During Women’s History Month, we’re reminded that history told by, for and from the perspective of women is sometimes very different from history we read in textbooks.
Used to be that one knew there were famous women around but didn’t have the documentation to support the local knowledge.
Then famous women got more press and became easier to find.
Then what constituted fame changed as more women entered male-dominated fields in more and more visible roles.
With all the Hollywood glamor of big-name actresses and big-time women athletes, it’s worth the time to sit and think about what it means to be famous and female.
Florida Women In History
Never in the 500-year history of Florida has there been a shortage of famous women.
In fact, famous women lived and worked in Florida centuries before the Spanish arrived and “discovered” the Indians.
On the heels of Black History Month, you’ll know about Zora Neale Hurston.
And if you’ve lived in GreaterJax™ for any length of time you know who Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is.
Trust Your Examiner – you had no idea about the rest of this. It’s not all cheesecake and the mermaids at Weeki Wachee.
Want to know more about famous and historical Florida women? See the list.
Some Famous Greater Jacksonville Women
So whom might you find closer to home?
Prepared to be pleasantly surprised.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe – abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. After the Civil War, she settled in Mandarin to educate freed slaves. Frequent guest of Margaret Seton Fleming at the Hibernia Inn.
- Eartha Mary Magdalene White – educator and publisher born in Jacksonville, the 13th child of a former slave. Established the Clara White Mission in honor of her mother during the Depression in the 1930s. Also ran a prison mission. In 1967 she established the Eartha M.M. White Nursing Home, which grew into Jacksonville's largest employer of blacks.
- Carrie Clarke – seamtress and wife of Orange Park mayor William Clarke (1920s). Started the First Baptist Church of Orange Park on property she purchased, was an American Red Cross volunteer and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
- Margaret Seton Fleming – social activist and daughter of a former mayor of Fernandina Beach, ran the Hibernia Inn on Fleming Island after the death of her husband Lewis Fleming, founded St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church.
- Jeannette Massee Patterson – Orange Park heiress to the Palmolive soap fortune, investment broker with Bank of New York and E.F. Hutton. Developed high-end business of family property – Winterbourne, the Hilltop and Club Continental.
Read More About It
The mission of the National Women's History Project, founded in 1980, is to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information and educational materials and programs.
And take a few minutes to read more about women in Florida history and the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.
Florida Commission on the Status of Women
- Office of the State Attorney General
- The Capitol, PL-01
- Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
- Contact: Laurie Pizzo, 2012-2013 FCSW Chair
- Phone: 850-414-3300
- Fax: 850-921-4131
-30-
©2013 All rights reserved.
OFFICIAL BIO: K Truitt is a second-generation, native Floridian born in Jacksonville. Truitt worked in public higher education for 25 years and knows newspaper publishing, printing and graphic design. Contact: kt.4examiner@yahoo.com
Comments