is based in Ohio. When you click on the products in the store, it will take you to the “EnlightenedGal” store that I created and this is through the manufacturer (CustomizedGirl). Whatever you purchase, Ohio Women’s History gets a commission from this. This is going to be set aside to pay for setting up Ohio Women’s History Project. This will be a non-profit geared toward educating and bringing awareness to our young people but also to adults. I have already given a lecture for the Westerville Kiwanis on four of the women in Ohio’s History. I would like to have contests for students, that we can feature here on the blog and will be an assignment for their history classes (If you are a teacher, please get in contact with me at ladyjatbay @ gmail.com to discuss). My way of educating will be focused on writing and lectures. The direction of this business will be based on what funds are able to be collected from the sales of these shirts in the store here.

Thank you for taking the time to peruse Ohiowomenshistory.com. Feel free to contact me about contributing an article or telling me a story about an Ohio Women in your history. They don’t need to be famous, just a remarkable person who transformed the people around her.

Jeannine Vegh, Founder of Ohio Women’s History Project

98th Anniversary of Women’s Equality Day

26 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by in Miss Elaine E. Usz

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On this day, August 20, 1920, The right to vote, 19th Amendment was ratified. Here are photos of newspapers and women celebrating this major life-changing event!!!

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Universal History Archive/REX/Shutterstock (3875386a)
Alice Paul and other women celebrating
VARIOUS

Washington Evening Post

New York Daily Mirror

The Missourian

 

Jerrie Mock – Newark, Ohio

13 Monday Aug 2018

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(November 22, 1925 – September 30, 2014: Sagittarius/Artemis)

Forget Amelia Earhart, who was the first woman to fly solo across the ocean, Jerrie Mock was the first woman to fly solo AROUND THE WORLD! Yet no one really knows about her, save for flying enthusiasts. In fact, I wonder if we would even know about Amelia, had she not died in mysterious circumstances and become a legend.  And as the author Nancy Roe Pimm points out, in the book “The Jerrie Mock Story,” when Jerrie made this harrowing journey, fraught with many obstacles along the way, too many other important events overshadowed a first for women. Would this have happened in today’s society? Probably not. Women who were the first to do things in the past, were heroines but it was not quite as fascinating then as it is now. Books were rarely written about them and when they were, they faded into the back of the shelf, until now, when so many women are trying to dust off their jackets or create them from scratch.

Nancy’s book did justice to Jerrie’s flight because she really makes it exciting for a person to read and feel that they are a part of the journey. While it is a biography for young readers, I didn’t get the sense that it was for a kid. I mean I didn’t feel like one reading it. It actually reminds me a little bit of a Nancy Drew story, except the heroine isn’t fictional and there is no mystery, just a lot of complications which create suspense. The latter is what captivated me about Jerrie’s story. I had to keep telling myself “She makes it, don’t worry.” I was able to read the story in one day which is the nice thing about a 113 page book for young readers. It reads like a short story. Nancy also puts little snippets of information in the book, right when Jerrie is in that part of the world, so you can learn additional information. I had no idea that there were once seven wonders of the “Ancient World.” Only one is still in existence. I knew there was “seven wonders of the world,” but not an ancient world. She also provides a timeline at the end of the book, which is helpful for someone wanting to write a blog article and not wanting to search through the book all over again for dates.

It is also interesting because Nancy wasn’t shy about telling us about the disgruntled relationship between Jerrie and her husband Russ. You can imagine that whenever a woman is in the limelight, it is going to frustrate their partnership on some level, especially in 1964. I wondered where this was going and the author was careful with this by noting that while Jerrie was upset, she pointed out that she also missed her husband. I can empathize with the situation. If it weren’t for Russ pushing Jerrie and remaining focused on her journey, she might not have been the first woman to fly solo around the world. Many times when people are on a long trek to become a first at something, they often have coaches to keep them on track. This generally causes a lot of friction. While I have never been a pilot, I have ridden up to sixty miles on a bike and with a lot of people. I know how you can get upset with your coach when you are tired, cranky, hungry, physically exhausted; naturally you want to slap them sometimes. It can be a testimony of a really good relationship when it can withstand such pressures as she went through like this with her husband. When I looked at the timeline in the back of the book however, Jerrie and Russ would end up divorcing fifteen years later. Since her daughter would have been around 18 years old at that time, she obviously waited until all her children were adults, which was the “right” thing to do at that time.

Her husband Russ was apparently more competitive about this journey than Jerrie. As you read the story, you find that Jerrie would have liked to have spent a lot more time in some of the places where she landed. It was her first time to be around the world (which also makes this solo flight all the more spectacular in that she didn’t practice) and she really wanted to take in a lot more scenery than she was able to. Had Russ not pushed her, she may not have won the race. I have not mentioned before but at the same time she was in the air, a woman from California was also doing the same thing. She was Joan Merriam Smith who was 27 years old to Jerrie’s 39. Joan was taking the exact same flight that Amelia Earhart took and she did succeed but only returned to California a few days after Jerrie. Unfortunately, Joan died in an airplane crash one year later.

