By Diane L. Richard, NCGS Journal Editor, journaleditor@ncgenealogy.org
Contribution Spotlight
In the May issue of the NCGS Journal we will have a special contribution. One of our readers, Faye Orr, who also just happens to work for The School of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, North Carolina (http://www.schoolofgraphicart.com/), the printers of the Journal, recognized family in the February issue (the cookbook story). Faye shared a few memories she has of the Cokesbury Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) and also her family and its connection to the VFD. This article is priceless for future readers.
Any reader can share a personal story. Do you recognize something in the Journal? Tell us a bit more about that person, family, community, business, institution or whatever tickles your fancy! Such pieces don’t have to be long. They can be as simple as sharing a photograph of a person mentioned, a community event, a local landmark, etc. It can be a few sentences (but no longer than a page) of some additional insights into a person, place, or event.
Though the Journal is a great resource for sharing complex family stores and data sources new to researchers, it is also an opportunity to put a bit more “meat on the bones” of those who are mentioned. The Journal can provide a platform to share a bit more of the story of the individuals told.
Women’s Suffrage
Later this year there will be at least one article published about the women’s suffrage movement in North Carolina. We are fortunate that Gertrude Weil, who was instrumental in the movement, lived in Goldsboro (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Weil). Many of her papers call the State Archives of North Carolina home and a few “membership lists” are included. Additionally, the Legislative Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration has been contacted and they identified two North Carolina petitions related to suffrage and provided some resources so that I might try and identify/acquire others.
Was there someone in your family who was active in the suffrage movement in North Carolina? Many communities formed “Equal Suffrage Associations.” A statewide organization also existed.
Do you have a photo of your North Carolina person wearing any suffrage-related regalia, either individually or as part of a group? Do you have ephemera (that you can photograph), such as program papers, buttons, and more? Do you remember a mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, or neighbor talking about participating by signing a petition, marching in a parade, attending meetings, doing fundraising, etc.?
These individual stories of women supporting the 19th Amendment, especially from a state that didn’t symbolically ratify the amendment until 1971, more than fifty years after it had become federal law, would be a wonderful legacy for future generations. Let’s try to preserve their stories. You can help do this!
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Thanks again to all who have helped and to those who will volunteer in the future. It does take a village to create a journal. As always, I can be reached at journaleditor@ncgenealogy.org to answer your questions, and to receive your submissions and suggestions.
Go Journal Team!
You may also view a printer-friendly pdf version of the March 2018 Journal Jottings.
(Image Source: “N.60.4.38 Women’s Suffrage campaign 1920” from the State Archives of North Carolina Raleigh NC flickr account , Public Domain.)