Describes the lives and significant contributions of nearly 300 women, primarily from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Each entry, in alphabetical order by name, includes a valuable bibliography, listing both primary and secondary materials. An appendix subdivides the women by career category; there is a general index. A biographical dictionary may not identify one’s own ancestor, but the entries can be used to elucidate conditions of life for persons of similar background and, by extension, to locate additional sources of information that might not otherwise attract the researcher’s attention.

In this comprehensive gathering of scholarship on Latinas, the encyclopedia record the contributions of women of Latin American birth or heritage to the economic and cultural development of the United States. In more than 580 entries, the historical and cultural narratives of Latinas come to life. From mestizo settlement, pioneer life, and diasporic communities, the encyclopedia details the contributions of women as settlers, comadres, and landowners, as organizers and nuns. More than 200 scholars explore the experiences of Latinas during and after EuroAmerican colonization and conquest; the early-19th-century migration of Puerto Ricans and Cubans; 20th-century issues of migration, cultural tradition, labor, gender roles, community organization, and politics; and much more. Individual biographical entries profile women who have left their mark on the historical and cultural landscape.

Though a specific ancestor may not appear in a dictionary naming only a few hundred women, this biographical dictionary has additional uses. The editors have attempted to provide “a broad cross section of Native women’s experiences in both historical and contemporary contexts” (p. xiii). Each brief biographical entry includes a list of published “references” for further information. Because the book’s indexes subdivide the women according to area of specialization, decade of birth, state/province of birth, and tribal affiliation, the entries can help a researcher locate hard-to-identify additional background materials. Some Native societies are particularly interesting because they were matrilocal and matrilineal. The introductory essay provides useful observations concerning the state of research about Native American women.

Extensive index to published biographical information about American women of moderate prominence. Subdivides women into categories based on career fields, religion, ethnic or racial group, and geography. Where an ancestor’s name is not listed, this source might still provide useful information about women of similar backgrounds.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER. Between 1785 and 1812 a midwife and healer named Martha Ballard kept a diary that recorded her arduous work (in 27 years she attended 816 births) as well as her domestic life in Hallowell, Maine. On the basis of that diary, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich gives us an intimate and densely imagined portrait, not only of the industrious and reticent Martha Ballard but of her society. At once lively and impeccably scholarly, A Midwife's Tale is a triumph of history on a human scale.

Vol. 88. “Reassembling Female Lives: A Special Issue.”

This is an exploration of the significant achievements of women defying odds and convention throughout US history. It is full of fascinating profiles and accounts, and offers an exciting new view of American history - and how women shaped it.

Chronicles what American women did from the emergence of the republic through the end of World War I and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. A broad spectrum of activities are depicted, showing their many accomplishments and how their activities affected the world around them. It was an era of great transition for all women. A who's who of American women and some men (those who showed great support or, ironically, great opposition to women's reform) are described one year at a time, beginning with 1789 and ending with 1920. Each year's activities are organized into seven possible categories: domesticity, work, education, religion, the arts, the law and politics, and joining forces. The book is thoroughly indexed.

This book examines educational opportunities for girls and women from the colonial era to the present, exploring formal settings such as schools and colleges, as well as informal associations such as suffrage groups and reform organizations where women gained skills and used knowledge. Nearly 250 alphabetically arranged entries profile institutions, persons, ideas, events, and movements in the history of women's education in the United States.

Traces the history of the struggle of women to achieve equality in American colleges from Colonial times to the present.

White's historic report for Cornell boosted confidence in coeducation. Though the struggle forward was still slow-going, this publication was a milestone in the progress. This item is also available to view online in the Library of Congress Digital Collections.

Traces the almost unbelievable history of the relationship between women and medical practice, from the "wandering womb" of Ancient Greece to the rise of witch trials across Europe, and from the dawn of hysteria as a catchall for difficult-to-diagnose disorders to the first forays into autoimmunity and the shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation, menopause, and conditions like endometriosis. Packed with character studies and case histories of women who have suffered, challenged, and rewritten medical orthodoxy--and the men who controlled their fate--this is a revolutionary examination of the relationship between women, illness, and medicine.

In this second edition, Judith Walzer Leavitt has collected 35 articles representing important scholarship in this once-neglected field. Organized chronologically and then by topic, this volume covers studies of women and health in the colonial and revolutionary periods and the 19th century through the Civil War. The remainder of the book concentrates on the late 19th and 20th centuries and addresses such controversial issues as body image and physical fitness, sexuality, fertility, abortion and birth control, childbirth and motherhood, mental illness, women's health care providers (midwives, nurses, physicians) and health reform and public health.

Vol. 20, no. 3. "The Essential Guide to Researching Female Ancestors [Special Issue]."

This important publication is designed to introduce researchers to the opportunities for discovering American women's history and culture at the Library of Congress. It covers materials such as textual sources, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs, and other audio or visual material. This item is also available to view and interact with online at American Women: A Guide to Women's History Resources at the Library of Congress.

Lists types of records the author has found particularly useful in piecing together life stories of females.

Family history researchers are accustomed to searching among vital records, censuses, and other commonly used sources, but there are any number of more-obscure sources that can lead researchers to vital information: bankruptcy records, special censuses, employment records, and coroners' records are only a few of the kinds of records you can turn to when other sources prove unfruitful. This handbook does not focus on female ancestors, but because the identity of female ancestors can be so elusive, some of the unusual sources described might lead to a missing link in a given case.