So what kind of obstacles did our heroine endure? At the onset of her flight, just as she went into the air from Port Columbus, she hears the traffic controller state that this will be the last we ever hear of her. What a terrible thing for him to say but thank goodness, she had a strong constitution and didn’t let this sway her. If that weren’t bad enough, every leg of the journey, some idiot journalist was asking her stupid questions about Amelia Earhart – even wondering if she were afraid she would die too. Just like today, the poor woman had to suffer the endless throngs of insensitive reporters who have never learned tact and decency among celebrities. In Cairo, she was stalled by a ticket agent who didn’t believe she had her own plane and wouldn’t let her through. Naturally, this would be straightened out after a couple of phone calls.

The technical issues began immediately. First there was a radio transmission failure as well as brakes that didn’t work. Unfortunately, it sounds as if the latter were probably sabotaged. I thought it was quite funny to realize that the radio transmission for long distance was a cable of 100’ which Jerrie had to drop from the plane, allowing it to hang, in order for it to work. Another obstacle was assuming she was landing in Cairo, and as her wheels touched the ground she was greeted by the military who weren’t too excited to see her. This was because she flew into a secret Air Force base accidentally.  Mid-way over the South China Sea; there was the smell of gas. This required switching gas lines and it sounded like turning the engine off for a bit, which was a very risky undertaking. I kept wondering why things kept going wrong, though I also realized this was 1964 and planes were different than.

The nice thing about every stop along her journey was how wonderfully she was treated in each of the countries she would land in. I was the most surprised about this as I couldn’t imagine this going so well in today’s difficult world. Of course, each stop included ambassadors, statesmen, people who had been alerted long before she left home and who had already approved her stop over. Her journey was charted out by a retired military general and between him and the other people, including her husband, who were anxious to have a successful voyage; the trip seemed as if it was meant to be.

The funny thing about choosing to write about Jerrie for this blog is that I am afraid of flying. It is no accident that I purchased this book, well over a year ago, while meeting the author at Ohioana book festival. I had put off reading it because I was afraid I would be sick as I usually am when I am anywhere near an airport. I haven’t even flown since 9/11, which I never make a secret about, though I began getting sick on flights way before that. Fortunately, as I read this book, I felt very calmed by her spirit, which I felt was captured in this book. It reminds me of a couple of flights I have been on in the past, where the pilot was very re-assuring and as a result made the journey very enjoyable. I know if I had been in Jerrie’s shoes, hearing all that stuff about Amelia Earhart would have grounded me for sure. I would have panicked and seen it as an omen – that the topic kept being brought up. That kind of negative talk can cause many people to self-sabotage but Jerrie Mock was undeterred because she was that kind of woman. She was strong, brave, and yet modest and confident. Unlike Amelia, she didn’t have that egotistical side to her nature. While she relished the limelight, she wasn’t caught up in it. I don’t see this as a coincidence. Jerrie was very careful along this journey and did not take any risks with weather. She trusted her instincts, which is pointed out a couple of times in the book. On one such occasion, pre-solo flight, the trip she turned down with other pilots ended in a disaster.

What I see that appears to compare quite frequently with the Ohio women that I write about, is the spiritual side of their natures. When I think of all the women I have read about, from around the world, until I took on the task of writing about the Ohio Women’s History, I didn’t even think about the spiritual component as I read their stories. Yet, time and time again, I continue to read and to have the sense that the Gods were working in sync with them. Perhaps it is our culture, here in Ohio, or the authors of the books or a little of both. Grandma Gatewood, Jerrie Mock, Sarah Worthington, and others, I feel as if their journey was guided by a higher power. Was it them or were they chosen to do what they did?

 

Post-script: There are plenty of YouTube videos about Jerrie Mock and even another book that I learned about while watching a video. “Three-Eight Charlie,” was written by Jerrie Mock and more recently was enhanced as a special 50th anniversary commemorative edition. The newer version is thanks to graphic designer Wendy Hollinger and artist Dale Radcliff who along with publishers Phoenix Graphix included maps, weather charts and additional photos.

I am including this video below which is an interview with Jerrie Mock by Carol Ann Garratt for Women of Aviation Week 2014. Jerrie died later that year on September 30th in her home in Florida; at the age of 89. She was survived only by her daughter Valerie, the last of her three children (I assume there were grandchildren as well but I am thinking of those who were alive when she took this voyage).

Timeline for the Honorable Maude C. Waitt – Lakewood, OH

11 Friday May 2018

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1878: Born: Maude Edith Comstock on August  11, 1878,  in Middlebury, VT to Orvis Foster Comstock and Mary Severence (neé Hickey). She was the last of seven children and only three of which survived to adulthood.

