New York State Library
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Hilda Watrous
Papers, 1892-1998
SC22210

Quantity: 10 boxes (3.50 cubic ft.)
Access: Records are open to research.
Acquisition: Gift; Hilda Watrous; 4 April 1999
Processed by: Aimee Morgan, Student Assistant, Spring 2005

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Biographical Note:

Hilda Watrous is a freelance writer and historian who has specialized in issues related to women's history. She was active in politics as a longtime member of the League of Women Voters of New York State (LWV-NYS). A member of the organization's state board, Watrous was the first person to serve as official historian for the LWV-NYS.

Publications by Watrous include The County Between the Lakes: A Public History of Seneca County, New York, 1876-1982 (1982); In League with Eleanor: Eleanor Roosevelt and the League of Women Voters 1921-1962 (1984); Oswego Reflections, 1887-1987 (1994); and 75 Years of a Great Idea: A History of the League of Women Voters of New York State (1995). Watrous has also presented papers at numerous conferences and events.

Scope and Content:

These papers are comprised chiefly of correspondence, research files, and publications related to Hilda Watrous's involvement in state and local organizations of the League of Women Voters of New York State.

Series I consists of Watrous's files on the League of Women Voters.

Included are chronological research files on the LWV-NYS, as well as a sample of LWV-NYS publications. There are a few files on the national League of Women Voters organization, containing mostly publications. Also included are organizational files on the founding of the League of Women Voters of Shenendehowa, later renamed the League of Women Voters of Southern Saratoga. A lengthy run of newsletters from this organization depicts League of Women Voters activities at a local level.

Series II is comprised of Watrous's research files on Eleanor Roosevelt. Of particular interest to Watrous was Roosevelt's connection with the LWV-NYS. In League with Eleanor: Eleanor Roosevelt and the League of Women Voters 1921-1962 was published by LWV-NYS's Foundation for Citizen Education in 1984.

Series III consists of research files from a project completed by Watrous under contract for the New York Capitol Commission in 1985-1986. Watrous was hired to write biographical sketches of activists for woman suffrage whose names were listed on a tablet in the New York State Capitol. The tablet had been placed in the Capitol by LWV-NYS in 1930.

Series IV comprises research for other projects, in particular the lives and careers of Harriet May Mills and Narcissa Cox Vanderlip. Watrous wrote a biography of Mills to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the New York State Fair's Women's Building in Syracuse, which was named to honor Mills. Watrous's research on Vanderlip contributed to the decision to include Vanderlip in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

The papers provide insight into the research process of a local historian. However, they do not present a complete overview of Watrous's career. The collection contains no research files for her publications on Seneca County and the town of Oswego.

Box Folder Contents


Series 1: League of Women Voters, 1910-1998
1
National League of Women Voters, 1940-1990

