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Featured image for “Women in World War II: Stories of Utah Women”
April 6, 2020

Women in World War II: Stories of Utah Women

Utah women volunteered in droves to help the war effort in the 1940’s. There were several different ways to volunteer and serve. If women were trained medically they could be a nurse in the American Red Cross or any military division. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women’s Reserve, known as the SPARS, was the World War II women’s branch
Featured image for “First Two Women in the House: Stories of Utah Women”
March 25, 2020

First Two Women in the House: Stories of Utah Women

The newly ratified Utah State Constitution finally provided women the right to vote and to hold office in 1896. Sarah E. Anderson and Eurithe K. Barthe were elected for the very next term in the State House of Representatives.  Eurithe K. LaBarthe Eurithe K. LaBarthe was born in Illinois in 1845, moved to Colorado where she was a teacher and
Featured image for “AnnaBelle Weakley: Stories of Utah Women”
February 26, 2020

AnnaBelle Weakley: Stories of Utah Women

AnnaBelle Shaw was born in Mississippi in 1922. She moved to Ogden during World War II when her fiancé was stationed at Hill Field, now known as Hill Air Force Base. They married at the end of 1942. After the war they divorced and AnnaBelle met and married her second husband, Billie Weakley in 1947. AnnaBelle Weakley and her husband
Featured image for “Jane Manning: Stories of Utah Women”
February 20, 2020

Jane Manning: Stories of Utah Women

Jane Manning has been immortalized in the lore of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was born African American in Connecticut in the early 1820’s. Her mother was enslaved, but was emancipated by the time Jane was born. Her father died when she was very young. She gave birth to her first son in 1839 but the
Featured image for “150 Years of Utah Suffrage: Stories of Utah Women”
February 14, 2020

150 Years of Utah Suffrage: Stories of Utah Women

On February 14, 1870 Seraph Young marked her ballot for the Salt Lake City municipal election and dropped it in the box. She was the first woman in the United States to vote. Seraph arrived in Utah in 1847, when she was less than a year old. The Pioneer Jubilee book lists Seraph Young (Ford) as one of the first
Featured image for “Alberta Hill Henry: Stories of Utah Women”
February 6, 2020

Alberta Hill Henry: Stories of Utah Women

Alberta Hill was born in Louisiana in 1920, where her parents worked as sharecroppers. As African Americans, they were discriminated against in Louisiana. When she was three, her family moved to Kansas where they hoped for a better racial climate and educational opportunities for their children.  When Alberta was a teenager she was in a car accident. A piece of
Featured image for “Olene Walker: Stories of Utah Women”
January 14, 2020

Olene Walker: Stories of Utah Women

Olene Walker was born in Ogden, UT in 1930. Her parents were both educators and her father was the Ogden School Superintendent for 25 years. Olene was elected to her first position in the student government during junior high. She later earned a debate scholarship to Weber College, but transferred to Brigham Young University after her first year. After earning
Featured image for “Centennial of Women’s Suffrage: Stories of Utah Women”
January 6, 2020

Centennial of Women’s Suffrage: Stories of Utah Women

The year 2020 marks the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment being passed! It was ratified in August of 1920 by the thirty-six states needed to add it to the Constitution, and then white women had the right to vote nationwide. It took several more decades for this right to be extended to minorities. We will start celebrating this anniversary