1892 – 1896: Attended Middlebury High School. (approximate years)

1896: Normal School department of the Vermont College at Saxton’s River, Windham County. (approximate year)

1900: Became a teacher in Middlebury and then at St. Johnsbury, Caledonia County, and then in Rockland, Massachusetts. (approximate year)

1902: Principal of a grammar school in Rockland, Massachusetts. (approximate year)

1903: Married Walter Gustavus Waitt (aged 25), on June 25th, in Melrose, MA.

1909: Gave birth to Doris Ida Waitt (aged 31), on March 7th, in Fremont, OH.

1912: Ohio Constitution gave cities right to frame their own suffrage charters and create municipal offices.

1912:Women’s suffrage on Ohio ballots but defeated.

1914: Maude and Walter and Doris move to Lakewood, Ohio. She was a school teacher (age 36).

1914: Women’s suffrage on Ohio ballots but defeated again.

1917: Lakewood passes municipal suffrage in part due to Maude, C.E. Kendall, and Bernice Pyke. Women in this district were allowed to vote on municipal issues.

1918: Chair of Lakewood’s Women’s Suffrage party (aged 40).

1918: Sold $800,000 worth of Liberty bonds in the fourth drive as per article Lakewood Press, 10/18/1918.

1921: Elected to City Council of Lakewood (aged 43), resigned a year later as she was elected to the State Senate.

1922: Lakewood League of Women’s Voters is formed by the Women’s Civic League (organized in 1920) after gaining the right to vote. Now the oldest league.

1922: One of the first of six women elected in the Ohio General Assembly as a State Senate. She was a Republican and served three terms (aged 44), which is four years each.

1923: Introduced Senate Bill 130, Senate Bill 138, and Senate Bill 252 – all of which were signed into law.

1926: Re-elected State Senate (aged 48).

1930: Re-elected State Senate (aged 52).

During the three terms sat on these Senate committees –

  1. Benevolent Institutions (chair)
  2. Prison and Prison Reforms (chair)
  3. Library (chair)
  4. Public Health
  5. Commercial Corporations
  6. Soldiers and Sailors Orphans’ Home

1935: Dies in Lakewood, Ohio (aged 57) after a long illness.

__________________________________________________________________

As per The Ohio Channel: Ohio SB 130

Senate Bill 130 dealt with the sale and conveyance of portions of Cleveland State Hospital. The bill was initially passed by the Ohio General Assembly on April 6, 1923, but the Governor at the time did not sign the bill. On April 28, 1923, both the Ohio House and Senate declared the bill “passed – notwithstanding the objections of the Governor.”

And SB 138

Senate Bill 138, sponsored by Sen. Maude Waitt, allows the State Medical Board to appoint visiting teachers for recognized schools of nursing. The bill was passed April 6, 1923.

SB 252 via The Ohio Legislature website which only shows current information.

This is to require schools to prevent sudden cardiac arrest (aka Lindsay’s law).

Special Note: This birthday is based on the Hulbert Family Tree on Ancestry.com. There is a sister before her born on August 11, 1874, known as Ester Maud (w/o and e) and so many biographies incorrectly use a different year. The actual birth certificate of Maude Edith could not be found, only her sister.

A Dream and What Came of It

07 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by in Ohio Women

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The following is an article written by Maude C. Waitt (under her married name Mrs. W.G. Waitt). I found this on The Ohio Channel but as they did not note what paper it came from and I was unable to track this, I could not say which periodical it is from. Having said this, I would say it is from one of the Cleveland, Ohio (Lakewood) newspapers as she lived in Cuyahoga County. Ms. Waitt was the first female state senator. The Ohio Channel did note that the date this was published was on January 21, 1921. I have not edited this save for a missing quotation mark by the paper.

A Dream and What Came of It by Mrs. W.G. Waitt

THE DREAM

Last night I dreamed a dream and beheld a vision.

I thought I stood upon the shores of a great inland lake and a fair and beautiful city stretched before me.

And as I looked I saw in many homes – on many streets groups of earnest faced women who seemed to be intent on studying something. And ever and anon they would lift their eyes to messages which shone with a pure and wonderful radiance.

And after reading these messages their faces were illumined and they returned to their study with renewed zeal.

And as I drew closer I was privileged to read these flaming messages, “Arise, women voters from the North and South and East and West in this your union together – strong of faith and fearless of spirit and pledge yourselves and all that you are to a new crusade, a crusade which shall not end until the electorate of this republic is clean, intelligent American.”

“I pledge myself never to cast a vote for any measure which has not been submitted to my intelligence and ratified by my conscience.”

“Hold fast to those high ideals of public service which have been handed down to you form women who received inspiration from the Holy Fire of Divinity itself.”

And as I stood there curious – but understanding little which I saw I turned and saw at my side an Angel of Light.

And I said to him “What are all these women studying?” And he replied “They are studying the laws of the nation, state and city.”

“But,” I said, “it seems strange to me that they should leave their homes and children to study thus together.”

