Category Archives: short biographies

Bridget Biddy Mason: from Slave to Philanthropist by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on July 31, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

On a block on Spring Street, in downtown Los Angeles, sits a unique art installation, dedicated to a woman whose name had been silent for over one hundred years. Bridget ‘Biddy’ Mason led an incredible life. Born a slave in … Continue reading →

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Aelfleda and Her Fellow Needle Workers by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Picture a few women sitting together with a large piece of linen stretched out between them on a wooden frame. They are hunched over the fabric. Threading their needles with brightly colored yarns dyed from natural resources, they carefully embroider … Continue reading →

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Jessie Tarbox Beals: First American Female Photojournalist by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

I love to profile stories of strong females who vigorously pursued their passions because they had a zeal for life. Jessie Tarbox Beals was like that. She became a pioneer of American photojournalism in the late 1800s when the competitive … Continue reading →

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Jacqueline Cochran: a WASP Clothed as a Butterfly by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on April 30, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Jacqueline Cochran, like her other 1,078 WASP sisters, was among the first female pilots who flew for the Army in WWII. These women, collectively known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or the WASPs, flew together for more than two … Continue reading →

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Mary Fields: Frontier Pioneer by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on March 3, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Mary Fields may just be the strongest of the Strong Women I have researched. Literally. Even from her early years, she did the unexpected. Born into slavery sometime in 1832 on a plantation in Hickman County, Tennessee, she became friends … Continue reading →

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Dorothy Height: Carrying on the Dream by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on January 31, 2018 by lhsittig@verizon.net

If you look at the 1963 press photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., you might notice a woman standing off to … Continue reading →

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Laura Stockton Starcher and the Ladies of Umatilla by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on November 30, 2017 by lhsittig@verizon.net

It was a calm morning for Election Day, December 5, 1916, in the small Oregon town of Umatilla, population 198. Nestled on the southern bank of the Columbia River, Umatilla was a place where everyone knew everyone else. No one … Continue reading →

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Margaret Getchell: First American Retail Executive by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on January 1, 2017 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Most of us have visited a department store, at least once. You may be the type of shopper who darts from one section to the next, hopping on the up/down escalator or squeezing into a crowded elevator in pursuit of … Continue reading →

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Mary Edwards Walker:One of a Kind

Posted on November 1, 2016 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Which prestigious award has been issued to 3,514 men, but only 1 woman? That would be the Medal of Honor, bestowed upon service personnel for gallantry in action during wartime. Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil … Continue reading →

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Leila Denmark: A Doctor in the House by Linda Harris Sittig

Posted on January 1, 2016 by lhsittig@verizon.net

Leila Daughtry Denmark had the incredible distinction of being the oldest practicing physician in the United States when she closed her office at the age of 103. Yes, you read that correctly. But it is her full story that makes … Continue reading →

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