By Kristin JacobsenAssistant Archivist, Frances Willard House Museum and WCTU Archives When I heard about the Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board (ISHRAB), my mind went to Moby Dick. My name is Ishrab? No, no. That’s Ishmael. Captain Ishrab? No, Ahab is the protagonist of Herman Melville’s novel. ISHRAB, it turns out, is neither sailor, sea captain, nor … Read more
By Janet Olson, Archivist Feminist, social reformer, writer, and WCTU leader Liu-Wang Liming (1898-1970) was born and raised in rural China. As a child, with her father’s support, she resisted the sexist custom of foot-binding. She attended an American mission school for girls many miles from her home. Upon graduation in 1916, she came to … Read more
By Janet Olson, Archivist On January 13, 2021, the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 was signed into law. The bill directs the Treasury Department, through the U.S. Mint, to issue quarter-dollar coins featuring “prominent American women,” effective January 1, 2022 through the end of 2025. The act allows up to five coin designs … Read more
Frances Willard’s death on February 17, 1898, was marked by four memorial services, nationwide recognition, and a long legacy.
by Kristin Jacobsen, Assistant Archivist Patrons nursing their beers in the saloons of Fredonia, New York, on December 15, 1873, were met with a startling sight: more than one hundred local women taking to the streets to prevent drinkers from raising another glass. The women visited all eight liquor dealers in Fredonia – praying, singing … Read more
By Kristin Jacobsen, WCTU Archives, Archives Assistant In mid-August, 1874, a group of temperance women came together to seize a national moment that led to formation of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). The women were wives of a group of Methodist clergymen who were attending the first National Sunday-School Assembly at Chautauqua Lake in … Read more
By Fiona Maxwell, University of Chicago Graduate Global Impact Intern This is the first installment of a series of blog posts highlighting a small sample of the printed performance materials housed in the WCTU Archives. Although the Museum and Archives are closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to providing digital … Read more
Wide-ranging travel has always been part of the WCTU’s history (think of Frances Willard’s speaking tours, and of the WCTU organizers who collected 7.5 million signatures on the Polyglot Petition in the 1880s). Imagine the warm welcome those women received when they got back home to Evanston! These thoughts came to mind on July 26 … Read more
“A Century of Remembering: The Great War” is the theme of Illinois Archives Month (October) 2017. World War I affected every aspect of American society, and is documented in many different ways in archival repositories across the state. The Frances Willard Memorial Library and Archives offers this brief overview of the role played by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. … Read more
By Chad Comello Digging through history is a lot like digging through dirt: it’s gonna get messy, but you’ll find some interesting stuff along the way. What is now the archives was once known as the Administration Building, built in 1922 to serve as the WCTU’s bustling headquarters. Now primarily a repository for organizational records, … Read more