And he said, “They are leaving their homes and their children that they may learn better how to protect them. It has been revealed to these women that home cannot be contained within the four walls of an individual house – that home is the community and the people who live in it are the family, and the public school is the nursery and upon the welfare of the one depends the welfare of the other. And sadly do they all need the mother touch.”

“But what use do they expect to make of this knowledge,” said I.

“They are building for the new vision where men and women work together, each administering and governing according to his or her special abilities.”

“But are they not satisfied with the long reign of man?” said I. And the angel made reply: “Many women feel that a great share of the evils of society come from one half the human race with only half the intelligence and less than half the moral power making all the laws of the world alone.

“But what does woman feel she can add to the superior knowledge of man gained the long agest through? She expects to bring quicker intuitions, better moral standards and higher ideals.”

“But said I, half in anger, “Who is this new kind of woman who dares to think she can add to the superior knowledge of man?”

“This,” he made reply, “is the new woman citizen and you behold her in preparation to take her place at the council table of the nation.”

“But who is she and from whence did she come?”

And he said: “This is she who at man’s side stood and received with him the primal curse. This is she, who at his side passed the dread angel of the flaming sword went driven from the garden.

“This is she, who unfailing, weariless and unafraid has borne with man the heat and burden of the day.”

“But she is so new, so untried, can she be trusted?” said I.

And he answered thus: “When God sent to earth his only Son in whose arms was he laid? Whose was the breast that nourished Him?”

And the beauteous vision faded and as I slept I dreamed again. And once more I found myself on the shores of the same great inland lake and the same fair and beautiful city stretched before me. And I saw earnest men and women working together and the light of mutual understanding was in their eyes.

And I saw women working in peace and concord and the light of sisterly love was shining in their eyes. And I said to the Angel of Light still standing by my side: “What is this place?”

And he said: “Heaven is found on earth and here is the city of the new vision building by men and women working together. This is the ideal toward which humanity has been struggling the long ages through – this is the city of Lakewood, O.”

AND WHAT BECAME OF IT

Because of this dream, during the month of February, 1921, a new plan for citizenship classes originating with Mrs. Waitt, will be tried out in the City of Lakewood.

Twenty women have consented to become leaders of twenty groups – each of these groups to contain twenty of their friends or neighbors.

For four consecutive weeks in February these groups will meet and discuss questions relative to the State of Ohio. Said discussion to be followed by a talk-fest and a cup of tea.

Agnes May Driscoll – Westerville, Ohio

16 Sunday Jul 2017

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 Agnes May Driscoll, née Meyer (July 24, 1889 – September 16, 1971, Leo/Athena), known by colleagues as Madame X or Miss Aggie. At first glance you might see a very timid woman in her photographs. You are suddenly caught by her eyes and this is when you realize her wisdom, strength and character. Unfortunately, Agnes is probably the most difficult woman I have chosen to write about on this blog because only one paper has been written about her and she

Beth Weinhardt

was a cryptanalyst, something I know nothing about. I am extremely grateful to

Beth Weinhardt, Local History Manager at the Westerville Library, for allowing me to spend time in their history museum reading this paper. Beth is also the writer of the “Images of America: Westerville” booklet that can be found at stores here in Ohio (but also on Amazon). This coming weekend, July 22, 2017, at 2pm, the Westerville Library will be honoring Agnes by placing a plaque outside the front of the library. The section of the library where this will be placed also happens to be the home Agnes and her family lived in until 1903.  This is the time when the Anti-Saloon League purchased the property but then later sold it to the library in the 1930’s.

At the age of six years old, Agnes and her family moved to Westerville, from Illinois as her father had accepted a position at the newly opened “Otterbein College,” as a Professor of Music. Her father was Dr. Gustav Meyer, a German

Meyer family home 110 State Street.

immigrant from a town called Neustadt on Reibenberg near Hanover. Her mother, Lucy Andrews Meyer was American. The family had only three children at the time of the move to Westerville, with Agnes being the youngest but it would soon grow to a total of eight children. Dr. Meyer was also an accomplished pianist and like his father, he would share his love of music with the family. Agnes would go on to study music and become an accomplished pianist herself. Also, like her father, fluent in several languages. Dr. Meyer also ran a very strict household, demanding obedience. As you read the paper “The Neglected Giant,” 2015, by Kevin Wade Johnson of the National Security Administration (NSA), on Agnes, a deceased colleague from this agency, you begin to empathize with her personality.

Agnes was from a time before women had the right to vote. She would be 31 years old before she was able to do so for the first time. Prior to joining the U.S. Navy in 1917, she achieved degrees from both Otterbein and OSU. She received a Bachelor’s degree (listed in the paper as an A.B.) in Mathematics, Physics, Foreign Languages and Music and taught for some time. At the age of 28, in 1917, this was the first time the Navy allowed women to enlist and they were only allowed to be in clerical positions. Their view on women did not change much in her time and she was often slighted from promotions, pay raises, and dealt with heavy competition and jealousy from male peers; which caused her much distress. She was recruited as a Chief Yeoman and started with a pay of $1400/annum. This was in the middle of World War I and almost immediately she was transferred to Washington D.C. to work in the Code and Signal Section of the Director of Naval Communications.