1 Archives, 1986

2 History, 1985

3 Military Intelligence Records on the League of Women Voters, National Archives, 1920s,/div>

4 Political Activity, ca. 1970s-ca. 1990s


Publications

5 1940-1957

6 1962-1970

7 1971-1986


League of Women Voters of New York State, 1920-1994


75th Anniversary

8 1992-1994

9 Commemorative Journal, 1994

10 Gala, Program, 1994

11 Information Packet, 1993

12 Correspondence, 1980s
2 1 Transfer of League Archives to Columbia University, 1969-1981


Historical Research, ca. 1990s

2-3 1920s

4 1921

5 1922

6 1923

7 1924

8 1930s

9 1940s

10 1970s

11 1980s

12 1990s
3 1 A-F, no date

2 G-R, no date

3 S-Z, no date

4-6 At Columbia University Library, ca. 1990s

7 Board of Directors, 1920-1923

8 Edey, Birdsall Otis, 1982

9 First Legislative Conference, 1939

10 Mott, Lucretia and Anna Lord Strauss, no date

11 Miscellaneous, ca. 1910s-1990s

12-14 Histories of the State League, 1980s-1990s

15 History Conference Presentation, 1982

16 History Presentation at State Convention, 1985

17 Miscellaneous, ca. 1970s-ca. 1990s

18 Oral History Guidelines, no date
4 1 Political Activity and Organization, ca. 1970s-ca. 1980s

2 Reports to State Board on League History, 1980-1988


Publications

3 30 Years in Action: History of the State Program, 1920-1950, 1951

4 1919-1969: It Made a Difference, 1969

5 Campaign for a Capital Move, 1988

6 New York State Action in Albany, Winter 1980

7 New York State Voter, 1974-1985


Weekly News

8 1925

9 1926

10 1927

11 1928

12 1929

13 Miscellaneous Publications, 1979-1982

14 Other State League Programs, 1970-1981


Local Leagues, 1969-1998

15 Capital District League of Women Voters, Regional Report, 1972-1974


League of Women Voters of Shenendehowa

16 1977-1985

17 1993-1998

18 Budget, 1969-1978


Newsletter
5 1 1971

2 1972

3 1973

4 1974-1975

5 1976-1977

6 1978-1979

7 1980-1983

8 1984-1986

9 Organizational Documents, 1971-1973

10-11 League of Women Voters of Southern Saratoga County, Clifton Park Development Issues, 1998

12 Other Local Leagues, Historical Research, 1979-1986
6
Series II: Eleanor Roosevelt Research Project, 1982-1998


Correspondence, 1982-1998

1-2 Correspondence re: Eleanor Roosevelt, 1982-1984, 1998

3 Correspondence and Clippings re: In League With Eleanor, 1983-1984


Conferences and Events, 1982-1994

4 Hofstra University Roosevelt Conference, 1982

5 Grant Application for Eleanor Roosevelt Film, 1983

6-7 Centennial of Eleanor Roosevelt's Birth, Conferences and Events, 1983-1984

8 Presentation on Eleanor Roosevelt at New York State League of Women Voters Convention, 1985

9 Eleanor Roosevelt Program for Russell Sage Elderhostel, 1994


Historical Research, ca. 1980s-1990s

10 1920-1924

11 1925-1929
7 1 1930-1939

2 1940s-1960s

3 Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill

4 Eleanor Roosevelt Timeline, undated

5 Eleanor Roosevelt and the League of Women Voters

6 Hyde Park, Brochures and Publications

7 Hyde Park, Correspondence and Notes

8 Miscellaneous

9 Photographs and Postcards, ca. 1930s-ca.1980s

10 Publications with Eleanor Roosevelt Content, 1983-1998


Eleanor Roosevelt, Assorted Buttons, no date [in envelope]


Series III: Suffrage Tablet Research, 1985-1996
8 1 Background Information on Tablet, ca. 1986

2 Completed Biographies of Suffrage Tablet Women, ca. 1986

3 Correspondence, 1982-1996

4 Correspondence with Capitol Commission, 1985-1986

5 Research at New York Public Library, ca. 1986

6 Research at New York State Library, ca. 1986

7 Research, Miscellaneous, ca. 1986


Suffrage Tablet Names, Research, ca. 1986

8 A, ca. 1986

9 B, ca. 1986

10 C-D, ca. 1986

11 E, ca. 1986
9 1 F-H, ca. 1986

2 K-L, ca. 1986

3 M, ca. 1986

4 N-R, ca. 1986

5 S-V, ca. 1986

6 W, ca. 1986


Series IV: Other Research Projects, 1892-1995

7 Equal Rights Amendment Research, Correspondence with Elisabeth Griffith, 1983-1987

8 Knapp, Florence, Research, no date


Mills, Harriet May


Research, ca. 1980s

9 1892-1918
10 1 1920s-1930s

2 House, Family, and Friends, no date

3 Women's Building 50th Anniversary Publication, 1984

4 Miscellaneous, 1985-1995

5 National Women's Hall of Fame and Women's Rights National Historical Park, 1982-1983

6 The Review (Liverpool, NY), Articles Written by Watrous, 1983


Vanderlip, Narcissa Cox


Book

7 Correspondence, 1980-1983

8 Finished Copy, 1982

9 Proposal and Funding, 1980-1981


Research, ca. 1980s-1990s

10 1930s-1940s

11 At Columbia University Library, 1980

12 Bok Peace Prize, 1923-1924

13 Chicago, ca. 1900s-1920s

14 Family, ca. 1910s-1960s

15 Palos Verdes, California, 1980-1990

16 Sheppard Towner Act, 1920s

17 Trip to Japan, 1920

18 Vanderlip Estate, 1980

19 Women's Land Army, 1915-1919

20 Women's History in the United States: A Handbook, Contract and Contributions, 1987-1988

21 Women's History Month, Presentation at SUNY Plaza Celebration, 1995
Last Updated: February 18, 2022