Category: Progressive Period (1900-1919)

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Geraldine Virginia Braley, 1890-1964

Geraldine Virginia Braley was the first and, for decades, the only woman who was president of a bank in Akron, Ohio. She never advocated equality with men. However, she promoted women into most of the key positions in the bank she ran.

Braley was born in New Martinsville, W.Va., but her formative years were spent in Thurston, Ohio. She attended elementary and high school in Fairfield County’s centralized school system and attended business college in Columbus, Ohio.

She got a job at a Columbus ice cream firm and came to Akron to manage that company’s office in that city. She then went to work for the old Hower Department Store as the manager of its business office.

It was while she worked there that she first heard of a new bank about to open. In 1921, she joined Society Savings and Loan as its first employee. The bank quickly became successful, so successful, in fact, that the trustees questioned the wisdom of having a woman involved. Braley was let go and she soon found a job in the office at B.F. Goodrich.

Those bank trustees, however, realized that they had made a terrible mistake; they wanted her back and offered her the position of assistant treasurer. Braley returned and never left Society Savings, which became First Federal Savings and Loan of Akron, again.

Braley became an expert in the banking industry. She read all the trade publications; she attended banking conferences; she went to school at The University of Akron and took classes in savings and loans and psychology. She knew her field and she got along well with the customers. The Beacon Journal reported in 1937 that she enjoyed helping wage earners achieve home ownership.
In 1941, she was named chief officer of the bank with the title of executive secretary. In 1943, she was elected president and was elected president every year until she retired in 1960.

Braley contended there were three ingredients for success in business: a mathematical mind, an expertise in the field (based on study and reading of trade publications) and knowledge of her business from the bottom up.Anyone — male or female, who had that mathematical mind and was willing to put in the time and effort, could achieve success in banking or any other business, she argued.

In her career, however, she preferred to work with women. She trained them; she put them through every phase and part of the organization; then she promoted them to positions that women seldom held in banking at the time. In return, a colleague said she “expected loyalty, production, accuracy and speed….”

Braley was well respected nationally in the banking industry. She was named to key committees of the U.S. Savings and Loan League. She was also elected president of the Summit-Portage County Savings and Loan League.

After her retirement, Braley moved to Passaic, N.J. She died there in 1964 at the age of 73.

Photo courtesy of the Beacon Journal. 

–Kathleen L. Endres

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Isabel Agnes Bradley, 1864-1953

Dr. Isabel Agnes Bradley was a nationally recognized woman in the field of psychiatry.

The daughter of a farmer, Bradley was born in Kent, Ohio, on Jan. 27, 1864, and attended schools there. She later went on to teach in the Kent public schools. However, after six years of teaching, her interests turned toward the medical field. She enrolled in a three-year program at Buchtel College (now The University of Akron) and then went on to the University of Michigan College of Medicine and graduated in 1899.

Her first job was as an assistant physician and pathologist at the Ohio State Hospital for the Insane where she worked until 1908. She briefly held a similar job at the Friends Hospital for the Insane in Philadelphia. In 1911 Bradley began practicing psychiatry in Akron, where she remained until transferring to the State Mental Hospital in Columbus in 1917. She worked in Columbus for 20 years until she retired in 1937. One of Bradley’s co-workers described her as “without a doubt the greatest woman physician in her field I have ever known.”

In 1931 Bradley took a 12-month leave of absence from her career and toured the world. While on this tour, she visited mental hospitals in Japan, China, India and Italy.

During her life, Bradley was a member of many prominent local and national organizations. She was involved in the Summit County Medical Society, the Ohio State Medical Society, the American Medical Society, the American-Medico-Psychological Association, the Medical Women’s National Association and the Ohio Women’s Suffrage Associations. She also served as president of the Akron and Summit County Federation of Women’s Clubs from 1912-1913.

Bradley died on April 9, 1953 at the age of 89 in New Wilmington, Pa., where she lived after her retirement. She never married. Bradley’s grave is located in Standing Rock Cemetery in Kent, Ohio.

–Janelle Baltputnis

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Clara Bingham, 1871-1946

Miss Clara Bingham earned the title “The First Lady of Goodyear” for her 47 years of service to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. In 1921, Bingham became the director of women’s activities at Goodyear and William Egan later noted in the Akron Times-Press that “Practically every outside-of-work club for women at the factory has been the result of her work.”

Bingham had a motto that “All workers need escape. No matter how much you enjoy your work–you need play too. It doesn’t pay to become stagnated.” This motto led her to create the Wingfoot Girls Club and the Goodyear Garden Club for female workers at the factory. She also organized basketball and volleyball teams, bridge clubs and a summer camp for them. According to a story in the Akron Beacon Journal, she had much faith in the power of recreation.