Great Nephew Captain Victor A. Meyer, (retired USN).

Her time in the Navy started out as a short period of a couple of years. She was discharged and then went back to work as a civilian but quickly left for what seemed like a promising future in the small business world. After solving a puzzle (noted as being unsolvable), in a contest put together by Edward H. Hebern, she was asked to work at his company Hebern Electric Company, at their offices in D.C. as a Technical Advisor. This was to be a small stint as the company fell apart due to issues with finances. It would be 1924 when she returned to her post as a civilian in the Navy knowing that she was going to receive a 17.5% pay cut.  

At this time she was working for Captain Laurance Safford, who was to become known as “the father of U.S. Navy Cryptology.” It was also a time when Japanese and Americans were engaged in stealing secrets from each other, known as “black-bag” jobs. Soon she would be put on the task of breaking the codes from something known as “The Red Book.” It would take her three years before she was able to accomplish this. In the meantime she was training junior officers on the art of cryptology. This is about the time when her nicknames began to be formed by the men and she would be known as Madame X or Miss Aggie.

Agnes was a very refined woman, seen by colleagues as being tall and patrician, she was only about 5’ 5” which is an average height for women today, though it was tall for a woman at that time. It is mentioned that probably because she was in a “man’s world,” she was known to “curse like a sailor.” This certainly would not fit her personality based on the way she was raised and what you can gleam from her personal life. She also wore no make-up to work as attractive women were said to be in the military to marry a sailor. She would however, go on to marry Michael “Brownie” Bernard Driscoll on August 12, 1925. Brownie, his nickname, was an Attorney for the Interstate Commerce Commission. He was known to be a sentimental person who wrote poems for his wife. Brownie and Agnes loved to travel and garden and they never had children. They were close to her family and she enjoyed analyzing her nieces and nephews when they were at play, trying to determine a deeper meaning in this. She would have made a great play therapist, no doubt. The two of them loved to enter contests and gamble and Agnes was a great chess player. Her sister Margaret Eliza Hamilton, was eight years her junior. She had enlisted in the Navy during World War I as well and would end up working with her sister in the Code and Signal Section.

By 1930 the Japanese had realized the U.S. was onto their codes and so they established a new code which would come to be known as “The Blue Book.” This lasted until 1938 and then it became “The Black Book,” in two parts. However, around 1937 Agnes was in a terrible automobile accident. The driver of the faulty car would see two fatalities. Agnes had about four people in her own car but she apparently suffered the worst. She had two broken jaws and a leg that was never properly fixed so that she suffered pain and walked with a cane the rest of her life. In the video above, you can see a photo of her with her mother and what her leg looked like. Evidently she was too afraid of the surgery, which would require re-breaking the bone and probably not as nicely as the way it would be managed today with modern technology. However, this injury was known to have changed her personality quite substantially. Though the debate from her colleagues as to whether or not this was the case varies according to favoritism. At this time, she was accomplishing a great many things for the Navy meanwhile watching her peers surpass her in pay and rank. She wasn’t too happy about this.

After the accident, it would appear she had hit her peak and upon returning from her convalescence began to go on the decline in her job. It does appear though that she would be set up to fail by her colleagues, from what was written. Around this time Pearl Harbor would be attacked, to no surprise to Agnes or to U.S. Naval Intelligence (though I found it interesting to read this). Nonetheless she would be shifted to other things at this point and was no longer involved with Japanese intelligence. She would be involved with a German naval system called Enigma, in which her work came to no avail. Partly, this had to do with the Navy refusing to work with the British who had already achieved success in decoding this system. Partly, it had taken awhile because Agnes’s methods for de-coding were behind the times and she refused to keep up with them. There were machines now to help with deciphering codes but Agnes preferred to work manually (and did so the rest of her career). It was however, her only way to find the answers that she trusted. Then she was put on a project called Coral and a colleague by the name of Frank Raven, was successful at thwarting her accomplishments by sabotaging them. He was backed by people within. Agnes at this point had enemies and her cheerleaders were losing strength as they were retiring or deceased.

In 1949, toward the end of her career, she was transferred to the newly formed Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA). It appears that she was at this point merely patronized on the job. The officers in charge had no respect for people who did not go to war directly, so she was given tasks to keep her busy during the day.  From 1952-1959 she became a consultant for the NSA (National Security Administration) that was formed by the top people in the field.  Agnes was still very stubborn in the way she did her work and was using a magnifying glass to pore over pages of information that took much longer to do then the machines devised to speed up the process. She did finally retire in 1959 after her 70th birthday, though no mention of this was made in the NSA newsletter.

