Ohio Federation of Republican Women Records
Scope and Contents
The Ohio Federation of Republican Women Records span from 1931-2014 (bulk 1990-2009) and includes meeting minutes, events programs, letters of correspondence, newsletters and publications, photographs, political information, newspaper clippings, administrative records, and scholarship information.
Series I, Administration, 1931-2014 (bulk 1958-2014), contains the administrative records of OFRW. These include meeting minutes, programs, conference information, awards, membership, political backings, payment information, executive photographs, and official correspondence. It also includes records from Katharine Kennedy Brown’s presidency, documents from the National Federation of Republican Women convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a copy of the original founding registration for the Ohio Federation of Republican Women.
Series II, Projects, 1981-2009, contains information pertaining to the projects with which OFRW was involved. This includes scholarships, fundraising, charity and donations, Tribute to Women honorary, and other activities beyond the scope of maintaining the core of the organization.
Series III, Newsletters and Publications, 1982-2009, contains circulating literature in OFRW. This includes the local Ohio publication The Buckeye Backbone and its later manifestations, The Buckeye Voice and The OFRW Voice. It also has smaller regional newsletters, as well as the national publication The Republican Woman.
Dates
- Creation: 1931-2014
- Creation: Majority of material found within Bulk 1990-2009
Creator
- Ohio Federation of Republican Women (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on accessing paper-based materials in this collection. However, to access the electronic files in this collection, patrons must provide archival staff a minimum of 7 days advance notice. Archives staff reserve the right to restrict access to files with privacy or confidentiality concerns.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
The Ohio Federation of Republican Women was first organized on November 29, 1929, by school teacher Mrs. Hugh Clark who dreamed of seeing women help serve the United States of America as leaders. She founded OFRW as a means to educate and encourage women in politics. A skilled orator, she was a delegate at the Republican National Convention in 1929 and traveled around the country speaking on behalf of Herbert Hoover during his presidential campaign.
Except for one statewide rally in Columbus on April 30, 1930, the organization remained inactive until 1940. In August 1940, Katharine Kennedy Brown organized a meeting in Columbus with members of the Ohio Republican State Central and Executive Committee to reactivate OFRW as a state level part of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW). Katharine Kennedy Brown served as the President of OFRW from 1940-1971. It has remained active ever since.
NFRW’s goal was to educate women about the Republican Party and to encourage women to be active in the party. To be a state member of the national organization, a state was required to have clubs in at least sixty percent of its counties. When Ohio was accepted into NFRW in 1940, it had over 200 clubs and 6,000 members. By January 1941, OFRW had 331 clubs and 15,000 dues-paying members. At its peak in 1970, the organization had 369 clubs and 40,000 members.
The Ohio Federation of Republican Women is devoted to fundraising for and supporting the Republican Party on local, state, and national levels. In addition, they give out scholarships and are involved with charitable organizations. Their seasonal conferences and meetings are accented with awards ceremonies honoring the deeds of women, such as the Tribute to Women. OFRW’s circulating publication was The Buckeye Backbone.
In 1991, the National Federation of Republican Women Biennial Convention was held in Cincinnati, Ohio. This was a large event for both the national and state levels of the organization. The entirety of the OFRW officers, board members, and members from local clubs worked together to host over 3,000 guests from all over the country. The team successfully raised $200,000 to pay for the convention, making it the first and only time in NFRW history that a state raised more money than was needed for the event. The additional funds were used to purchase the Ohio Room at the new NFRW headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
Extent
3.5 linear feet
1.5 Megabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Ohio Federation of Republican Women (OFRW), founded in 1929, is the smaller, state representation of the larger National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW). Today OFRW is a volunteer based organization which seeks to support and cultivate Republican women of all ages in the state of Ohio. This collection contains the organization’s meeting minutes, member lists, correspondence, reports, fundraising materials, programs, photographs, awards, newsletters, and newspaper clippings.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series:
Series I: Administration, 1931-2014 (bulk 1958-2014);
Series II: Projects, 1981-2009;
Series III: Newsletters and Publications, 1982-2009
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Electronic files that contain the booklist information in Series II are preserved in the E-Archives (e-item numbers ms549_e0001, ms549_e0002, ms549_e0003 all containing identical data).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections and Archives in August 2015 by Robin Dodge and Lyn Bliss of the Ohio Federation of Republican Women.
