"BLUE BOOK OF NEBRASKA WOMEN;" BY WINONA REEVES (1916); PAGES 201 - 227 The following information was transcribed by Charmaine Keith from "The Blue Book of Nebraska Woman" by Winona Evans Reeves, Missouri Printing and Publishing Company (1916). Submitted to the USGenWeb Nebraska Archives, February, 1999, by Charmaine Keith (charmain@southwind.net). USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial researchers, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, nor for presentation in any form by any other organization or individual. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express written permission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist. *************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 201 MRS. JOEL H. JOHNSON Surnames: Johnson, Moon, Krise Mable Ruth Krise Johnson was born at Neligh, Neb., on Sept. 11, 1883, and that town is still her home. She is the daughter of Peter J. and Hannah L. (Moon) Krise who were Nebraska pioneers. She attended the public schools, after which she took a course in Gates Academy and in the Conservatory of Music in connection with it. She was married at Neligh, on Nov. 23, 1903, to Joel Howard Johnson. Their children are Bernard Morgan, born June 15, 1905, and Lucile Ruth, born Sept. 30, 1906. Mrs. Johnson has been prominently identified with improvements and reforms which have been brought about in Neligh. She aided in the establishment of the Free Public Library, and was influential in having the study of Domestic Science introduced in the schools. She was one of a group of citizens who were instrumental in having much needed improvements in the city cemetery and in beautifying the same. She belongs to the Daughters of Rebekah, to the Reviewers’ Club and to the Tuesday Evening Musical Club. She is a member of the Congregational church and active in all of its departments. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 202 MRS. MANFRED LILLIEFORS Surnames: Lilliefors, Rackenthal, Dennis Katherine Fackenthal Lilliefors of Valley, Neb., was born Dec. 10, 1867. Her father was B. F. Fackenthal, Sr., and her mother’s maiden name was Katherine Dennis. She received her preparatory education at Dana Hall preparatory school, and at Easton Pennsylvania high school. She was graduated from Wellesley College, B. A., in 1895. She took graduate work at Wellesley, M. A., and took a course in the Froebel Seminary in Berlin, Germany. She was a member of the Agora Society in Wellesley. She was married on June 1, 1896, at Rugelsville, Pa., to the Rev. Manfred Lilliefors, Ph. E., a minister of the Unitarian denomination. Their children are Manfred, Edith, and Samuel. She is a member of the Monday German Society of Omaha, of the Clionian Club of Davenport, Ia., of the Woman’s Club of Valley, Neb., and of the Nebraska Wellesley Club. She is a member of the Unitarian Church and wherever her husband has had a parish she has been most helpful in the church organizations, in Unity Clubs, in the Alliance and other church societies. She is a member of the W. C. T. U. and is interested in civic, and educational, and social service work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 203 MRS. E. S. LEAVENWORTH Surnames: Leavenworth, Gifford, Eaton Emma E. Gifford Leavenworth of Wood River, Neb., was born in New Haven, Vt., on March 26, 1860. Her father was Henry O. Gifford and her mother’s maiden name was Avis J. Eaton, both descended from colonial ancestry. As a child she attended the public schools, received her preparatory education at Beeman Academy in New Haven, Vt., after which she took a course at Mt. Holyoke College. She was married on Oct. 30, 1884, to E. S. Leavenworth and came west to Nebraska to live. Mrs. Leavenworth is a Presbyterian and is a good church woman. She is a member of the Woman’s Club at Wood River and has represented the club on state committees and at district and state conventions. She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and of the W. C. T. U., and has held offices in both organizations. She favors Woman Suffrage and is much interested in local educational affairs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 204 MRS. MYRON L. LEARNED Surnames: Learned, Poppleton, Sears Federlein, Cotton, Kelley, Munchoff Mary Poppleton Learned was born in Omaha, July 23, 1873. Her father was Andrew Jackson Poppleton and her mother’s maiden name was Caroline L. Sears. For three Years she attended the Katherine Aiken School for Girls, after which she attended the Anne Brown School in New York City. At her graduation she was the class poet. She was married at Omaha on April 18, 1893, to Myron L. Leonard, and attorney. Mrs. Learned is a mezzo soprano singer, a pupil of Gottlieb Federlein of New York of Clara S. Cotton, Thomas J. Kelly and Mary Manchoff. She has written a great deal on musical subjects. For four years she was musical critic for the Omaha Bee and for other publications. She is the author of a book. “To the Girl Who Sings.” She was editor (with Miss Louise McPherson associate editor) of “The Pebble,” a magazine, and with Miss McPherson owned and conducted the Pebble Shop. For six years she was president of the Tuesday Morning Musical Club and was a director of the club for two years. She was vice-president of the May festival which was given in Omaha by the Mendelssohn choir and Thomas Orchestra. She is a member of the Nebraska Ornothological Society. She is a director of the Omaha Society of Fine Arts and a member of the Board of Directors of the Omaha Visitin Nurse Association. She is a member of the Social Settlement Association, the Y. W. C. A. and the Garden Club. She belongs to the Anne Brown Alumnae Association of New York. Their home is “Walden” Florence, Neb. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 205 MRS. WALTER LEONARD LOCKE Surnames: Locke, Philbrick, Brackett Annette Elizabeth Philbrick Locke was born in Iowa City, Ia., in 1875. Her father was Philetus Harvey Philbrick and her mother’s maiden name was Maloh P. Brackett. As a child she attended the public schools of Iowa City. When her parents moved to Nebraska she attended the schools at Ainsworth. She was graduated from the University of Neb., S. Sc. In 1897, with Phi Beta Kappa honors. She took graduate work at the University of Neb. In ’97 and ’98. In 1899 she attended the Teachers’ College of New York City from which she received a diploma in Home Economics. She was a fellow in home economics in the School of Housekeeping in Boston. Later she took an additional course in the Teachers’ College in New York. From 1899-1901 she was instructor in Home Economics in the University of Neb.; 1902-06 she was adjunet professor, and in 1908 became associate professor. She was married Sept. 10, 1910, to Walter Leonard Locke. They have a son, Francis Philbrick Locke, born May 1, 1912. Mrs. Locke is a member of the American Home Economics Association, of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, and of the College Equal Suffrage Association. In religious faith she is a Unitarian. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 206 MRS. F. M. B. O’LINN Surnames: O’Linn, Brainard, Pickett, Hooker, Smith Frances Maria Brainard O’Linn, attorney-at-law, of Chadron, Neb., was born at Birmingham, in Van Buren Co., Iowa. Her father was Daniel Egbert Brainard and her mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth Anne Pickett. Both her father and mother were of Colonial and Revolutionary descent. Her father was a kinsman of Gen. Joseph Hooker, and her mother came from the same branch of the Pickett family from which Gen. George E. Pickett came. Mrs. O’Linn received her preparatory education in the Magnolia, Ia., high school;, after which she attended the State University of Iowa, being graduated from the Normal department, Bachelor of Didactics. She taught school for several years; was principal of the Beuna vista high school and of the Magnolia high school. She conducted teachers’ institute at several towns in Nebraska, at Blair, Central City, Freemont, St. Paul, etc. On Nov. 25, 1868, she was married at Magnolia to Daniel Henry O’Linn, M. B. Three children were born to them, Daniel Egbert (deceased), Hugh Brainard (deceased), and Elizabeth Anne O’Linn Smith, who is city librarian at Chadron. She studied law and in 1887, and to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1893. She has been notary public in Dawes county since its organization in 1885. She is president and historian of Dawes county for the Nebraska Historical Society and is president of the Woman’s Civic League of Chadron. She has been newspaper correspondent for many years and has written for the Omaha Bee for thirty years. She is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 207 MRS. ELIXABETH GEARHART MORRISON Surnames: Morrison, Miller, Gearhart Elixabeth Gearhart Morrison of University Place was born in Pennsylvania, June 24, 1875. She is the daughter of James R. and Emaline (Miller) Gearhart. She was educated in the public schools of Nebraska, after which she took a course in the Nebraska Wesleyan University. She took her professional training in the Columbia College of Expression in Chicago and for fifteen years was a reader in a professional and semi- professional way. She also taught literary interpretation. She has done a peculiar work and one which has been worth while in every way. She has given Sunday afternoon recitals in State and Federal prisons. She has given her service in this way also to the Soldiers’ Homes in the State and to Government hospitals and other state institutions. She was married at Lincoln on July 3, 1900, to L. D. Morrison. They have two children, Donald and Margaret, She is a member of the Woman’s Club of Lincoln, of the W. C. T. U. and woman Suffrage organizations. In religious faith she is a Methodist and is prominently identified with the work of the church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 208 MRS. J. M. METCALF Surnames: Metcalf, Raymond, Cornish, Anthony, Stanton, Kirkwood, Hertsche Mrs. Anna Cornish Metcalf is the daughter of Col. Joel N. and Virginia (Raymond) Cornish and belongs to a family prominent in Nebraska. Her parents came west from Rome, N. Y., in 1855, and settled at Iowa City, where Col. Cornish established a law office with Samuel Kirkwood who later became governor of Iowa. In 1859 the family moved to Sidney, Ia., and to Hamburg, Ia., in 1874, where they resided until 1882, when they moved to Omaha. Col. Cornish was president for many years of the Omaha National Bank of Commerce. He died on June 7, 1908, at the age of eighty years. Mrs. Metcalf’s mother, Virginia Raymond Cornish, was of Scotch descent. She was a charter member of the Omaha Woman’s Club and a personal friend of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, both of whom she entertained many times in her home. Mrs. Cornish died Dec. 14, 1903. Mrs. Metcalf was a pupil of Brownell Hall, where she received her preparatory education, later attending school at Notre Dame, Ind., where she graduated. She was married in Hamburg, Ia., to Joseph M. Metcalf, and came in 1881 to Omaha to live. Her husband was vice-president and manager of the Metcalf, Lininger Implement Co. for twenty-three years. He died on Jan. 25, 1905. Mrs. Metcalf was a charter member of the Tuesday Morning Musical Club and has served it as president. She is president of the Omaha Equal Franchise Society. She was a member of the Board of Lady Managers of the Omaha Exposition in 1898. She is a member of the Trinity Cathedral parish and for two years was president of the Altar Gild. She has traveled a great deal in this country and has made several trips to Europe, staying about a year each time. One winter was spent in Egypt and