At the end of her life, she and Brownie continued to travel, sometimes with her mother, to New England, post-war Europe and Cuba (before Castro). Agnes was fond of collecting green stamps, which gave rewards (these were before you had cards to get discounts at stores). She and her husband kept to themselves and did not socialize much, outside of a few dinner parties. They did attend lectures on astronomy and anthropology. Her mother Lucy would go on to live to be 100 years old and died in 1964. Within the same year her husband Brownie died three days before his 74th birthday. Her family noted that she was very stoic about this but stated that this was just her nature. She was known to them as an iron-willed woman.

Her sister’s stroke in 1969, which left her unable to talk until she died in 1980, would prove to be the toughest for Agnes to take.  The two of them had worked together since World War I and had been close their entire lives. Agnes shared a floor at the same nursing home and would come to her death at the age of 82, in 1971. She and her husband’s bodies are interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

The reason for there being a lack of information about Agnes is that she did not keep a diary or journal. Much of what the author was able to deduce for his paper came from military archives and journals written by her peers, which happened to mention her but gave biased details about her personality. She herself is a bit of an enigma.

**The above (and below) photos are from the ceremony on July 22, 2017, honoring her with a plaque in front of the library (and her home).

Front of plaque.

Great Nephew Captain Meyer standing next to the plaque.

Back of plaque.

Emma Gatewood – Mercerville, Ohio

12 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by in Books, Ohio Women

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Emma “Grandma” Gatewood (October 25, 1887 – June 4, 1973; Scorpio and Artemis)

To say that she had the Gods on her side would be an understatement. This woman faced such tragedy at the hands of her husband. These were episodes of extreme violence, sexual abuse and emotional abuse as well.  After she finally got rid of him, she began to heal from these inner wounds in her own individual way. A way which began to nurture her sense of self and help define her as a woman. By an act of purpose, she became an accidental celebrity. A gift that she did not wish for but would allow and come to expect after a while. Emma Gatewood, aka Grandma Gatewood on the A.T. (Appalachian Trail) would be the first woman to walk the trail in 1955 at the age of 67. She would continue to walk the trail two more times as well as the “The Oregon Trail,” and quite a few other long hauls.

gatewood-book-coverI was turned on to this story, just this past year, after learning about a documentary made in her honor. A documentary which features two of her daughters:  Lucy and Louise, the youngest of the clan. After watching the documentary, I saw Ben Montgomery’s book “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk,” lying on the table and picked it up to scan the cover (P.S. 8/26/2018 – see NYT article at the end of this blog. Ben Montgomery evidently was her great great nephew). This book was a  New York Time’s bestseller and written by a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. After purchasing it, I had put the book to the side, thinking it would be a dull day to day journey and not quite that interesting. I assumed I would force myself through it so I could review it for this website. Naturally, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was full of intrigue; rich in historical content from that time period and of course her background.

Being a woman from Mercerville, Ohio and having lived in Gallipolis and some small

First Four of 11 Children

First Four of 11 Children

towns in West Virginia with her husband; it is not unusual to imagine a story of abuse and desperation. Not quite a story of poverty, when you had a woman like Emma but finances were plucked away because her husband was just a really bad man. I am not putting too much emphasis on him because it is a typical jerk of a husband story. You can read the book to find more. These types of stories are so compelling and what old country music tried so hard to explain to us. She would have eleven children, 24 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and one great-great when she died at the age of 85.

Ben creates a rich experience of the trail that you feel as if you are walking right along with her. Thanks to her journals, newspaper articles, and letters written home, he was able to piece together what life on the trail was actually like for her, on a daily basis. In the meantime, his research uncovered one of the largest hurricanes of that time “Hurricane Connie.” He was able to show us the devastation in towns she had already left behind as well as how it affected the path in front of her. He spoke of civil unrest of the times while talking about the night she spent with two opposing gang leaders from New York, unaware yet sensitive to her surroundings. His story created a depth by showing us her own trials and tribulations on the road and yet, no matter what, she persevered and kept moving forward “one foot at a time.”

Her Gear

Her Gear

Reading this book, I kept thinking to myself “Wow, the Gods sure wanted her to be the one.” I also kept imagining the pain she must have been in with a simple pair of tennis shoes. I imagined what her feet must have looked like. As a smaller hiker myself (up to 15 miles), I have seen my own feet after wearing hiking boots. If they aren’t just right, you can get callouses, blackened toe nails, and bloodied heels – all of which I have had. I heard about the throbbing pain she suffered toward the end – with her knee beginning to give out. I have, at 54, problems with my legs which give me trouble if I walk too much on sidewalks or in shopping centers. I could imagine what it was like after her glasses broke (also toward the end) and she could barely see ahead of her. What amazed me most was that a 67 year old woman, having birthed eleven children, was able to sleep on a bed of leaves or hot rocks to warm her back. I have only had one child and my back does not allow me to sleep on anything but a mattress and this is not for vanity. I certainly would have a hard time getting off the ground after an eventful night’s sleep (her sleeps outside were rarely good ones due to nature, not her back).  The bitter icy temperatures up in the final mountain range, any of us who live in cold weather climates – such as Ohio – know far too well what it would have been like wearing a rain coat and a few layers of clothes.  But she made it and is now a legend.