Separated Materials
3 CDs that contained booklists were moved to the E-Archive.
File Plan
Box File Description Date Series I: Administrative 1931-2014, Bulk 1958-2014 1 1 National Federation of Republican Women, Background and Bylaws Undated 1 2 National Federation of Republican Women, Member Recruitment Undated 1 3 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 1985 Sep. 1 4 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 1986-1989 1 5 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 1990-1992 1 6 National Federation of Republican Women, Cincinnati Convention 1991 1 7 National Federation of Republican Women, Cincinnati Convention 1991 1 8 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 1997 1 9 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 1998 1 10 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 1999-2005 1 11 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 2006 1 12 National Federation of Republican Women, Convention 2007-2009 1 13 The Women’s Republican Club of Ohio 1959, 1962 1 14 OFRW Background and Bylaws 1931, 1999-2006 2 1 OFRW Member Recruitment 1995-2006 2 2 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1958 2 3 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1959 2 4 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1960 2 5 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1974 2 6 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1975 2 7 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1976-1977 2 8 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1978-1990 2 9 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1991-1993 2 10 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1994-1995 3 1 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1996 3 2 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1997 3 3 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1998 3 4 OFRW Meeting Minutes 1999 3 5 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2000 3 6 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2001 3 7 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2002 3 8 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2003 3 9 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2004 3 10 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2005-2006 3 11 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2007 3 12 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2008 3 13 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2009 4 1 OFRW Meeting Minutes 2010-2014 4 2 President’s Reports 1998-2001 4 3 OFRW District Club Minutes, General 1994-2008 4 4 OFRW District Club Minutes, Northwest 1992-2002 4 5 OFRW District Club Minutes, Northeast 1991-2007 4 6 OFRW District Club Minutes, South 1993-2004 4 7 OFRW District Club Minutes, Central 1998-2004 4 8 OFRW District Club Minutes, East 1993-2010 4 9 OFRW District Club Minutes, Southwest 1992-2009 4 10 OFRW District Club Minutes, Northeast-Northwest 2004-2007 4 11 OFRW District Club Minutes, Central-East 2005-2006 4 12 OFRW District Club Minutes, Southwest-South 2004-2005 4 13 OFRW Insurance 2014 4 14 NFRW/OFRW Elections 2007 4 15 Administration Photographs 1972-1993 Series II: Projects 1981-2009 4 16 OFRW Awards 1987-1988 5 1 OFRW Awards 1993-2002 5 2 OFRW Awards 2003 5 3 OFRW Awards 2004-2006 5 4 OFRW Awards 2007 5 5 Tribute to Women 1981-1994 5 6 Tribute to Women 1996-2004 5 7 Tribute to Women 2006 5 8 Tribute to Women 2009 6 1 Literacy Programs 1999-2003 6 2 Literacy Programs 2004-2007 6 3 Ohio Republican Party Affiliations 1999-2009 6 4 Sister Cities Project Circa 1998 6 5 Cardinal Project 1992-2004 6 6 Win with Ohio Women 1994-2001 6 7 Scholarships 1998-2009 6 8 Constitution Day Program 2005 6 9 Legislative Day Program 2004 6 10 Military Support 2004-2007 6 11 Ladies’ Gallery Project 2004-2006 6 12 Caring for America Project 2006-2009 6 13 OFRW Heritage Fund 2008-2009 6 14 NFRW Headquarters Restoration 2008-2009 Series III: Newsletters and Publications 1982-2009 6 15 The Republican Woman Publication 1990-1994 6 16 The Republican Woman Publication 1995-2007 7 1 The Buckeye Backbone Publication 1982-1993 7 2 The Buckeye Backbone Publication 1994-1997 7 3 The Buckeye Backbone Publication 1997-2001 7 4 The Buckeye Backbone Publication 2002-2008 7 5 The Buckeye Backbone Publication Circa 1987 7 6 The Buckeye Voice and The OFRW Voice Publications 2008-2009 7 7 County Publications 1987-1988
Subject
- Brown, Katharine Kennedy (Person)
- Ohio Federation of Republican Women (Organization)
- Republican Party (Ohio) (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Ohio Federation of Republican Women Records (MS-549)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Nichole Chrissis
- Date
- 2017 Apr 10
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
