Category: Women/Gender

STELLA WALSH CONTROVERSY

The STELLA WALSH CONTROVERSY was a high-profile affair that began soon after WALSH, (WALASIEWICZ), STELLA (STANISLAWA) was shot to death in a parking lot during an attempted robbery on December 4,

STERLING HOUSE

STERLING HOUSE. See WOMEN'S PROTECTIVE ASSN.

STONEWALL CLEVELAND

STONEWALL CLEVELAND was a gay civil rights organization established in April, 1990 that operated through 1992 with the purpose of serving as the political voice of the lesbian and gay community in Northeastern Ohio.

STRONG, ELEANOR PAINTER

STRONG, ELEANOR PAINTER (12 Sept. 1891-3 Nov. 1947), singer, actress and author, settled in Cleveland after a 19-year career as an operetta star. Strong was born in Walkerville, IA. She spent part of her childhood in Colorado and later went to New York City to become a singer. She studied singing in Berlin, Germany (1912) and sang in Covent Garden in London the next year.

TAFT, FRANCES PRINDLE

TAFT, FRANCES PRINDLE (12 Dec. 1921 - 14 May 2017) was an influential arts educator and Cleveland civic leader.

TAYLOR, SOPHIA ELIZABETH STRONG

TAYLOR, SOPHIA ELIZABETH STRONG (5 May 1861-25 Sept. 1936) was principal owner of the WILLIAM TAYLOR & SON COMPANY department store from 1892 until her death. She was also known for her philanthropies, including St. Luke's Convalescent Home and missionary activities of the Presbyterian church.

TENESY, ROSE L. GERAK

TENESY, ROSE L. GERAK (19 June 1890-16 Aug. 1992), who claimed to have voted in every election since WOMEN gained the franchise in 1920, was the first woman ward leader for the CUYAHOGA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY (1920-40).

THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE REFORM OF OHIO ABORTION LAWS

THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE REFORM OF OHIO ABORTION LAWS, headquartered in Cleveland Heights, was founded in 1967 and chaired by Richard A. Schwartz, MD. Schwartz was a psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic, who used psychiatry and women’s mental health as an argument in favor of abortion.

THE PONI-TAILS

The PONI-TAILS, (1956 - 1960) were an all-female American pop band that was active from 1956 until 1960. Its members included Toni Cistone, Patti McCabe, Karen Topinka and LaVerne Novak. The Poni-Tails are best known for their top 10 hit song “Born Too Late” released in 1958. 

THORNTON-SILVER, EUGENIA

THORNTON-SILVER, EUGENIA (1916-10 March 1992) was a well-known Cleveland book reviewer and lecturer. Born in Chicago, she was raised in Kinsman, O., and attended Lake Erie and Hiram colleges. After experience as a substitute English teacher, she conducted a Cleveland radio show called "People and Places in the News" during WORLD WAR II.

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE is an annual observance to commemorate the lives of transgender people who have died from discrimination and violence against transgender people and those who are perceived to be transgender. The first observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance took place on November 28, 1999 with vigils in the Castro District of San Francisco and in Boston, Massachusetts.

TURNER, RACHEL WALKER

TURNER, RACHEL WALKER (1868-12 Nov. 1943) was a black soprano who began her career in Cleveland and later toured the U.S. and Europe singing classical selections as well as songs such as "The Last Rose of Summer" and "Swanee River." Rachel Walker, daughter to T.W. and M.L.

TYLER, ALICE S.
URSULINE COLLEGE

URSULINE COLLEGE is a Catholic liberal-arts college for women located at 2550 Lander Rd., PEPPER PIKE. The school was founded on 17 Nov. 1871 when Mother Mary of the Annunciation Beaumont applied for and received a charter to confer college degrees (see URSULINE SISTERS).

URSULINE SISTERS OF CLEVELAND

The URSULINE SISTERS OF CLEVELAND are members of an international Roman Catholic religious community dedicated to Christian education, founded by St. Angela Merici. Bp. AMADEUS RAPPE, who had served as chaplain of the Ursuline nuns of France, invited the sisters to staff Cleveland's parish schools.

VORMELKER, ROSE L.

VORMELKER, ROSE L. (11 June 1895-3 Nov. 1994), though not 5' in stature physically, was regarded as a towering figure in the field of library science. A native Clevelander, she was the daughter of Julius and Amy Hippler Vormelker and went to East High School.

VOTIPKA, THELMA

VOTIPKA, THELMA (20 Dec. 1898-24 Oct. 1972), opera singer with the Metropolitan Opera Co., was born in Cleveland to Emil and Jessie Votipka, and studied at Oberlin Conservatory and with Lila Robeson in Cleveland and Anna Schoen Rene in New York City. Her operatic debut was as the singing countess in the Marriage of Figaro for the American Opera Co. in 1927.

WADE, ELLEN

WADE, ELLEN GARRETSON (18 Jul. 1857 - 21 May 1917) was a prominent Cleveland philanthropist and public benefactor during the late 19th century. 

Wade was born on July 18th, 1857 to Ellen Howe Abbott Garretson and Hiram Garretson in Cleveland, Ohio.   

WAITT, MAUDE COMSTOCK

MAUDE COMSTOCK WAITT, (11 Aug. 1878-13 Dec. 1935) became the first woman from Cuyahoga County to be elected to the Ohio Senate in 1922, two years after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. She was born and educated in Vermont, and taught school in Massachusetts, where she met and married her husband Walter G. Waitt in 1903.

WALKER, HAZEL MOUNTAIN

WALKER, HAZEL MOUNTAIN (16 Feb. 1889-16 May 1980), the first black woman principal in the Cleveland public school system, was an educator, an actress, and an advocate for racial integration. 

Walker was born in Warren, Ohio, the daughter of Charles and Alice (Bronson) Mountain. She married George Herbert Walker in 1922; he died in 1954. In 1961, she married Joseph R. Walker.

WALSH, (WALASIEWICZ), STELLA (STANISLAWA)

WALSH, (WALASIEWICZ), STELLA (STANISLAWA) (3 Apr. 1911-4 Dec. 1980), named the greatest woman athlete of the first half of the 20th century by the Helm Athletic Foundation (1951), was born in Wierzchownin, Poland, daughter of Julian and Veronica (Uninski) Walasiewicz.

WALTERS, CLAIRE A.

WALTERS, CLAIRE A. (21 Aug. 1872-18 Nov. 1937) was for 41 years a teacher and psychologist in the Cleveland public school system whose life work was the rehabilitation of underpriviliged children.

WEBB, ELLA STURTEVANT

WEBB, ELLA STURTEVANT (15 Dec.1856-6 Sept. 1931), writer, helped compile the 3-volume Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve (1896-1924) and served as recording secretary of the Women's Department of the Cleveland Centennial Commission (1896). She wrote for publications such as Leisure Hours (Philadelphia).

WELTER, KATHERINE J. KESSLER

WELTER, KATHERINE J. KESSLER (1901-14 June 1992), opened and managed an all-woman real estate office, Katherine J.

WEMBRIDGE, ELEANOR HARRIS ROWLAND

WEMBRIDGE, ELEANOR HARRIS ROWLAND (1882-19 Feb. 1944), psychologist and nationally known author on juvenile delinquency, served as girls' referee for the CUYAHOGA COUNTY JUVENILE COURT (1926-35). Wembridge (half-sister of AMY ROWLAND) was born in Lee, MA, to Rev.