other winters were spent in Mexico, in Cuba, in Florida, and in California. Mrs. Metcalf’s sister, Mrs. Ada Cornish Hertsche, who resides in Portland helped to organize the Oregon State Equal Suffrage Association in June 1896, and was its first state treasurer. Judge Albert J. Cornish of Lincoln is her brother. He is a graduate of Cornell and of Harvard and served as district judge for twenty-one consecutive years. Another brother, Edward J. Cornish, was formerly city attorney of Omaha and is now vice- president of the National Lead Co. of New York. During his residence in Omaha he was Park Commissioner for seventeen years and conceived the idea of connecting the parks with a chain of boulevards from Riverview Park on the south of Hanscome Park on the west and to Miller Park on the north of the city. He brought about the purchase of the land necessary to carry out the plan and contracted for the trees and their planting. This splendid scenic drive-way will be a lasting memorial of his service to the city as Park Commissioner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 210 MRS. L. O. MINOR Surnames: Minor, Patterson, Pollock, Rea, Lyle, Findley Ellen Campbell Pollock Minor was born in Plattsmouth, Meb., Oct. 17, 1891, and has lived all her life in that city. She is the daughter of Thomas Herbert and Lida Walker (Patterson) Pollock. Both the Pollock and Patterson families have been prominent for years in the social and business life of Plattsmouth. Mrs. Minor received her preparatory education in the public schools and took her college courses at the North Western University where she was a member of the Gamma Phi Bata Sorority. On Oct. 17, 1914, she was married to Lynn Overton Minor. She is a member of the First Presbyterian church, assists in the choir and is a teacher in the primary department of the Sunday school. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood and of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She has traced her ancestry on five lines. One of her Revolutionary ancestors, William Patterson, built a substantial stone house in Washington Co. Ps., in 1794. The property is still owned and kept in splendid state of preservation by his descendants. The grant to this land bears the signature of Benjamin Franklin. Genl. Thomas Patterson helped to make history in the Whiskey Insurrection, as did tow other of her ancestors, William Rea and Aaron Lyle. William Findley, her fifth Revolutionary ancestor, was an author and statesman and served in United States Congress during the first four administrations. Mrs. Minor is regent of the D. A. R. chapter in Plattsmouth ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 211 MRS. CHARLES OLIVER NORTON Surnames: Norton, Gove, Haynes Lottie Eloise Gove Norton, whose home is The Elms, Kearney, Neb., is the daughter of Judge Elijah Atwood Gove and Marie Louise Haynes Gove. Her father was an eminent jurist and her mother a writer of ability. She was born at Tomah, Wis., and received her preparatory education in the Minneapolis high school. For six years she studied in a Catholic convent and has had several years post graduate work. In religious faith she is an Episcopalian. She aids and supports many charities and philanthropic enterprises. She is a newspaper and magazine writer and has published several pamphlets on historical subjects. She is a member of the League of American Pen Women. She is descended from a splendid American Ancestry and has great interest in applying to present day problems the ideals of the Puritans and early settlers of America. She is a member of the Society of Founder and Patriots of America. Belongs to the Colonial Dames in Mass., and a charter member of the Associate Society of Nebraska. She is a member of The First Families of Virginia, the Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Centruy; she is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution with fourteen ancestral bars of service in that war. She is Ex-State Regent of the Nebraska Society D. A. R. She is a member of the United D. A. R. She is a member of the United State Daughters of 1821 and organizing member and first vice-president of the Nebraska Society. She is a member of the Nebraska State Historical Society and of the New England Historic Genealogical Society of Boston. She holds orders of the Daughters of Colonial Governors and of Americans of Armorial Ancestry. She is vice-president of the Oregon Trail Memorial Commission at the time the trail was marked across Nebraska. She served also on the International Peace Arbitration Commission. Her husband was the Hon. Charles Oliver Norton who was a native of New York state, having been born at Ft. Edward. He was a man of wide business interests and after his death Mrs. Norton took charge of his interest and has been an active business woman for years. She has the honor to be the only woman in Nebraska belonging to a Commercial Club. She has one son, Oliver Gove Norton, who graduated in 1915 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 213 MRS. MEREDITH NICHOLSON Surnames: Nicholson, Davis, Kountze Eugenia Kountze Nicholson, the daughter of Herman and Elizabeth (Davis) Kountze, was born in Omaha, July 11, 1867. Her parents were Omaha pioneers and the Kountze family has been prominent in the business and social life of that city for many years. She was graduated from Vassar college, A. B., in the class of 1888, and was a Phi Beta Kappa. On June 16, 1896, she was married in Omaha to Meredith Nicholson, the author. Since their marriage they have lived in Indianapolis, Ind. They have four children, Elizabeth, Eugenie, Meredith and Lionel. Mrs. Nicholson is a prominent member of the Indianapolis Woman’s Club, of which she has been president. She is vice-president of the Woman’s Franchise League of Indiana and is one of the most influential among the suffrage leaders in