Women’s History Month, celebrated every March, highlights the important achievements and contributions of women throughout American history. In a webinar organized by the Chappaqua Library titled “Remarkable Women of Westchester,” Barbara Davis, the co-director of the Westchester County Historical Society, details the lives and accomplishments of prominent female leaders born and raised in the county. Throughout history, Westchester County has attracted a wide variety of impressive individuals, from the “First Lady of Song” Ella Fitzgerald to Ann Zeilinger Caracristi, a World War II cryptographer. According to Davis, although these women come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from philanthropists to scientists to activists, they are linked by their determination to advocate for their beliefs and their significant contributions to society as a whole: “These are women who use their brilliance, their stamina, and their sheer will to fight long and hard battles to right injustices.”
One of the many remarkable women who called Westchester home was Lucretia Mott, an early feminist activist who resided in both New Rochelle and Mamaroneck. The Mott family owned Premium Mill, which was believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. Mott, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention, an assembly that launched the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. Susan B. Anthony, who also lived in New Rochelle for some time, collaborated with Stanton to advocate for human rights with a focus on women’s suffrage. Another notable suffragist from New Rochelle was Carrie Chapman Catt, who fought alongside fellow Westchester residents for the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. After 41 years and many rejections, the amendment was passed on May 19, 1919—a testament to the unwavering commitment of the suffragists.
Francis Garrison Villard was another local hero who lived in Dobbs Ferry and was dedicated to fighting for abolition, suffrage, world peace, and many other causes, helping to found the Women’s Peace Society (WPS) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Narcissa Cox Vanderlip also contributed her time and wealth to the suffrage movement; she co-founded and chaired the New York State League of Women Voters, living the latter part of her life in Scarborough. Other Westchester women of similar backgrounds and contributions that were honored on the webinar include Helen Millar Gould Shepard, daughter of Jay Gould, who devoted her inheritance to charitable causes, and Abby Rockefeller, wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr., who donated to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and co-founded the Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA).
In addition to Shepard and Rockefeller, two women of the same generation are Elizabeth “Bessie” Delaney, New York’s second black female dentist, and Sarah “Sadie” Delaney, New York’s first black Home Economics teacher. The Delaney sisters were neighbors with Nina Simone, a musician and civil rights activist. Simone’s experience with racism in the music industry greatly influenced her work, and her music helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. She was close friends with Lorraine Hansberry, a playwright whose experience with racially exclusive housing inspired the award-winning drama “A Raisin in the Sun.” Another playwright, as well as poet, actress, and civil rights activist, Ruby Dee, was instrumental in organizing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In both the stage and film versions of “A Raisin in the Sun,” Diana Sands portrays Ruby’s sister and Claudia McNeil plays the matriarch. Gloria Forst was another acclaimed actress involved in the production of “A Raisin in the Sun,” and all of these women were all buried in Kensico Cemetery, along with Vivian Blaine, Dorothy Loudon, Billie Burke, and many other female actresses. Ruby Dee and Juanita Poitier established the Committee of Concerned Mothers, which raised funds to buy a house for the family of Malcolm X after his death in 1965. This house, located in Mt. Vernon, was purchased from Bella Abzug, the first Jewish woman elected to Congress. She advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment and Title IX and co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Numerous other women from all walks of life have made their home in Westchester County, including scientists Antonia Maury and Carlotta Maury, cryptographer Ann Zeilinger Caracristi, author Jean Craighead George, and singer Ella Fitzgerald. A statue dedicated to Fitzgerald can be seen outside the Yonkers train station. Other tributes to remarkable women in Westchester County include Ruby Dee Park and a monument to Amelia Earhart in the Harrison Public Library. The Chappaqua Library also has exhibits featuring some of the women discussed in the webinar, serving as a reminder of the accomplishments of women who shaped the county, the state, and the world. As Women’s History Month comes to a close, let us continue to honor the legacies of these influential individuals.