Some of Bingham’s views were quite advanced for her time. For instance, she believed that married women who work outside the home should not have to do housework. She also felt that children no longer knew how to have fun. Bingham never married or had any children, yet she was still seen a “mother figure for the working woman.”

She was hired at Goodyear as a stenographer on Nov. 20, 1898, the day before the plant opened. “The Seiberlings [the original owners of Goodyear] were impressed with her pleasant demeanor and intelligence,” according to the Akron Beacon Journal. When she began, the whole factory operated with just a few hundred employees. She earned $10 a week. An article from the Beacon Journal stated, “Bingham liked the job and enjoyed taking dictation from the Seiberlings.” She was popular with her fellow employees and among other Akron business women.

In 1908, Bingham became Goodyear’s assistant purchasing agent; and in 1916, she became head of the company welfare work. She worked at Goodyear longer than her original bosses; she was a member of the “Old Guard,” employees who were on the payroll in 1900. In 1928, Bingham became the company librarian and an article in theBeacon Journal said that, “By 1940, Goodyear had more than 500 stenographers, but its original stenographer was still a happy, productive employee.”

When Bingham died on May 23, 1946, the flags at Goodyear were lowered to half-staff and the clock chimes on East Market Street played hymns in her memory. TheWingfoot Clan remembered her as “the most-beloved woman employee.”

Two years after her death, a stone memorial was dedicated in her honor with a bronze tablet that said, “Bingham Park, dedicated to the memory of Clara E. Bingham, 1871-1946, ‘The First Lady of Goodyear.’ Her life and counsel were of help to many.” The Beacon Journal reported, “Bingham would be happy to know that neighborhood children are having fun there.”

Bingham, who was a native of Edinburg in Portage County, graduated from Akron Business College and worked for two years at American Belting Co. before going to work for Goodyear.

Photo courtesy of The University of Akron Archives.

–Janelle Baltputnis

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Irene S. Bame, 1890-1965

Mrs. Irene S. Bame was one of the pioneering teachers for Americanization classes in Akron.

Her work with Americanization (the process of making immigrants familiar with American culture) began during World War I when she was involved with finding a solution to immigration problems in Buffalo, N.Y. She began her work in Akron in 1918 after moving here from Buffalo. The Akron Americanization program was in the very early stages when she arrived, so Bame had no textbooks from which to teach her classes. The lack of available resources prompted her to write and publish “English for Adult Immigrants” and “Lessons for Homemakers.” Bame served as supervisor of instruction of the Akron Public School’s Americanization program for many years.

Bame graduated from the University of Michigan where she was affiliated with Chi Omega. After moving to Akron, she once headed the Akron Panhellenic Association. Bame was also a member of the College Club, a charter member of the Akron Art Institute and participated in the Akron Woman’s City Club.

In addition to these activities, Bame was on the YWCA board, the International Institute board, and the Akron General Hospital board. She attended the First Congregational Church and belonged to its Women’s Fellowship. She was involved with the Family and Children’s Service Society of Akron as well.

Bame’s husband, Alfred, worked as a clerk at Goodyear and they resided at 717 Diagonal Road. They had no children. Bame enjoyed several years of retirement from Akron classrooms before her death in 1965 at the age of 75. She is buried in Attica, N.Y.

Photo courtesy of The University of Akron Archives.

–Janelle Baltputnis

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Harriett L. Merriman Bachtel, 1877-1967

Mrs. Harriett Bachtel was active in several Akron area organizations.

She was a member of the Woman’s City Club and the Parent-Teacher Association. In 1924, she served as recording secretary for the Monday Study Club.

Although Bachtel lived in Akron for most of her life, she spent her last two years residing in Deleware, Oh.

She was married to Harvey J. Bachtel, a real estate attorney, and they had two children, Elizabeth and Clayton J., who both attended the University of Akron. The Bachtels resided at 102 Merriman Rd.

Bachtel died in Delaware, Ohio, in 1967 at the age of 90. At the time of her death, she was a member of West United Church of Christ.

–Janelle Baltputnis

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Marie Reid Laub Babcox, died 1962

Mrs. Marie Reid Laub Babcox was one of the more influential leaders of the local Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA).

She was a lifetime member of the YWCA and she served as president of the Akron YWCA board of directors from 1933-1936. Babcox’s interests extended beyond just the local level though. She was a member of the hospitality committee at Chautauqua, which was a department of the national YWCA board. Her other involvement with national organizations included the World Service Council and the National Interpretation and Support Committee.