Indiana. She is a member of the Association of collegiate alumnae, belongs to the Indiana Vassar Club, to the Woman’s University Club of New York City, and belongs to the Consumer’s League of Indianapolis, beside belonging to a number of social clubs of a local nature. She is a frequent visitor to Omaha, which she still calls “home” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 214 MRS. WILLIAM N. ORRIS Surnames: Orris, Whitney, Perkins Mae M. Orris was born in Kewawee Co., Wis., the daughter of Lyman Holbrook and Loretta (Whitney) Merkins. On her mother’s side of the family her ancestry is traced to John Whitney, who was the first of his name in America. He and his wife Eleanor, come to America in 1635 and settled at Watertown (now Weston), Mass. She is descended from Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin. Mrs. Orris was educated at the Western Normal College at Shenandoah, Ia., and at Morningside College, Sioux city. She took a course in the Chicago Musical College and School of Expression. On Sept. 1, 1891, she was married at Marne, Ia., to William N. Orris, and came later to Stanton, Neb., which is their home. They have two children, Irmel Clare, born in 1894, who is an accomplished musician. Their son, Elwyn Bruce, was born in 1897. Mrs. Orris is a platform speaker and reader of ability and experience. She has appeared before many clubs and conventions in Nebraska and has several times been on the program of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs. She is a member of the Methodist church; was for four years president of the Woman’s Literary Club of Stanton; was State chairman of the Educational Department N. F. W. C. ; and is now state chairman of Industrial and Social Conditions committee N. F. W. C. She was a delegate at the biennial of the General Federation in San Francisco, in New York and in Chicago. She is a member of the D. A. R., is vice-president of the Lyric Octette, and musical organization, is president of the Lecture Course Association, local patroness of the Woman’s Patriotic League of Nebraska, and is interested in all local p0hilanthropic and educational work. Her husband in 1916 was Lieut. Of C. G., 4th Neb. Regiment, and went to the Mexican border. He has been for fifteen years an officer in the National Guard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 216 MRS. H. A. OLERICH Surnames: Olerich, Waterman, Butts Ida Butts Olerich was born in Creston, Ia., Aug. 16, 1880, the daughter of Garwood Potter and Elsie B. (Waterman) Butts. Her father is a Mayflower descendant, the family settling near New York. Her grandfather came to Illinois before it became a state, and was a leader in pioneer days. Her mother is sister to Nixon Waterman, the poet and journalist. Mrs. Olerich attended the public schools of Omaha and was graduated from the high school, after which she took a course in the State Normal School. For several years she was a teacher in the Omaha schools On June 10, 1902, she was married in Omaha to Henry A. Olerich of Butte, Neb., Where they now reside. They have two children, Benjamin Butts Olerich and Helen Louise Olerich. She is a member of the Methodist church and belongs to the P. E. O. sisterhood and is president of the chapter at Butte. She is a member of the Rebekah order which she has served as Noble Grand. She is interested in various philanthropic and educational movements to which she gives substantial support. She finds much pleasure in travel and has visited most of the scenic spots in this country. She is an enthusiastic advocate of equal suffrage and her uncle, Nixon Waterman, was a charter member of the first men’s society in America organized to secure the ballot for women. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 217 ANNA LOCKWOOD PETERSON Surnames: Peterson, Martin, Anna Lockwood Peterson was born in Navada, Ia., March 16, 1876, the daughter of James Henry and Celeste (Martin) Peterson. She received her preparatory education in the Hyde Park high school, Chicago, after which she attended the University of Chicago, from which she was graduated A. B. in the class of 1889. She received honors in English, philosophy, Latin and Greek and was elected to Phi Beta kappa. By profession she is a teacher, teaching Latin and Greek in the Omaha high school. She was one of the founder of the Omaha Social Settlement Association, of which she has been a director since 1908. From 1908-9 she was secretary of the association and has been one of the teachers in the settlement since 1908. She is an enthusiastic worker for Woman Suffrage, is secretary of the Omaha Political Equality League, belongs to the Omaha Suffrage Association. During the year when Nebraska was a campaign state Miss Peterson was active in the work of state organization. She was a member of the committee of women appointed to assist the Nebraska Legislative committee in their investigations of minimum wage for women. She has frequently made public addresses on the question of woman suffrage and also on the minimum wage for women. She is a member of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae of the University of Chicago. She was 1912-12 Bursar of the National Federation of College Women. She is a member of the American Classical Association, and of the Classical Association of the Middle West. