About the Collection
Established in 1993, the primary mission of the Archives of Women of the Southwest is to document the historical experience of women in the Southwest, with special emphasis on Dallas and North Texas, as well as a regional focus that includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and the Spanish Borderlands. The Archives currently holds more than 200 collections that fall into two areas: letters, diaries, and journals of women who settled in or traveled through the West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the papers of 20th and 21st-century women who influenced women’s roles in society and shaped the culture, arts, business, social issues, law, and politics in Texas and the Southwest.
Highlights include:
- : Annette Harvey, of Arkansas and West Virginia, recounts events of her daily life in this "Line a Day" diary. She was the daughter of William Hope Harvey, aka "Coin" Harvey, a well-known businessman, politician, author and founder of the resort of Monte Ne and the Ozark Association.
- : Diane Wisdom Senibaldi (1938-2020) was a professional musical singer who traveled the world performing with such notables as Frank Sinatra Junior, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Anthony, and Bob Hope.
- : Edmund Montgomery (1835-1911) trained in Germany as a medical doctor but subsequently gravitated toward philosophy and science, and Elisabet Ney (1833-1907), a sculptor, immigrated to the United States in 1871, settling in Texas.
- : Ermance Rejebian (1906-1989) was an Armenian-born lecturer, author, news commentator, and book reviewer. Rejebian presented her reviews to women's book clubs, called "Rejebian Clubs,” in Dallas and the Southwest. Rejebian also gave book reviews, news summaries and commentaries on WFAA Radio in Dallas. In 1951, she was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the most influential women of the Southwest.
- : The Holloway family papers contain correspondence and printed material about the life of Edmunds B. Holloway and his descendants, depicting 19th and 20th family and religious life, as well as history and events pertaining to the U.S. Army and Dallas.
- : Photographer Kenda North specifically worked in color photography her entire career, including innovative work with dye transfer materials in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
- : Lee Cullum was a journalist, reporter, interviewer, commentator, and host of public television station KERA's monthly series CEO. Online are a variety of opinion pieces that Cullum wrote for KERA, ca. 1980s (due to copyright restrictions, access is restricted to on-campus use).
- : As a young woman from Ohio, Lucy Pier Stevens (1838-1913) found herself unable to leave Texas where she was visiting family when the Civil War broke out. Three handwritten diaries dated , , and , as well as a , are available online.
- : Lynn Lennon's photographs online include , ca. 1977-1979, and , 1981. Lennon's photographs, 1984-1993, are available in the Texas: Photographs, Manuscripts, and Imprints digital collection.
- : Nell Goodrich DeGolyer was a well-known and respected civic leader and philanthropist. Online are showing Rancho Encinal, the DeGolyer family estate built in 1939, including its construction, gardens, and rooms. Rancho Encinal is now part of the Dallas Arboretum. Other images show Nell DeGolyer with her granddaughter, and entertaining guests at Rancho Encinal.
- : The Standard Club was organized February 23, 1886 for "the study of standard authors." The club met weekly in members’ homes. The records reflect the breadth of its members’ literary interests in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some early members were Mary Kittrell Craig, educator and founder of the Mary K. Craig Class; Belle Gay Smith organizer of the first art exhibit in Dallas at the 1886 Texas State Fair; Adella Kelsey Turner, member of the Dallas Board of Education in 1908 and the Dallas Equal Suffrage Association; Sallie Griffis Meyer, who co-authored the first state child labor law in 1901; and Olivia Allen Dealey, the founding president of the Public School Art League.
- : Sue Yeager Austin's (1912-1998) collected letters, photographs, theater programs, news clippings, magazines, records, and ephemera relating to her lifelong friendship with actress Mary Martin.