Janice H. McElroy

The Pennsylvania chapters of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) decided to publish a book about the place of women in history. Individual chapters were asked to research and write short biographical sketches of notable women in all areas of Pennsylvania life. Under the capable direction of Janice McElroy, Our hidden heritage is the result of this work.

Dr. McElroy begins the book with a short general history of Pennsylvania, then a perspective on the woman’s place in its history. Biographical sketches of 165 women are included in the book, with some sketches being less than a page and the most lengthy being 3 pages. Many included photographs. There are also several appendices listing a general bibliography, a list of sources used for each biographical sketch and a list of women who were not accepted for publication.

As with any edited work, the individual biographies are uneven. Some are very poorly written and some are a delight. Some are well researched, some are lacking in any scholarly focus whatsoever. A few had me wondering why they were included since the subjects’ main focus in life was being a socialite and wearing lovely clothes instead of being a pioneer in their fields.

The usual names are present: Betsy Ross, Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley (Molly Pitcher), Margaret Mead, Marian Anderson, Grace Kelly, Lucretia Mott, Ida Tarbell, Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (Nellie Bly), Rachel Carson and other known names. But the majority of women were not as well known and most deserve to be.

I was a bit disappointed that so few residents from my county were honored in this book. The article on Mildred Jordan (Bausher), noted author, was minimal and the only research done were an article in the local paper and one in a county travel magazine. Photographs of her are easily found but none was included. And the scholarly research on her and her works was totally ignored. By contrast the article on Widow (Sarah) Finney, who settled in what would later become Reading, Pa. in the 1730s was excellent, written by a local newspaper reporter for publication in it and adapted for this book. Elizabeth Adams Hurwitz, illustrator, printmaker and artist, was in the list of women not included, yet her credentials are stronger than many in the chapter on artists.

The cover of the book is especially intriguing, a cross stitch design depicting women’s costume over the centuries, designed by Barbara Zinck Mendola, a member of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America.

I can recommend this book to anyone who is interested in “hidden history” and the place of women in Pennsylvania.… (más)