The Writer with Louise (L) and Lucy (R). On the trail.

The Writer with Louise (L) and Lucy (R) on the trail.

As you can imagine, I am not racing to get to the trail and step in place behind her. I’ll keep walking my 6-10 miles with my local meetup group. I wouldn’t mind walking the Grandma Gatewood trail again (I didn’t know I had been on it when I was at Old Man’s Cave). The writer, Ben Montgomery did walk the majority of her trail and did so by tracing the original path she would have taken, thanks to her notes.  This is because the trail she took was much more intense and less user friendly than the well-paved and marked trail of today. I was impressed by his dedication to doing so. He was definitely not a wimpy writer, hiding behind his computer.

So, very sadly, I must put this story behind me as I do with all the women that I have begun to research for this blog and begin to search for another amazing tale. After finishing each woman’s article, I feel as if they have just died for the first time. I tend to be on the verge of tears as I finish the book and write the article as I know I must say goodbye and move forward. I have gotten to know some amazing women that no one really has much intimate knowledge about, with the exception of what little is there to read. When I went about bringing this website to people’s attention, I had no idea just how few resources there would be about Ohio Women’s History. It is important to showcase their lives and make sure that young women have heroines, someone to look up to and imagine being like. Important that they understand, women have done so much more than get us the right to vote – which is all most people seem focused on. We are in a generation of slackers, people who would have the same physical problems I have from sitting at their desk for hours in a day staring at a CRT. Ben’s book talks about an article a man wrote which addresses the laziness of society (back then), due to the invention of automobiles. It mentioned people driving for only two blocks to get a bar of soap. I can’t imagine what that man would think of today’s society. His story was telling and a bittersweet call to arms before life became as it is right now.

The story of Emma Gatewood is the tale of many strong farming women who were capable of accomplishing multiple tasks in one day. My own research into women’s history reminds me of the book, “They Saw the Elephant,” which are diaries and stories about women crossing the country with their families, to find Gold in the hills of California, around the time of 1849. Unless these women documented their experiences or someone decided to walk a trail, these other women, unsung heroines, are people we will never know. Except of course if our grandparents made sure to put them in our heads – and we listened and paid attention to those stories. Otherwise, they are long ago and forgotten because now, in their place, are the modern vamps of our time who can sing a song or look pretty on the screen.

 

Note: Below is the Grandma Gatewood Trail at Old Man’s Cave, where a placard is there mentioning this. This trail was her favorite hike.

Grandma Gatewood Trail map at Old Man's Cave

Post script 8/26/18 https://nyti.ms/2N35h7L

My Collection of Women’s History Books

16 Wednesday Nov 2016

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This is more than just Ohio Women’s History. I wanted to share with you my collection of Women’s History Books because I think it is important, not just to focus on your own ancestry, but on your gender history as well. Please note I have put an asterisk next to Ohio Women’s books and then “YP” next to the books specifically written in young person’s font/print. I will add more books going forward as I acquire them. 

Women’s Biographies, Memoirs and Autobiographies:

Chanel and her World, By Edmonde Charles-Roux – 1979

Annie Oakley and the World of her Time *YP, By Clifford Linsey Alderman – 1979

Susan B. Anthony Slept Here: A Guide to Women’s Landmarks *(an Ohio section), By Lynn Sherr and Jurate Kazickas – 1976, 1994 

ByLines: A photobiography of Nellie Bly YP, By Sue Macy – 2009

Ten Days in a Mad-House (a memoir), By Nellie Bly – 1887 (paperback reprint 2014)

 Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, By Hayden Herrera – 1983

 Frida Kahlo (A collection of her paintings), Walker Art Center – 2007 

A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War, By Stephen B. Oates – 1994 

Notorious Victoria *, By Mary Gabriel – 1998 

The Song of Bernadette (Historical Fiction), By Franz Werfel – 1942, 1970, 2006 

In Winter We Flourish: Life and Letters of Sarah Worthington King Peter 1800-1877 *, By Anna Shannon McAllister – 1939

Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend, By Arianna (Stassinopoulous) Huffington – 1981

 Isabel Allende: My Invented Country (a memoir), By Isabel Allende – 2003 

Goldie: A Lotus Grows in the Mud (a memoir), By Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden – 2005 

Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, By Nancy Milford – 2011

Zelda: A Biography, By Nancy Milford – 1970, 2011

Hannah Senesh: Her Life and Diary, Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House, Ltd. – 1966, 1973

The Accidental Princess (Historical Fiction), By Allison Pataki – 2015 

Great Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, By Carolly Erickson – 1994

