The material in CHM collections may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the historical record. The Chicago History Museum has an institution-wide initiative to critically consider the language used to describe people and materials, and we invite you to read more about our related projects.
The Chicago History Museum relies on subject headings authorized by the Library of Congress to organize its catalog records. This controlled vocabulary facilitates the uniform access and retrieval of items in libraries and archives worldwide. Researchers can search headings in CHM's online catalog ARCHIE either in the general keyword search, by limiting the "All Fields" to "Subject," or by using the Advanced Search.
General LCSH headings that relate to women and appear in ARCHIE include:
If searching by All Fields, rather than by Subject, suggested general keywords include: gender, woman, women, lady, ladies, feminism, feminist(s), Latina(s), lesbian(s), mother(s), motherhood, wife, wives, sister(s), daughter(s), aunt(s), grandmother(s), grandma(s).
Note: This list is not comprehensive, but meant instead as a suggested starting point.
In 2021, librarians in the Chicago History Museum’s Research and Access department began efforts to identify women featured in CHM collections by their full names. This work was inspired by projects at Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Yale University’s Library.
Our search of CHM’s catalog uncovered nearly 1,800 authorized and local authorities that identified women by their husband’s name. (Roughly 85% of the 1,800 authorities were attached to bibliographic records for cabinet cards and cartes de visite.)
The ways in which women have been named in ARCHIE differ. For example, we examined headings that were formatted as:
CHM librarians and interns are currently in the process of updating these records with women's full, pre-marriage names.
Process for confirming the full name:
1. Consultation of the physical item
In some cases, the information needed was found on or within the item itself. For example, handwritten notes on the reverse side of a photograph have offered biographical information about the subject(s). One carte de visite catalog record was titled “Brown, Mrs. William H., portrait photograph,” with the heading, “Brown, William H., Mrs., 1807-1883.” When consulting the photograph, we found a handwritten note on the backside that read, "Harriet Seward Brown, Mrs. Wm H. Brown, born April 22 1807, died Sept. 1883, taken 1867." After consulting genealogical sources (e.g. Find a Grave) to confirm this information, we were able to confidently create a new local name authority, changing “Brown, William H., Mrs., 1807-1883” to “Brown, Harriet Seward, 1807-1883.”
2. Research via outside sources
Of course, we did not always find detailed information on or in the item itself. More often, further research was required. In those instances, these sources were cited:
You can view our current list of updated headings here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pw6zJ71e222FppXzLK0fFrfa-U7aPpUOFfapXrBGldw/edit?usp=sharing. Staff will add to this list as more full name information is found.
Black Women in the Middle West Project collection [manuscript], ca. 1924-1985.
Correspondence, lists, publicity materials, and other records of the Black Women in the Middle West (BWMW) Project, a grant-funded project to document the lives of African American women and organizations in Illinois and Indiana and to encourage the donation of their historical records to research repositories.
Chicago Area Women's Sports Association records [manuscript], 1979-1996.
Meeting minutes, reports, financial records, membership files, correspondence, brochures, newspaper clippings, newsletters, press releases, photographs, and other records of the Chicago Area Women's Sports Association (CAWSA).
Chicago Women's Liberation Union records [manuscript], 1954, 1967-1978.
Correspondence, memos, committee minutes, membership lists, announcements, position papers, newsletters, and topical files of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, which was formed in 1969 as a radical, anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, feminist organization building on a multi-issue women's liberation movement. Committee work included Direct Action for Rights in Employment for equal treatment and wages for women, Abortion Counseling Service for community-based alternative services, and National Outreach to establish communications with other similar organizations throughout the United States. Additional topics include feminism, gender orientation, child care, women's health care, reproductive rights, and women's legal rights, including the Equal Rights Amendment.
Correspondence, minutes, financial records, and other records created and/or collected by the Illinois League of Women Voters and the Cook County League of Women Voters, both nonpartisan political organizations. Materials relate to the organizations' activities in the areas of health care, housing, social security, employment, child labor, maternity and infant care, and permanent voter registration.
National Council of Jewish Women, Chicago Section records [manuscript], 1899-1973, bulk 1920-1970.
Meeting minutes, annual reports, financial records, correspondence, periodicals, newsletters, press releases, brochures, pamphlets, directories, manuals, scripts, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and other records of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Chicago Section, a community service organization.
Archival records of the Board of Lady Managers (BLM) of the World's Columbian Exposition, which operated the Woman's Building and the Woman's Building programs and exhibitions, at the fair. Collection includes BLM meeting minutes of its board of directors, reports, lists, etc., and extensive correspondence.
Women for Peace (Chicago, Ill.) records [manuscript], 1961-1988.
Correspondence, brochures, fliers, press releases, newsletters, reports, financial materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other records of Women for Peace, the Chicago chapter of the national organization: Women Strike for Peace
Featured A&M collections relating to specific women:
Juliette A. Kinzie papers [manuscript], 1833-1870
Letters to Juliette A. Kinzie and manuscripts of fiction written by her.
Lois Rosen papers [manuscript], 1963-1995
Correspondence, meeting minutes, press releases, newsletters, committee reports, legal and financial documents, newspaper clippings, fliers, and other papers of Lois Rosen, a Chicago political activist and labor union advocate, who was a leader in several civic and social service organizations from the 1960s-1990s.
Mahalia Jackson papers [manuscript], 1950-1977
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, performance programs, and awards. The materials generally pertain to Jackson's professional life as a vocalist and recording artist.
Mary McDowell Settlement (Chicago, Ill.) records [manuscript], 1894-1970, bulk 1930-1962
Letters, speeches, etc. of Mary McDowell, head resident,1894-1936, of the University of Chicago Settlement, which later became known as the Mary McDowell Settlement, and other administrators; board minutes, reports, letters, and financial papers of the settlement.
Thyra Edwards papers [manuscript], 1932-1953, bulk 1937-1942
Correspondence, articles, scrapbook with photographs, and other papers of Thyra Edwards, a social worker at the Abraham Lincoln Centre in Chicago, Ill.
Note: This list is not comprehensive, but meant instead as a suggested starting point.
Broadsides: People--Women [graphic]
Broadsides: Law & legal affairs--Human rights--Civil rights--Women's rights [graphic]
Elizabeth Cheney collection of visual materials [graphic].
Elma Stuckey family photograph collection [graphic].
Events--Exhibitions (Illinois--Chicago) World's Columbian Exposition--Buildings: Woman's Building
People -- Families -- Mothers & children -- Illinois -- Chicago [graphic].
Portfolio of photographs of Indian immigrants [graphic].
Changing Chicago project photographs by women photographers:
Note: This list is not comprehensive, but meant instead as a suggested starting point. To find more photos by and/or featuring women, explore ARCHIE and limit your search to "Photo / Prints (all)." Additionally, CHM's digitized images can be found at https://images.chicagohistory.org/.
Chicanas of 18th Street by 
The Dignity of Resistance by 
Gender, Race, and Politics in the Midwest by 
Lavender woman : Chicago's lesbian/feminist newspaper
A Shoppers' Paradise by Note: This list is not comprehensive, but meant instead as a suggested starting point.