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 218 MRS. ELIZABETH HIGGINS SULLIVAN Surnames: Sullivan, O’Conor, Higgins Elizabeth Higgins Sullivan was born in Columbus, Neb., Dec 14, 1875. She is the daughter of John G. and Anna (O’Conor) Higgins and is a sister of Jay Higgins, whose biography appears elsewhere in this book. Mrs. Sullivan was educated at St. Francis Xavier’s Academy at Ottawa, Ill. She was married in Omaha, Neb., April 11, 1896, and is now a widow. She has one daughter, Janet Campbell Sullivan, who was born in Washington, D. C., Nov. 30, 1901. Mrs Sullivan was for years a newspaper woman as department editor and special feature writer. She worked on the Omaha Bee Staff and later with various Chicago dailies. She is the author of “Out of the West” and other short stories, writing under her maiden name, Elizabeth Higgins. She has written many articles on horticulture, particularly to the raising of pecan nuts, to flower culture, and the scientific care of fruit trees. She spends the greater part of the year in Mobile Co., Ala., near Grand Bay, where she studies and experiments in horticulture. She is a member of the National Grower’ Union, of the Alabama Horticulture Society and of the Agricultural Society. In the years in which she lived in Chicago and Washington she was active in the work of woman suffrage and in social settlement work She is a Episcopalian and is actively interested in the home mission work of the denomination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 219 MRS. EMMA L. STARRETT Surnames: Starrett, Hedburg, Linderhohn Emma Linderhohn Starrett, of Central City, was born in Altoona, Ill., the daughter of John and Christine (Hedburg Linderhohn. She received her education in the public schools of Dayton and Essex, Iowa, which has been supplemented by courses of study and reading. She was Married Oct. 5, 1887, to Samuel B. Starrett in Omaha. Their children are Samuel B. Jr., Josephine, Pauline Sophia, and John Vincent. Mrs. Starrett is prominent in the activities of the W. C. T. U. In 1910 she was national superintendent of the penal, reformatory and police station work. She is now actively engaged in promoting campaigns for Nation-Wide Prohibition Day in 1920. She is the author of many leaflets which are used in W. C. T. U. work throughout this country. She served the Central City Woman’s Club as president and in 1914-15 was state auditor for the Nebraska Federation of Women’s Clubs. She is a member of the Methodist church and is active in the work of the Home and Foreign Missionary Societies of the church. She is a member of the Woman’s Relief Corps and is a trustee of the Central City Public Library. She has an active interest in local charities and philanthropies. Page 220 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MRS. WILLIAM CUMMINGS SHANNON Surnames: Shannon, Sears, Poppleton, Cummings Ellen Elizabeth Poppleton Shannon was born in Omaha, the daughter of Andrew J. and Caroline L. (Sears) Poppleton. She received her preparatory education in the Omaha schools, after which she entered Vassar College, from which she was graduated A. B., in the class of 1876. She was instructor in the Department of English in Vassar, 1878-79. She was a trustee of Vassar College from 1887-1898. She is a member of the Associate Alumnae of Vassar, of the Maria Mitchell Nantucket Association, and of the Vassar Club of Omaha. She is a director of the Omaha branch of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. For ten years she was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Omaha Public Library. She belongs to the Omaha Society of Fine Arts, to the Omaha Tuesday Morning Musical Club. And to the Y. W. C.A. In 1911 she was elected president of the Omaha Social Settlement Association. She belongs to the Woman’s University Club of New York and to Woman’s Army and Navy League. She was married May 8, 1895 in Omaha, to Dr. William Cummings Shannon, Major and Surgeon, U. S. A. There home now is at Oakland Farm, Elk Horn, Neb. Page 221 MRS. GEORGE J. PHELPS Surnames: Phelps, Cleridence, Middlekauff Alvernon Cleridence Phelps was born at Mt. Morris, Ill., the daughter of Henry H. Cleridence and Sophia Middlekauff Cleridence. As a child she attended the public school of Mt. Morris, after which she took a course in the Mt. Morris College. She was married at Mt. Morris to George J. Phelps of Lincoln, which chit is their home. They have one son, Vernon G. Phelps. Mrs. Phelps is a prominent member of the Lincoln Woman’s League, of which she was elected president in 1915. She is a member of the Presbyterian church and is a good church woman, interested in all of the departments. She aids in local charity and philanthropic work. She is a member of the board of Directors of the Young Woman’s Christian Association of Lincoln. She is a member of the Tuesday Review Club and of the Social Service Club. She favors Equal Suffrage and aids in the work organized in Lincoln to promote the cause. She has given much time to the work of the Lincoln Woman’s Club, which is a department club. The largest in the state and one of the oldest of the federated clubs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 222 DR. SARAH J. BOLAND WEGMANN Surnames: Wegmann, Weatherford, Boland Sarah J. Boland Wegmann was born in St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 7, 1895. She is the daughter of John Thomas and Virginia Susan (Weatherford) Boland. She attended the Central high school in Kansas City, from which she was graduated in 1899. She was graduated from the Kansas City Hahnemann Medical College in 1902. She practiced her profession in Kansas City from 1902 to 1905, when she married, on Feby. 25, 1905, Dr. William M. Wegmann, of Bladen, Neb. Since her marriage she has practiced medicine in Bladen, confining her work to the office. She has one daughter, Virginia Susan Wagmann. She is a member of the Board of Education in Claden and takes a very active and helpful interest in the schools. She is a member of the Woman’s Culture Club of Bladen. She still retains her membership in the Carroll Dunham Medical Society of Kansas City. She enjoys all sorts of out of doors recreations and is fond of automobiling. She has aided the cause of woman suffrage in many ways and is interested in local charity organizations. She is a woman who keeps abreast of the times in her profession as well as in all current day events and