The Progress Of American Women
Please meet my Great Grandmother, Minnie Honora Mahoney Traynor. Minnie was the firstborn American child of immigrant Jeremiah Mahoney and his wife Mary Gallagher in Crossingville, PA in 1858. She did not marry until she was 31, which was headed into "old maid" territory back then.
I have often wondered what her and her daughter's lives must have been like, but not early enough to actually ask my grandmother about it. Let's look at the different technological and social advances made here since the 1890's and try to get some perspective on the Progress of American Women.
By the time Minnie got married, the first roller coaster was at Coney Island, NY (1884), the first "platter record" came in 1887, the first "practicable dishwasher" was invented by Josephine Cochran in 1889, and the zipper in 1893.
My grandmother was born in 1896, air conditioning was born 6 years later. I bet Minnie never had one! 1920 saw the dawn of mass communication when KDKA radio of Pittsburgh begin broadcasting, and TV was born in 1927. Thank you Clarence Birdseye for thinking of frozen foods in 1929, the year after Minnie's first grandchild was born in 1928.
The vacuum cleaner was invented in 1860, but the first PORTABLE one did not exist before 1907-8. You can click on the picture to get a better view of the ad. By the way, if you are in to vacuums, check out https://edisonvacuums.com/the-complete-history-of-vacuum-cleaners-1860-present/
Imagine Minnie seeing her cat riding on today's robot vacuum!
Minnie saw the first War to End All Wars and lived through the Great Depression. She saw women get the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment on June 4, 1919. There is no record if she ever exercised her right, but her daughter, Nellie, did. Nellie also married "late" in 1928 at the age of 30, and you can be sure she voted the way her husband told her to.
Minnie's first great grandchild would arrive in time for the Space Race and the first laser in the late 50's. The average marriage age for women in the 1950's was at a historic low of 20! After women working in factories during WWII, more women began working outside the home and earned pay in the 1950's.
In 1965 working age women still only worked about 15 hours for pay vs. 28 hours per week of housework.
That first great grandchild would be playing Pong in 1972, and would be educating her mother and mother-in-law about obtaining credit in their own names by the end of the decade. Did you know it was not until 1974 women were allowed to have credit cards or bank accounts without their husband's permission or a male cosigner until 1974? We can be thankful for the work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Dallas attorney Louise Raggio in obtaining equal rights for women with the Family Law Act among others.
Women of the 70's had choices about their life styles for the first time. They did not have to get married or have a man look after them anymore, and they began to pursue their own professions. Double income households were the norm in the 1980's.
Now we have the internet, and after COVID working from home is more common. Women still do most of the housework and childcare even though they put in the same paid working hours as their husbands, resulting in what some people are calling the "second shift."
What would your maternal ancestors think of this new world? When you are doing research on these women, think about where they started. Were some of yours farm wives? Did they churn butter? Did they keep their food (that they likely grew) in a root cellar? Do you can food like they did? Ever made a cake from "scratch?" Just think about making all of your family's clothes!
If you still have them to ask, do it! Record their stories in written or recorded form. I so do wish mine were around to get their views. Would they consider this the progress of American women, or would they be dismayed?
School is beginning again! Some of you will have time for genealogy again soon. Let me know if I can help you by sending me an email to get your free review of your tree.
Best wishes for these Dog Days of Summer,
Leslie Ryan
No compensation is received for any links or referrals herein.
No copyright infringement is intended.
Further reading about Louise Raggio and the Women's Rights laws
