REYNOLD?^ WicjoRic/s^L GENEALOGY COLLECTION ^s.oia^Boo,?«T&^^,, 'i^'')>< 'S/;SV 1G6715G To your mother, and to my own of blessed memory, to whom we owe all that we are and to whose inspiration we are indebted for all we have tried to do, this book is dedicated. Press of the Missouri Printing and Publishing Company, Mexico. Mo. PREFACE STATE in the union has produced a bet- ter or a higher type of womanhood than Iowa. From pioneer days until the pres- ent they have had a very helpful interest in the advancement of education, of the arts, of literature, of religious and moral training, in the great work of philanthropy and of social service in all of its phases. Some of them have been women of unusual talent and have a national reputation, and some have a world-wide reputation. To record the achievements of these exceptional women, and to make a permanent record of the lives and work of the women who within the State and in their own commu- nities have given their service to the common good is the object of this book. It is not claimed that all the women deserving recognition are included in these pages, no book would be large enough to contain them all. The labor involved in collecting and compiling this history has been far beyond our expectation, yet if we have added to the written history of our state, or if the lives herein recorded prove an inspiration to others, it will be compensation for all the labor it has cost. In compiling this history of Iowa women, the first to be published in the state, we have been aided by many prominent women, by the Historical Dept. of Iowa and by the State Historical Society. We here give grateful acknowledgment of that aid. WINONA EVANS REEVES. "The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's Is not to fancy what were fair in life, Provided it could be,—but, finding first What may be, then find how to make it fair Up to our means: a very different thing." —Robert Browning. The Blue Book of loiva Wom^n MRS. GEORGE W. CLARKE Mrs. George W. Clarke, the wife of the Governor of Iowa, was born at Adel, Jany. 16, 1857, her maiden name being Arietta Greene. She is the daughter of Benjamin Greene and Parmelia Catherine Sturges, who came to Adel in 1847 when there were only two or three families there. The settlement was called Penoach and later Mr. Greene gave the town the name Adel. Mrs. Clarke was educated at the Oskaloosa College with the degree M. S. She was married on June 25, 1878, at Adel to George W. Clarke, a young attorney who had just graduated from the Law Dept. of the State University. Their home is still in Adel. He was a member of the Iowa legislature for four tenns and was speaker of the house for two additional terms. He was elected Lieut. Governor in 1908, and in 1912 became Governor, and he is a very popular executive. Four children have been born to them: Fred Greene Clarke, Charles P. Clarke, Portia Clarke Van Meter and Francis Ada Clarke. Mrs. Clarke is a member of the Christian church and has been a Sunday school teacher and an active worker in the Missionary Society for many years. She is an interested club v/oman in her home town and in Des Moines where they reside a part of the year. She is a member of the Civic Service and Social Reform committee of the I. F. suffrage. W. C. and is an earnest advocate of equal in every She is a charming woman socially and way graces her position as the First Lady of the common- wealth. 10 The Blue Booh of Iowa Women MRS. W. L. HARDING Mrs. Carrie May Harding, the wife of W. L. Hard- ing, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, was born in Dun- barton, Wis., Nov. 17, 1879. She is the daughter of H. H. Lamareaux and Margaret Annetta Phoenix, bolli natives of "Wyoming county, Penn. She received her education at Morningside College, Sioux City, having been graduated from that institution in music and expression. On Jany. 9, 1907, she was married at the home of her parents at Meriden, la., to W. L. Hard- ing, an attorney by profession. Lieut. Gov. Harding is the son of Mr. and Mrs. 0. B. Harding, natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Osceola county, Iowa, in 1874, being among the early settlers of that part of the state. He was graduated from the law school of the State University of South Dakota, in 1905. He imme- diately opened a law office in Sioux City and is now the senior member of the firm of Harding & Oliver. He was elected Representative in 1906 and re-elected in 1908. When George W. Clarke was elected Gover- nor of Iowa, he was elected to the office of Lieut. Gov. Since 1906 Mr. and Mrs. Harding have spent a part of the year in Des Moines. IVIrs. Harding is a member of the Board of Directors of the Legislative Ladies' League, and has been both prominent and popular in the social life of the capital city. She is a charter member of the Sioux City Woman's Club. She is a home lover and does fine needlework and china paint- ing, and has for a creed, "East or west, home's best." The Blue Booh of Iowa Women 11 MRS. A. J. RARKLEY Few women in the state are more widely known than Mrs. A. J. Barkley. The creed and policy of her life are embodied in this motto which is over the fire- place in the library of her home: "I shall pass this way but once. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again." Flora E. Spencer was born in Rice county, Minn., Feb. 28, 1860. She is the daughter of Wilson Spencer and Caroline Beaver Goodykoontz. On her father's side her lineage is traced to a soldier of the war of 1812. Her mother is descended from the Beaver fam- ily of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors came from Al- case in 1740. The family were leaders in public af- fairs in the great commonwealth and have furnished "food for powder" in every war which America has waged since they became citizens of this country. In 1865 the Spencer family moved to Waukon, la., where the daughter was educated in the public schools, later taking a course in the Normal School of Valparaiso, Ind. She was a high school teacher for eight years, after having taught four years in tlie country graded schools. On July 28, 1891, she was married to Alonzo J. Barkley, one of the organizers of the Boone county bank, and its president until he retired from business in 1911. Many distinguished guests have been graciously entertained in their home, whose doors swing wide, welcoming the rich and poor, who meet together to enjoy the hospitality. A nephew, Earl 12 The Blue Booh of Iowa Women Barkley Spencer, makes his home with them and is being carefully educated by them. Mrs. Barkley is an active member of the M. E. church. She has taken a deep interest in the library work of the state, and was president of the State Li- brary Association in 1907-08. It was largely through her influence that the 28th General Assembly passed a law providing for the establishment of a State Library Commission. She is now a member of that commission, having been appointed by the Governor. She has been a member of the Library Board of the Ericson Public Library of Boone since 1898, and upon the death of its founder. Senator Ericson, she became president of the Board. She is chairman of the Lit- erature and Library Extension Committee of the I. F. W, C. She has served the I. F. W. C. as vice-president and has represented the state at four general federa- tions. She is a member of the board of the Eleanor Moore hospital. She was the first president of the Giij federation of Women's Clubs and has served De Shon chapter, Daughters of the American Revo- lution as its regent, and represented the chapter in the National Congress in 1913. She was a charter mem- ber of the Lowell club which was one of the first clubs to join the L F. W. C. She has had a great interest in and influence upon the public schools and has taken a personal interest in many pupils who needed aid and encouragement. The tremendous energy and systematic efforts of this unselfish woman have enabled her to accomplish something worth while without neg- lecting her home duties. The Blue Booh of Iowa Women 13 MRS. CYNTHIA WESTOVER ALDEN Iowa is proud to claim "The Sunshine Lady," Mrs. Cynthia Westover Alden, President General of the In- ternational Sunshine Society. Born in Afton in 1862, the daughter of Oliver S. and Lucinda Lewis West- over. When a child her parents moved to Colorado. She was graduated in the first class of the State Uni- versity at Boulder. For years she was one of the best known newspaper women in the United States, one of the few holding the degree Master of Literature. While she was one of the editors of the Daily New York Recorder, she organized half in jest, "The Sun- shine Society" among those connected with that pub- lication.