interest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 223 CLARA JEAN WEIDENSALL Surnames: Wiedensall, Patton Clara Jean Weidensall was born in Omaha, the daughter of Jacob Weidensall and Virginia McKennie (Patton) Weidensall. She received her early education in the public schools of Omaha and was graduated from the high school in the class of 1889. The autumn of ’99 she entered Vassar College, from which she was graduated A. B. in 1903. She was a graduate scholar and fellow in psychology in the University of Chicago, 1903-6. From 1906-1907 she was demonstrator in psychology in Breyn Mawr College. Since 1911 she has been director of psychological research in the Laboratory of Social Hygiene at Bedford Hills, N. Y. She is a member of the Chicago Chapter Sigma Xi. She belongs to the American Psychological Association, and belongs also to the New York branch of the American Psychological Association. She is a member of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. She is a woman of very unusual attainment and one in whom her native state has just pride. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 224 MRS. WILLIAM G. WHITMORE Surnames: Whitmore, knowlton, Pinkham Ida Jane Knowlton Whitmore of Valley, Neb., was born in Elsie, Clinton Co., Mich., June 14, 1858. Her father was Daniel Horace Knowlton and her mother’s maiden name was Aurelia Susana Pinkham. She attended the Garden Plain Illinois public schools until 1876, when she entered the high school at Clinton, Ia., which she attended for three years. On May 14, 1880, she was married at Garden Plain to William G. Whitmore. The following children have been born to them, Kate, Fannie (deceased), Jesse, Jennie, Charles (deceased), Ruth, Burton and Frances. She is a prominent member of the W. C.T.U. in Nebraska and is state superintendent of the Health and Heredity department of the W. C. T. U. She is district vice-president of the Nebraska Federation of Women’s Clubs She was president of the State Home Economics Club. She is a member of the Woman’s Club of Valley, of the State Conservation Society, of the National Good Health Clinic Club, of the Nebraska State Historical Society and of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She belongs to Woman Suffrage organization. In religious faith she is a Unitarian. She has had journalistic experience in writing feature articles for magazines and other publications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 225 MRS. CALLA SCOTT WILLARD Surnames: Willard, Rose, Scott Calla Scott Willard, the daughter of William McKendrie and Sarah (Rose) Scott was born in Lafayette, Ind. As a child she attended the public schools in Indiana and Ohio, after completing the high school course she attended Jennings Academy and took a course in the University of California. On April 30, 1888, she was married to Samuel Gregory Willard. For thirty-two years she was a teacher, twenty-five of which was in the public schools of Chicago; resigning in 1900. During her residence in Chicago she organized a Bible Class in the Western Ave. Methodist church, which grew to have a membership of one thousnad, and was a great force, not only in that church, but in that section of Chicago, and drew its membership from a wide area of the city. In 1902 she was elected Cor. Secy. And field missionary of the Christian Woman’s Board of Missions of Nebraska. This is the missionary organization of the Christian denomination, and her work is far reaching. She visits the C. W. B. M. auxiliaries all over the state and every year makes many public addresses for missions. She is the author of “Life, Light, and Love or Bible Facts for Busy People,” which was published in 1901. She has written many magazine articles and has contributed to state and local papers and denominational periodicals for many years. She has also written a series of tracts and leaflets used by C. W. B. M. auxiliaries and other missionary organizations. She is a member of the W. C. T. u. and has written and spoken for the temperance and allied causes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 226 MRS. H. W. YATES Surnames: Yates, Samuels, Todd, Morgan, Voss, Allen, Smith Mrs. Henry W. Yates of Omaha was, before her marriage, Eliza Barr Samuels. She was born Nov. 19, 1841, at Columbia, Mo. Her father was George Warren Samuels and her mother’s maiden name was Rebekah Tilton Todd. The Samuels family came west in pioneer days and were prominent in the early history of Missouri. Mrs. Yates received her education in a girls’ school at Columbia, Mo., and attended also a school for young women at Liberty, Mo., which were prominent schools at that time. On april 22, 1862, she was married to Savannah, Mo., to Henry Whitefield Yates, who is president of the Nebraska National Bank of Omaha. They have five children, Rebekah Todd Yates Morgan, Florence Yates Voss, Bessie Barr Yates Allen, Jennie Peabody Yates Smith, and Henry W. Yates, Jr. She is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church and is president of the Parish Aid Society of Trinity Cathedral and is an active member of the Woman’s Auxiliary. She has several times been a delegate to national church organizations. She is a member of the fine Arts Society and is president of the Whist Club. She has traveled to many places of interest in this country, has made two trips to Europe, on journey to Egypt and the Holy Land and has traveled in Alaska. Mrs. Yates enjoys society and is a woman of charming personality and blessed with a wide circle of friends. