Virginia Women's History

Notable Virginia Women
Women have played important roles in the history of the commonwealth of Virginia - and Virginia has played an important part in the lives of women. Here are 10 women worth knowing.

Virginia Dare
Virginia Dare biography - a profile of the first English child born in the New World.

Martha Jefferson
Martha Jefferson (Martha Eppes Wayles Skelton Jefferson), wife of Thomas Jefferson, died almost 20 years before he became the third American president.

Even More Virginia Women
More women who lived or worked in Virginia, with brief descriptions and links. Pearl Bailey, Clara Brown, Maybelle Carter, Rita Dove, Ella Fitzgerald, Jessie Frémont, Ellen Glasgow, Drusilla Houston, Marjorie Stewart Joyner, Kate Smith, Sally Louisa Tompkins, Elizabeth Van Lew and Betty Zane.

Six Virginia Women's History Sites
Places to visit in Virginia to find out more about women's history. Links for further information on the sites and women connected with them. Arlington National Cemetery with the Shuttle Challenger Memorial, Martha Washington House, Kate Waller Barnett Library, Ford Building, Belle Boyd Cottage and Mount Vernon (highlighting the first preservation society in America operated by women).

Ten Notable Women of Virginia
Brief biographies and links for more information for these women: Virginia Dare, Pocahontas, Martha Washington, Elizabeth Keckley, Clara Barton, Varina Davis, Maggie Walker, Willa Cather, Nancy Astor and Katie Couric.

Equal Suffrage League of Virginia
As part of the James Branch Cabell Library special collections exhibits, Virginia Commonwealth University documents Anne Clay Crenshaw and the women's suffrage movement in Virginia.

Elizabeth Van Lew
Elizabeth Van Lew biography: About Elizabeth Van Lew, who spied for the Union during the American Civil War.