Gender and Women's Studies: American Heritage Center

Poster for Nellie Tayloe Ross's 1926 re-election campaign as Wyoming's first female governor. Photofile: Ross, Nellie T., Negative Number 13797.

Jean Baer Papers, Collection 08166
Baer was an author of personal self-help books aimed at women. The collection contains materials relating to Baer's writings, including correspondence (1965-1988) mostly regarding publication and publicity for her books, subject files on women's issues, male-female relationships and psychology (1934-1988), and extensive transcripts of interviews used to write her books.

Harriett Elizabeth Byrd Family Papers, Collection 10443
Byrd was elected to the Wyoming State House of Representatives in 1980 and Senate in 1988, becoming the first African American legislator in Wyoming since statehood as well as the first African American woman to ever serve in the Wyoming State Legislature. This collection contains family records, personal files, photographs, memorabilia, newspaper clippings and advertising materials for her campaign. Online content is available.

Carey Family Papers, Collection 01212
Joseph Carey was a Wyoming governor and US senator from the late 1800s to early 1900s. His materials contain correspondence, news clippings and miscellaneous other materials, including correspondence and documents about women’s suffrage in Wyoming in box 13.

N. E. Corthell Family Papers, Collection 00075
The Corthell family waw involved in several Wyoming businesses. The collection includes, in boxes 12-13, records about women’s suffrage during the early to mid 1900s, including letters to Wyoming representatives, correspondences from the Wyoming Federation of Women’s Clubs, and other correspondence, newsletters, and legislation about women’s rights.

Dorothy Eidlitz Papers, Collection 11593
Dorothy Eidlitz (1891-1976) was a women’s rights advocate, amateur photographer, and arts patron during the twentieth century. Most of the collection comprises photographic materials documenting Eidlitz's personal life, however there are correspondence and other materials related to her life and career, such as her work for women's rights in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s and her tenure as the president of the Kobe Women's Club.

Vera Glaser Papers, Collection 09826
Vera Glaser was a Washington correspondent and bureau chief. In 1969 she challenged President Richard Nixon during a press conference about his record of appointing only 3 women among 200 presidential appointments. In 1970 she served as a member of President Nixon’s Task Force on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities. The collection consists mainly of research and reference files for political figures and press organizations, including the Task Force on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities.

Lillian Heath Oral History Interview, Collection 01003
Dr. Lillian Heath was the first female physician in Wyoming. Lillian Heath (1865-1962) came to Wyoming with her parents in 1873 and graduated from Rawlins High School in 1888. She left the state to earn her medical degree but returned to Rawlins to open a practice in 1893. She practiced actively as a physician until 1909. Collection contains interview recordings describing Heath’s career and life in Wyoming. Online content is available.

Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, Collection 400008
The materials in the collection relate to Grace Raymond Hebard’s career as University of Wyoming professor, librarian, and western historian with subject files containing correspondence, manuscripts, transcripts and printed materials concerning places and events Hebard researched and participated in such as the women’s suffrage movement, Wyoming history, and the University of Wyoming. Online content is available.

Lester C Hunt Papers, Collection 00270
Lester Calloway Hunt was the 19th governor of Wyoming from 1943 to 1949 and a United States senator from 1949-1954. This collection contains subject files and other materials related to his political and personal life, including records about a brief history of women’s suffrage in Wyoming and around the world in box 4.

Caroline Lockhart Papers, Collection 00177
Caroline Lockhart (1871-1962) was a newspaper publisher, author, journalist, rancher, and rodeo sponsor. The collection includes correspondence, diaries, ledgers, photographs, manuscripts, and artifacts. Online content is available.

S.J. Moffat Papers, Collection 11046
Shannon (S.J.) Moffat, a trans woman, was a reporter and free-lance writer, writing medical and technical reports for institutions including the University of Wyoming. The collection includes material covering Moffat's gender transition, including a diary she kept.

Mary Lou Pence Papers, Collection 00403
Mary Lou Pence (1906-1995) was a Laramie journalist and historical writer. The collection contains manuscripts and research for her books and articles on early Laramie history, women in the west, and ghost towns.

Wilma Soss Papers, Collection 10249
Wilma Soss (1900-1986) was a stockholders' rights advocate for women as well as a publicist, and a radio journalist during the twentieth century. The collection contains Wilma Soss' correspondence (business and personal), subject files concerning her work as a women's stockholders' rights advocate (which contain correspondence, clippings, legal documents, financial documents, notes, and printed materials), unpublished manuscripts, speeches, and photographs of Soss and business executives.

UW Gender and Women’s Studies Program Materials, Collection 545021
Collection contains materials relating to Women and Gender Studies at the University of Wyoming, include self-study kits and course outlines, a diversity initiative study (2001), grant information, Wyoming Heritage and Contemporary Values project (1979), planning documents and publicity for Women's History Month, and administrative records.

UW Women’s Club Minute Book, Collection 300013
The University of Wyoming Women’s Club first met in January 1908. Their purposes were to study the work relating to the life of university women, to acquaint themselves with problems of higher education for women, and to devise solutions to those problems. This collection contains a minute book of meetings held between 1908 and 1909.

Women’s History Research Center Records, Collection 05879
The Women's History Research Center, founded in 1969 in Berkeley, California, collected materials to document current and historical issues relating to women. The collection contains extensive documentation (mostly printed) on the economic and social status of women from 1845-1992, as well as subject files with newspaper and magazine clippings, reports, studies and theses on women's history, women activists and pioneers, and feminist movements.