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 227 NEBRASKA CLUBS IN THE MAKING Nebraska has the honor to be one among the first states of the middle west to endorse the club movement, and through all the years it has kept its enthusiasm and ranks very high among the states, which form the General Federation. Because the club movement was started in Nebraska by some women whose work is worth record, we are incorporating in the “Blue Book” a brief history of the beginning of the club movement in the state. We are indebted to many different women for the data in this brief history; some of it comes from our own experience during several years residence in Plattsmouth and Omaha. One among the first clubs to be formed in the state was the By-word Club, formed by young women who lived in Fort Colhoun in the 70’s. It was a literary club, whose members were required to use no slang phrases in their conversation. This organization was very crude in the light of modern clubs, but it is the first club, according to tradition. One of the first clubs in Lincoln was the Avon, which later was known as the Lotus Club, and then became the History Club. Its membership was limited to twelve. Mrs. M. R. McConnell was its founder and its president for several years. In 1885 Beta Club was organized in Lincoln and in 1901 changed its name to the Century Club. It was a club with a limited membership of twenty. Two early art clubs were the Ingleside and Renaissance, both were limited to twelve members. The Fortnightly, of which Mrs. L. L. Ricketts was one of the early leaders, was devoted to the study of American literature. Sorosis is one of the oldest clubs of Lincoln, to maintain its very high standard from the day of its organization in 1899. Mrs. W. J. Bryan was one of the founders of the club and its study has always been of a worth while nature. A Junior Sorosis was organized a few years later. Its membership being made up of younger women. The University of Nebraska Faculty Woman’s Club was organized in 1894. Mrs. McLean, wife of the chancellor of the University was the first president. The first music club in Lincoln was the Matinee Musicale, organized in 1895, with Mrs. D. A. Campbell as president. Other literary clubs organized about this time were, two Dante clubs, the Book Review, the Wednesday Afternoon and the University Place Club. Occasionally all these seventeen clubs would come together to have a meeting, which rather loss organizations they called The Club of Clubs. In October, 1894, some of the women suggested a City Federation, which was formed, with Mrs. May B. Field as president. A number of women belonging to no club, had been attending this Club of Clubs, who, upon the organization of the city Federation, found themselves on the outside. With almost every club in the federation a limited club, the situation was rather strained. For tunately, whatever the condition, there is always some woman to arise to the occasion, and is this instance, Miss Phoebe Elliott met the need in her suggestion that a Woman;s Club with wide open doors be organized. A meeting was called and three hundred women came, and at this meeting the Lincoln Woman’s Club was organized, and Miss Elliott elected as the president. The club was very democratic in its organization and chose for a motto “The truth shall make us free.” The terms of eligibility of membership were drawn up in twelve articles which they called their “Bill of rights,” as follows: 1. The University graduate. 2. The woman of common school education. 3. The self educated woman. 4. The woman who belongs to other clubs. 5. The non-club woman. 6. The woman who does not believe in clubs. 7. The woman who does not which to join a department. 8. The whoman who wants to attend the club meeting but twice a year. 9. The woman who wants to become a member for the name of it. 10. The riteed woman, full of domestic responsibilities, who want to be a sponge, fold her hands, take in what the bright, free woman, who need an audience, has learned, and then go home refreshed to her tread mill. 11. The woman without companionship. 12. The young women and the young-old women. The club is its organization had the following departments and leaders: Current Events, Mrs. Winona Sawyer. Literature, Miss Katharine V. Morrissey Science, Mrs. Laura B. Pound Civics, Mrs. Frances B. Taylor Domestic Science, Mrs. Everett. Art, Mrs. B. F. Bailey Parliamentary Practice, Mrs. Field. This club is now the largest Woman’s Club in Nebraska and has lived up to the principles under which it was organized. Nebraska City had one of the first clubs in the State, although it was more a class than a club and bore the name, “ The Round Table,” organized in 1881. For fourteen years they studied Art, History, and Literature. They aided very materially in the collection of the first books for the city library. In the autumn of 1895 the Round Table merged into a Woman’s Club with a hundred members. In 1884 Mrs. Laura Moore Woodford organized the Zetetic Club in Weeping Water, which was, perhaps, the first club in Nebraska to be organized along present day club lines. This club antedated the Woman’s Clubs by almost ten years. Only married women were eligible to the club. Very shortly afterward The Round Table was organized at Crete and the Acme Club at Wayne. The Setetic Club has the distinction of being the first Nebraska club to join the General Federation in 1891. The first delegates from Nebraska to the General Federation were Mrs. Woodford and Mrs. Henrietta B. Wolcott, who attended the bienniel in Chicago in 1892. The second club to be organized in Crete was the Social and Literary Club in 1885. Osceola followed in 1887. The oldest club in Omaha was The Ladies’ Musical Society and for ten years worked to raise the standard of musical taste. The Cleofan was organized in December, 1890, and was the outgrowth of a history class taught by Mrs. W. H. Hanchett. English, German, French and American history were studied in the Cleofan. Mu Sigma was organized in 1891 as a neighborhood tourist club and for several years was generally known as The Walnut Hill Club. Mrs. A. H. Somers was the first leader of the club. Up to 1892 the Woman’s club had found no place in Nebraska. The