The background photo is an image of a street in Chautauqua, NY, from a lantern slide produced by the New York State Education Department between 1890 and 1910. It is from the collections of the New York State Archives.

Selected Women's History Collections
held by the New York State Library

Since March is Women's History Month, the Library is featuring collections from our Manuscripts and Special Collections division that are related to women's history, particularly those listed in the finding aid, or guide, to Selected Women's History Collections.

The finding aid is arranged alphabetically, with a brief description of each collection. Browsing the list will give you a taste of the size and scope of our collections, which may be as small as individual letters and diaries or as large as records from large organizations such as the Adirondack Forty-Sixers (60 boxes) or the Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church (43 boxes).

Collections of organizational records or family papers listed in the guide may not have been compiled exclusively by or for women, but were included because they have information about specific women or because they give insight into women's activities, interests and lives in general during the time period covered by the collection. For example:

• The records of the Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brunswick, Rensselaer County, New York, include the papers of the Women's Home and Missionary Society, 1880-1980.
• The Gurley family papers, from a once-prominent family of the Troy, New York area, include Clara Gurley Williamson's diaries and letters from family and friends that depict the social life and customs of the time period.
• The Adirondack Forty-Sixers records includes correspondence between the mountain climbers and Grace Hudowalski, longtime secretary and historian for the organization. The letters feature descriptions of ascents up the mountains, including Hudowalski's reminiscences of her own experiences. Many of the Forty-Sixers are women.
• The Advertising Collection includes 19th- and 20th- century advertisements, primarily trade cards. Marketing for many of the products was geared toward women, and some cards illustrate women using the advertised product.

The Selected Women's History Collections are just a small sample of the unique and fascinating collections in the care of the State Library's Manuscripts and Special Collections division. Over 80 more finding aids are available online, and information about additional collections is available from our catalog.

Related Resources:

New York State Library, Archives, Museum:

• Library Catalog - Search the combined records of the New York State Library and the New York State Archives. For example, search the Catalog for "Women".
  
• Library Digital Collections (opens in new window) - The State Library's Digital Collections contain New York State Agency publications, digital images, maps, and works of art related to the history of New York.
• Office of Cultural Education Digital Collections - Images and documents from the State Library, Archives and Museum. For example, search "women" in the combined Digital Collections (opens in new window).
  

New York State Education Department

• Virtual Learning System (VLS) - The VLS was create to help teachers locate Internet resources (like lesson plans and sample tasks) that support preK-12 standards-based instruction.