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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 340

Papers of Mary Kenney O'Sullivan, 1900-1943

Overview

Writings, correspondence, clippings, etc., of Mary Kenney O'Sullivan, labor organizer, factory worker and inspector, and the first woman general organizer for the American Federation of Labor.

Dates

  • Creation: 1900-1943

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Mary Kenney O'Sullivan as well as copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

.21 linear feet ((1/2 file box) plus 1 folio+ folder)

Besides papers of Mary Kenney O'Sullivan, this collection includes writings and papers of Gertrude Barnum (1866-1948), a social worker and labor reformer. Like O'Sullivan, Barnum was a labor inspector and organizer, and active in the woman's suffrage movement. For further biographical information about both women, see Notable American Women (Cambridge, MA, 1971) Vol. II.

This collection comprises clippings, writings, and correspondence about activities of both O'Sullivan and Barnum, especially in the areas of woman's suffrage and trade unionism for women.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary (Kenney) O'Sullivan was a labor organizer and factory inspector. She became the first woman general organizer of the American Federation of Labor in 1892 and devoted her career to trade union organizing among women and to promoting protective legislation. She was also active on behalf of prohibition and woman's suffrage and in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 82-M9

This collection was given to the Schlesinger Library by Frances Davis Cohen (Mrs. I. Bernard Cohen) in January 1982.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Schlesinger Library; see Mary Kenney O'Sullivan Papers, 1892-1943 (MC 341).

Processing Information

Processed: July 1982

By: Deborah Tucker

Title
O'Sullivan, Mary Kenney, 1864-1943. Papers of Mary Kenney O'Sullivan, 1900-1943: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00838

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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