movement was thought to be a little too advanced and that it was not quite ladylike to be a club woman. In 1892 a woman moved to Omaha from Ornage, N. J., Mrs. Frances M. Ford, who was a personal friend of Charlotte Emerson Brown, the founder of the General Federation. Mrs. Ford had belonged to a Woman’s Club in the East and when she moved to this Western city she missed her club and set about to organize one in Omaha. She enlisted Mrs. Harriet Somers Towne and they talked the matter up among their friends and called a meeting for a temporary organization. Mrs. Towne presided and a hundred women joined the club. On May 8, 1893, a month later, a permanent organization was made with a membership of two hundred and Mrs. Lucy T. Savage (wife of Judge Savage) was the first president. The membership grew very rapidly and in a short time five hundred were enrolled. They had twelve departments; some of the leaders were: Dr. August J. Chapin, Rev. mary Gerard Andrews, Mrs. Mary C. Garrett, Mrs. Jennie E. Keysor, Mrs. Frances M. Ford, Mrs. A. B. Henderson, Mrs. Grace Sudborough, Mrs. Mary Moody Pugh, Mrs Wilhelm and Mrs. Buchanan. The first representatives to the Genreal Federation were Mrs. Towne and Mrs. Elia W. Peattie. At the Philadelphia biennial in 1894, Mrs. Elizabeth Evans Lindsey of Omaha was elected State Chairman for Nebraska and to her credit for the extension of the Woman’s Club movement over the state is due, and the consequent organization of the State Federation. The Fremont Woman’s club was the first large club organized outside of Omaha. It was organized December, 1893, by Miss Hosford, a New England woman, who was visiting there. Among the prominent charter members were Miss Eoline Clark, Mrs. M. D. Reynolds, and Miss Vesta Gray. The Beatrice Woman’s Club was organized in 1894, with Mrs. Mildred L. Allee, as president. Mrs. Harriet S. MacMurphy was a member of this club. In December, 1894, The Plattsmouth Woman’s Club was organized by Mrs. Belle M. Stoutenborough, who was the first president. The club grew out of a history class which met at Mrs. Stoutenborough’s house. Mrs. Isabel Richey, Mrs. Windham, and Mrs. Waugh were among the first members. In the ‘90’s Crete had more clubs in proportion to its population than any other Nebraska town. They had The Round Table, with Mrs. J. W. Dawes as president; the Social and Literary, the Mutual Improvement, the Columbian Circle and Sorosis. All these clubs formed a City Federation. The History and Art Club is the oldest club in Seward, organized in 1892, with Mrs. S. C. Langworthy as president. The Nineteenthy Century and Fin de Siecle soon followed. In Osceola the Woman’s Literary Club was formed in 1884, with Mrs. E. L. King as president and the Round Table organized about the same time. In Wayne, the Acme Club, with Mrs. H. E. Corbett as president, was formed in 1884, and the Monday Club, with Mrs. Mann as president, soon followed. The Cozy Club was organized in Tecumshe in October, 1893, with Mrs. Bowton as president. The Friends in Council soon followed. In York the Ladies Social Circle was the first club with Mrs. Frances as president/ Tje Mometeemtj Cemtury Club was organized in Aurora in 1893 with Mrs. Waddle as president. The Nineteenth Century Club was organized in Sheldon in 1892 with Mrs. Steadman as president. In 1893 Mrs. Lulu B. Patrick organized a club of young girls in Holdridge known as The Violets. Other clubs in the state which joined the Nebraska State Federation at its organization were The Woman’s Club of Hooper, at Johnson, at Red Cloud, at Stromsburg, at Valley and at Ashland; the Progressive Woman’s Club at Grand Island; The Harmonious Companie of Humboldt; Sorosis of Stanton; Fin de Siecle of Wymore; the Ladies’ Reading Club at Scotia; the Mental Culture of Auburn; the Self Cluture of St. Paul, and the History and Art Club of Milford. In November, 1894, Mrs. Elizabeth Evans Lindsey issued a call for a meeting at Omaha to organize a State Federation. On December 10th, delegates from nearly all the clubs of the state met and formed the Nebraska Federation of Woman’s Clubs and elected Mrs. Canfield, wife of the Chancellor of the State University of Nebraska, as its first president. In October, 1895, Lincoln entertained the Federation at its first annual meeting. Mrs. Canfield having moved to Ohio, Mrs. Elia W. Peattie, the vice-president, presided at the convention. Thirty-seven clubs from twenty-four different towns were represented. The officers elected at this convention were: PRESIDENT, Mrs. May B. Field of Lincoln, Vice-president, Mrs. Gelle M. Stoutenborough of Plattsmouth; Secretary, Miss Julia S. Haskell of Stomsburg; Treasurer, Mrs. A. W. Roseman of Fremont; Auditor, Mrs. C. E. Abbott of Grand Island. In March, 1894, Miss Mary Fairbrother of Omaha edited and published the first number of “The Woman’s Weekly,” a paper devoted to the interest of the clubs of Nebraska. Miss Fairbrother had some newspaper experience and was a woman of splendid mind and ready pen and the paper was ambitious undertaking. While it was not a great success in a financial way, it was a great factor in the growth and development of the club movement. This is the story of how clubs began in Nebraska. You see they were all study clubs in the beginning; all with the self-culture idea. The social features were the nest step and then with the awakened mind and the hearts warm and kind with the spirit of fellowship, began the social service work which finds expression in the clubs of today in their civic departments, industrial and social conditions, conservation, public health, scholarship and loan fund, library extension and all the other work which ministers, not to the club members themselves, but to the world outside. There is nothing more significant of the progress made by women, than the evolution of club idea and the club ideal. (End of File)