Outside of her YWCA work, Babcox was well-known for her leadership in the Woman’s City Club, the Altrusa College Club, the Akron Council of Church Women and the Flora Stone Mather Alumnae. She also served as third vice president of the Young Women’s Christian Association from 1926-1927 and she participated in the Tuesday Musical Club as a director and a singer. She attended the First Congregational Church.

Described in the Akron Beacon Journal as a “widely known clubwoman and social leader,” Babcox was born in Cleveland but moved to Akron in 1914. She married Edward S. Babcox, who was president of Babcox Publications, a company that puts out a number of specialized business magazines. They had four children: Reid, Tom B., Edward S. Jr. and Anne. The Babcoxs resided at 666 North Portage Path.

Babcox died in 1962 in Winter Park, Fla., of a heart aliment that she suffered from for many years. When she died, she left behind her husband, her children and 18 grandchildren. She was cremated in Winter Park.

–Janelle Baltputnis

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Chalista Willard Wheeler

Chalista Willard Wheeler only lived in Akron, Ohio, for 16 years; but that was long enough for her to establish the city’s Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and First Disciple Church’s Young Women’s Missionary Association.

Little is known about Wheeler’s activities before she came to Akron. She was born Chalista Willard and she married young banker David P. Wheeler in Cleveland in 1873. In 1893, the Wheeler family – David, Chalista, daughters Ruth and Jane, and son Willard – moved to Akron where David took over the management of Citizens’ Savings Loan Association. That financial institution was still reeling from the Panic of 1892. He put that institution’s financial matters in order and soon started a new bank – Citizens’ National Bank.

In the 1890s both Wheeler daughters were away at school, Hiram College, a small liberal arts institution in Northeastern Ohio. Both had affiliated with the YWCA there and they told their mother about the benefits of the organization personally and to employed women in general. The idea of starting a YWCA in Akron wasn’t new. For several years, Akron’s Council of Women had talked about the need for one, especially since more and more young women in the city were working outside the home. But nothing happened until November 1900 when Chalista Wheeler invited a small group of friends to her Fir Hill home to look into the prospect of starting a YWCA in Akron. Two strangers were at that meeting – Helen Barnes, national secretary of the YWCA, and Nellie Adams Lowry, the group’s state secretary. Under the tutelage and advice of these professional organizers, the Akron women quietly did research on the number of women employed in the city and canvassed for potential members.

By March 1901 they had their answers. Akron did indeed have a large pool of women working outside the home; and a large number of women -181 returned pledge cards – were interested in joining the YWCA. The charter membership read like a Who’s Who of Akron. It included wives and daughters of industrialists Seiberling, Manton, Schumacher, Andrews, Robinson and others. Wives and daughters of executives, bankers, attorneys, city officials and college professors signed on. No one Protestant denomination predominated but one socio-economic class did. Wheeler had enlisted the wealthiest, most widely respected women in the city to support the YWCA. On March 25, 1901, the Akron YWCA held its first meeting at the First Congregational Church and Wheeler was elected president. Wheeler provided the leadership during those first years. According to a memorial issued at the time of her retirement from the YWCA, Wheeler was the key to the organization’s success. “The work succeeded from the first for Mrs. Wheeler was wise in seeing that such an organization would supply a long felt want and because at its head was placed a woman in whom the public had implicit confidence not only as to business ability, but also as to her judgment as to the influences that go to strengthen womanhood.”

Between 1901 to 1909, Wheeler served as president, setting up the association’s first “rooms,” hiring the first general secretaries (for a time daughter Ruth Wheeler served in that capacity), and supervising the growing number of programs being offered the women in the city. She did this even as she faced personal tragedies. Her husband was electrocuted in his bank on Christmas Day. She did this even as she faced her responsibilities at the First Disciple Church (now High Street Church of Christ). Wheeler had started and served as president of the Young Women’s Missionary Society (which became the Ella Thompson Missionary Society).

In 1909, she resigned from the YWCA and moved away to care for her mother, who was ill.

Photo courtesy of the YWCA of Summit County.

–Kathleen L. Endres

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Elizabeth Undine Slade Voris, 1855-1930

Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) Undine Slade Voris helped organize many of Akron’s institutions and women’s organizations.

Elizabeth Undine Slade was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of William Hooker Slade and his wife, Marion Elizabeth Bell. She was the great-granddaughter of William Slade and John Alvord, two influential corporals in the Revolutionary War.

