Ladies' Society Groups

In 1853, the San Francisco Ladies' Protection and Relief Society was established when a woman, lost and alone, appeared at a respectable woman's door seeking refuge.  Her brother, who was supposed to meet her at the steamer earlier, had never shown up and she had no where to turn and no one to help.  The Ladies' Protection and Relief  Society was formed to "render protection and assistance to strangers, and to sick and dependent woman and children". One year later, they opened their first house for all "respectable women to go in want of protection and employment".

In 1870 Kansas, after locusts and drought destroyed farms, the Wichita Ladies Aid Society was organized to help.  Men, however, wanted nothing to do with their charity or their "whining for aid" as they referred to it, and minimized the situation.  Even the local newspaper headlined, "this is the best agricultural area in the world, right here, without anyone's aid."

Well, winter came, suffering increased and the women wrote back to the newspaper saying, "It is absolutely true that families are starving and the charity of the people can save them.  Women and children are without stockings.  Cabins have no floor and no beds this winter.  To those who refuse to believe and let these people die, it is just uncivilized."

The women proved their point, the charity went on to save the town and -  men, well, they weren't starving anymore in their pride.

Next time...the mining town women