Wyoming Homemakers Records, Collection 300024
Wyoming Homemakers, associated with the University of Wyoming’s Cooperative Extension program, handles extension work in Home Economics (or the improvement of family living) throughout Wyoming. The ‪records contain the Susan J. Quealy award winners’ folders, reports, meeting ‬minutes, financial records, newsletters, conference programs, and secretary’s files documenting the ‬administration and history of the club. ‬

The Behavior Book: A Manual for Ladies by Miss Leslie - Written in 1857 by Eliza Leslie, one of the most popular authors of the 20th century. The purpose of the book was to provide guidelines as to how women were expected to act. It covered a vast number of topics on proper conduct including marriage, child-rearing, and how to act in society. Some of the etiquette rules Miss Leslie discussed include: not allowing people to shorten your name as it was demeaning, not talking to strangers while traveling, and how women should dress their children. The manual covered the practical, but also touched on more obscure topics such as how to address women authors without offending them. [Toppan Rare Books Library: Eliza W. Toppan Collection: BJ 1856 .L47 1857] 

Hospital Sketches- Written in 1863, five years before her 1968 classic Little Women, Hospital Sketches is a compilation based on four sketches written by Louisa May Allcott while she was serving as a nurse in the civil war. The story follows Tribulation Periwinkle, a nurse.  Stationed in Washington D.C., Hospital Sketches explores the life of a war nurse. She speaks of the traumas of the many men she cared for, physical and emotional, and the sadness of losing friends. This book is a firsthand account of some of the roles of women during the civil war, and the impact they had on their patients. [Toppan Rare Books Library: Fitzhugh Collection: E 621 .A34 1863b] 

Eve’s Daughters- Also known as Common Sense for Maid, Wife, and Mother was written by Marion Harland in 1882. This book covers several topics on women in society. There are topics ranging from how to feed a new infant, to gossiping; from what girls should study, to marriage. This book shows many of the beliefs of what was proper for a woman to portray at the time, and some methods that some women should use. Marion Harland is a pen name for Mary Virginia Terhune. She authored many books throughout her life, fiction and non-fiction, and became quite knowledgeable on domestic topics. [Toppan Rare Books Library: Special Collection: HQ 1221 .T3 1882] 

Mrs. Lincoln’s Boston Cookbook- This cookbook, first published in 1884, was written by Mrs. Mary Lincoln (Penned as Mrs. D.A. Lincoln) as part of the Boston Cooking School curriculum. It was the first standard cooking textbook in the United States. In a time where home economics was a popular career for women, this was a sought-after book that included recipes from well-renowned cooks around the country. The book included many scientific explanations as to why many meals were cooked the way they were. Some of its most intriguing recipes included “Meat Porcupine”, which was made with any kind of meat except porcupine; a whole page on how to make a decent toast; and deep-fried celery. [Toppan Rare Books Library: Eliza W. Toppan Collection: TX 715 .L737 1884] 

The Administratix - A novel written in 1889 by Emma Ghent Curtis, the story follows Mary Madnau, a teacher who moves out west where she marries a young cowboy, Jim. After his murder Mary decides to dress up as a cowboy, infiltrate a ranch, and take revenge on her husband's murder. A true western, this was written almost 10 years before The Virginian by Owen Wister, attributed as the first western novel. Emma Ghent Curtis was a novelist who lived in Colorado at the time of authoring this book and was heavily involved in the women's suffrage movement. [Toppan Rare Books Library: Rare Book Collection: PS 1474 .C A36 1889] 

A Piece of my Heart- A book published in 1985, is the stories of 26 American women who served in Vietnam. This book by Keith Walker is an effort to just tell a few of the stories of the 15,000 women who served during the Vietnam War. Included are stories about the dangerous conditions the women endured during the war and their views after their return home. Some of these stories include Georgeanne Duffy Andreason, she was in Special Services and served for a year in Vinh Long. Dot Weller, who served four and a half years in a rehabilitation center for neutral parties in Quang Ngai. And Doris I. “Lucki” Allen, an U.S. Army Intelligence operations officer who was in Vietnam for three years and warned officers of the Tet offensive, and of the Chinese joining the war. [Toppan Rare Books Library: State Library Collection: Uncatalogued] 

LibGuide written by Dakota Buhmann

Virmuze Digital Exhibits
Vera Glaser: A Pioneer for Women’s Rights
This exhibit showcases Vera Glaser (1916 - 2008), a reporter, journalist, and a pioneer for women’s rights. She paved the way for the national Task Force on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities.

In Pursuit of Equality
This exhibit shows the story of three women - Nellie Tayloe Ross, Thyra Thomson, and Liz Byrd - who, as elected office holders, challenged and changed the conventional understanding of equality in Wyoming.

AHC Discovery History Blog
There are many blog posts that relate to Gender and Women’s Studies on our blog. Use the search bar on the blog site to check them out.

Suffrage for Women – The Push to Ratify the 19th Amendment by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington

Putting the Women Back into Women’s Suffrage by Jennifer Helton, Assistant Professor of History at Ohlone College and a 2019 AHC Travel Grant recipient

Cheyenne Women of the Ku Klux Klan by AHC Simpson Archivist Leslie Waggener

The Searchlight Club: Elevating Cheyenne’s African American Women by AHC Simpson Archivist Leslie Waggener

Documenting Women’s Roles in Hollywood by Reference Archivist Amanda Stow

Aloha Wanderwell – A Well-Wandered Woman by AHC Simpson Archivist Leslie Waggener

Transitioning to Her True Self: S.J. Moffat’s Story by AHC Staff

Science Fiction and Gender in the 1950s by AHC Intern Shaun Mulligan

Additional search tools (such as physical card catalogs, subject/photo/biographical file indexes, etc.) are available on-site at the American Heritage Center. If you are unsuccessful in your search, please contact the Reference Services Unit for assistance, or visit us on-site. Online cataloging projects are ongoing.