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life, By Queen Noor – 2003

By Myself and Then Some, By Lauren Bacall – 1978, 2005

Juliette Gordon Low and the Girl Scouts: The Story of an American Woman 1860-1927 YP, Edited by Anne Hyde Choate and Helen Ferris – 1928

Lady from Savannah: The Life of Juliette Low, By Gladys Penny Shultz and Daisy Gordon Lawrence – 1958, 1988

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, By Emily Dickinson – 1890 … and my book 1960

A Woman for President: the Story of Victoria Woodhull *YP, By Kathleen Krull and Illustrations by Jane Dyer – 2004

Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait, By Kendra Bean – 2013 

Fire: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin 1934-1937, By Anaïs Nin – (published by Rupert Pole in 1995)

Erma Bombeck: A Life in Humor *, By Susan Edwards – 1997

Hillbilly Elegy *, J.D. Vance – 2016 (which includes the story of Bonnie Vance or “Mamaw”)

Women’s History and Collections:

Women’s Inhumanity to Women, By Phyllis Chesler – 2009

Ohio’s Remarkable Women: Daughters, Wives, Sisters and Mothers Who Shaped History *, By Greta Anderson, Revised by Susan Sawyer – 2015

Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio *, by Jane Ann Turzillo – 2011

Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts, By Anne Llewellyn Barstow – 1994

They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush, By JoAnn Levy – 1992, 2014

4000 Years of Uppity Women, By  Vicki León – 2011

Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Women To” Generation Tells Its Story, By Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett – 2007

Bad Girls: The Most Powerful, Shocking, Amazing, Thrilling, and Dangerous Women of All Time, By Jan Stradling – 2008

Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey, By Isabel Fonseca – 1995

The 100 Greatest Women of All Time, By Deborah G. Felder – 1996, 1997

The American Frugal Housewife – Dedicated to Those Who Are Not Ashamed of Economy, By Mrs. Child 1832 (Applewood Books Carlisle, MA – Twelfth Edition)

Look to Lazarus *, By David and Beverly Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker – 2011 (Note: I am including this book for its impact on local Women’s History and Jobs for Women)

 

Ohio’s Remarkable Women

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by in Ohio Women

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If you are like me, you have a collection of women’s history books on your shelves. My most recent find is, Ohio’s Remarkable Women, written by Greta Anderson (Columbus School for Girls Alumni) and Revised by Susan Sawyer (2015). I have several women’s history collections and now one that focuses exclusively on Ohio women or women who’s contributions were specific to or began in Ohio. Here are the ladies you will find in this book:

Frances Dana Gage – Social Reformer

Harriet Beecher Stowe – “The Little Lady Who Made a Big War”

Eliza Jane Trimble Thompson – Mother of a Crusade

Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke – The Nurse Who Outranked General Sherman

Victoria C. Woodhull – Avatar of Free Love and the Vote

Hallie Quinn Brown – A Builder of Schools

Annie Oakley – Little Sure Shot

Helen Herron Taft – White House Bound

Lillian D. Wald – Founder of Public Health Nursing

Jane Edna Hunter – A beacon for the Black Working Woman

Florence Ellinwood Allen – A Woman of Justice

Ella P. Stewart – Trailblazing Toledoan

Lois Lenski – Collaborator with Children

Dorothy Fuldheim – Cleveland’s Media Doyenne

On the first few pages, there is a map of Ohio which shows the cities that will be mentioned in the book so you can see where some of these smaller towns are and have a sense of what part of the state they are in. This is a very small 155 page book so it doesn’t come close to all of the women from Ohio who have made history in or from our great state. My intent is to bring to life so many more valuable contributions on here. I believe this book is part of a series of other books on women from other states. The series itself are titled “More than Petticoats,” Remarkable [insert State] Women.

My favorite new story, from this collection, would have to be Dorothy Fuldheim or the best which was saved for last. Dorothy was a Jewish woman who faced Adolph Hitler, as a journalist, and before the concentration camps had begun. He was just rising to power and beginning to speak on anti-Semitism at his lectures. Dorothy, who spoke German, was in Germany and out of curiosity travelled to Munich to get a chance to interview him. She was struck by the comments made by several Germans she had met while travelling in Europe about all the jobs Hitler was going to bring for the people. Naturally she wanted to know who such a person was. She used flattery at his office, to get him to talk to her and then was taken aback, once more by what he had to say, not knowing she of course was Jewish. When she returned to Ohio, she tried explaining to people the concerns she saw in this new leader but everyone she spoke to decided she was being overly dramatic. She went on to host “The One O’Clock Club” on the radio and continued her journalistic career through several other media outlets as well. What fascinated me the most was her respect for freedom of speech. This was shown by a quote she put over her guests chair (on the radio station) which read “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This is certainly not shared by journalists of today and it is quite sad considering it follows as our first amendment rights in the constitution. Instead we see emotionally damaging words against people who are merely standing up for what they believe in.

If you have a chance, be sure to pick up a copy of this wonderful little collection and add it to your women’s history shelves. I think you will be glad you did.