Women's Franchise League records
MSS.089
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit
October 03, 2013
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie, Indiana, 47306
765-285-5078
libarchives@bsu.edu
Women's Franchise League records MSS.089
Table of Contents
Summary Information ................................................................................................................................. 3
Historical Note............................................................................................................................................... 4
Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 4
Arrangement...................................................................................................................................................5
Administrative Information .........................................................................................................................5
Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................5
Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 7
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Women's Franchise League records MSS.089
Summary Information
Repository
Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
Creator
Women's Franchise League.
Title
Women's Franchise League records
Date
1912-1975
Extent
0.3 Cubic feet 1 box
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Women's Franchise League records, Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries
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Women's Franchise League records MSS.089
Historical Note
The Woman’s Franchise League of Muncie was formed in the summer of 1912 with the avowed purpose
of gaining women’s suffrage. According to Dick Greene, writing in his column “Seen and Heard in Our
Neighborhood,” the first meeting of the group was held in the YWCA rooms on Main Street, presided
over by Mrs. Jessie Doran, wife of M.A. Doran, a salesman for the Ball Brothers Glass Company. At the
organizational meeting, Mrs. Electa Chase Murphy, wife of Horace Murphy, local attorney was elected
chairman. The group continued to meet at the YW until the fall of 1913, when members began meeting
in various homes. By October of 1913, it was evident that the group had broadened their objectives to
include education issues. Some of the early presentations by the group also linked women’s suffrage
with the temperance movement, citing liquor as the root of many family problems. Child labor laws,
the regulation of milk production and the efforts of the police department to enforce curfews and “rid
the streets of loafers” were also issues that the local group discussed. Meetings of the group were social
occasions as well as educational experiences, and when held in members’ homes, were often accompanied
by the hostess ending the meeting with the serving of tea. The membership roster at one time contained
more than 250 names, including many wives of prominent businessmen. During 1917-1918, some of the
meetings were held in the First Universalist Church meeting rooms.
The minutes show that the meetings continued into 1916, after which there is a gap, probably due to
World War I. Meetings resumed again in 1919 and continued until April 1920. The 19th Amendment,
granting women the right to vote was proposed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratification was certified
by the Secretary of State, August 26, 1920, and so the League’s primary goal was accomplished.
The Women’s Franchise League of Muncie held its last meeting April 19, 1920 in the Kirby Hotel. The
League accepted all bills against the organization’s treasury and then turned over the balance of its funds,
$12.42, to the Armenian Fund. (There was much media coverage in 1916 concerning the starving people
in Armenia.) A motion was presented to dissolve the local League, since similar action had already
been taken by the state organization. The motion made the point that the League’s good will should be
transferred to the League of Women Voters. This motion, “after much difficulty was finally carried, as all
present seemed to hate very much to vote in the affirmative.”
Scope and Contents
This collection includes meeting minutes and membership rolls, newspaper clippings, an auditor's report,
programs, a scrapbook, an Indiana Directory, a history clipping, and other material from The Women's
Franchise League in Muncie, Indiana ranging from 1912 to 1919 and 1975 regarding the league's
opperations.
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Women's Franchise League records MSS.089
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State
University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to
Archives and Special Collections.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 1991/04/15 by K. Dean. EAD finding aid created 2009/06/30 by Maren
Read. EAD finding aid revised 2013/10/02 by Lindsey Vesperry.
Controlled Access Headings
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Women's Franchise League records MSS.089
Genre(s)
• Clippings
• Scrapbooks
Geographic Name(s)
• Delaware County (Ind.)
• Muncie (Ind.)
• Muncie (Ind.)--History--20th century--Sources
Subject(s)
• Meetings
• Stoeckel Archives of Local History
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Women's Franchise League records MSS.089
Collection Inventory
Auditor's report, undated
First members list, undated
History newspaper clipping, 1975
Indiana directory, 1917-1918
Membership lists, 1916-1917
Minutes and membership rolls, 1912-1916
Minutes and membership rolls, 1916-1919
Minutes, 1916
Miscellaneous documents, undated
Newspaper clippings, undated
Programs, 1914-1917
Scrapbook, undated
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