Slade received her bachelor’s degree from Buchtel College (now The University of Akron) in 1877 and her master’s degree from the same institution in 1880. During this time, she was a math tutor in the Preparatory Department of Buchtel College.

During her college years, Slade was a charter member of the Akron chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma women’s fraternity. She represented them in the Akron Pan-Hellenic Association.

Slade married Edwin Voris, an attorney with Voris, Vaughn, and Vaughn, in 1879. He was the son of local Akron hero, Maj. Gen. Alvin Coe Voris, and Lydia Allyn. They had four children, Lydia (Voris) Kolbe, Elizabeth (Voris) Lawry,Marion Voris and William. William’s wife, Louise Voris, was also active in Akron community work.

Elizabeth Voris helped organize two important women’s organizations in the city. She was a charter member of the College Club of Akron, an organization committed to the intellectual improvement of college-educated women, and the Women’s Benevolent Association, one of the pioneering welfare groups of the city. As a member of the College Club, she took part in the Division of Literary Extension in the Applied Education Department.

Voris was also a member of the Women’s Universalist Missionary Association, the Fifty Year Club of Akron, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Dames of the Loyal Legion. From 1919-1920, she was the treasurer of the Katherine Claypole Student Loan Fund, an organization to provide worthy college students with enough money to continue their education. Voris was on the first committee of this organization, representing the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She died in September of 1930.

Photo courtesy of The University of Akron Archives.

–Stephanie Devers

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Ada Louise Sutton Saalfield, 1860-1935

Ada Louise Sutton Saalfield was an accomplished author and poet who not only found time for writing but also for social and philanthropic organizations in Akron, Ohio.

The daughter of a minister from Brooklyn, N.Y., Ada Louise Sutton graduated from Hintel College. She married Arthur J. Saalfield, who became president of Saalfield Publishing, a large national publishing house based in Akron, on Aug. 1, 1885; they had five children. The Saalfields moved to Akron in 1897 and became members of the First Presbyterian Church.

Saalfield was a key to her husband’s early publishing success. In the early days of Saalfield Publishing, she provided a steady stream of manuscripts. Always writing under her maiden name, Ada Sutton, Saalfield specialized in children’s books. She wrote Mr. Bunny, His Book, Sweeter Still Than This, Teddy Bear, Baby Dear, Little Maid in Toyland and Friendship Series, all popular children’s books, published under the Saalfield imprint.

Her husband’s company also published one of her most famous poetry collections, called Seeds of April Sowing-Poems of Love and Sentiment. The Akron Times also published her poetry, often on the front page. Other collections of her poetry were published by Werner Publishing.

Saalfield did not just write books. She wrote many letters to newspapers editors – this time using her married name. In those letters, she championed the cause of working women. She also applauded anti-vivisection (opposition to the exploitation of animals for research, education and product testing) and general kindness to animals.

Her commitment to women and animals was reflected in her community involvement. She was a charter member of the Akron Woman’s City Club and affiliated with the Akron and Summit County Federation of Women’s Clubs. She was involved with the Akron Young Women’s Christian Association. She also was heavily involved with the Humane Society in Akron.

In her later years, she withdrew from society, having become an invalid. She died at the Mayflower Hotel in Akron on Nov. 18, 1935.

–Stephanie Devers

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Mary Perkins Raymond, 1871-1948

Mary Perkins Raymond continued the legacy of service to the Akron community that her mother, Mary Rawson Perkins and her paternal grandmother, Grace Tod Perkins began.

Born and raised in Akron, she married Charles Raymond, a vice-chairperson on the board of B.F. Goodrich, and raised four children. Following marriage, she soon learned that she was one of the last surviving Perkins. In order to keep the Perkins name alive in Akron, she identified herself by both her maiden and married names.

Although she was born into a family of community philanthropists, Perkins Raymond discovered her own unique passion for giving in the Mary Day Nursery. Along with her mother and father and the other members of the Kings Daughters of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Perkins Raymond established Akron’s first day care, which was named for her eldest daughter.

The Mary Day Nursery offered day care services to families with working parents. Many Akron women donated their time to care for community children. Perkins Raymond served as president of Mary Day Nursery for a total of six terms. She was also a member of the board of trustees.

Perkins Raymond and the other volunteers contributed much more than time spent caring for others’ children. They hosted events such as a charity ball and bazaar to raise funds for the operation of the nursery. The Mary Day Nursery eventually expanded to include a kindergarten and a ward for crippled children, which, in turn, expanded into Akron’s Children’s Hospital.

Photos courtesy of the Beacon Journal.

–Angela Abel