Archival Problem Solving-- HALDEMAN

During our work day in the Lilly Library, I got the chance to look through different items in the Haldeman folder. I read through parts of a biographical essay I found there. The essay was titled "The Two Mothers of Jane Addams" and was written by Marcet Haldeman-Julius. The task at hand was to see how some of the items in the folders related to women's "industrial" education and how the movement was defined. I was at a slight disadvantage because one of the folders that would have helped me get background information had been misplaced, yet I was still able to find some interesting themes that are pertinent to the industrial education movement.

  

From what I was able to read, much of the essay is written about Sarah Weber, Jane Addams's biological mother. The author of the essay focused a lot on describing how this woman looked and lived her life. When she was younger, Sarah was sent to a boarding school in Philadelphia and was "for those days accomplished and well-to-do". She married John Addams, who was five years younger than she was, against the wishes of her family. The two were very much in love. Early in their marriage, Sarah had to rise to the demands of the pioneer life by setting up house in a small two-room home. She had "no thought of a 'career' excepting that of mother and homemaker". She was an excellent cook and was skilled at quilting and sewing. These characteristics of Sarah's life elaborate upon women's life before the industrial education movement. Women were expected to be wives, mothers, and homemakers before anything else.

   It is interesting to note, however, that Sarah was also very experienced in fields other than what was directly considered women's work. The authors explains that Sarah "also understood every detail of the mill and farms" and that, in her husband's absence, "the men had instruction to consult with Mrs. Addams." I believe that we can see the initial ideas of women's industrial education in this portion of the essay. Although she devoted much of her time to child rearing and homemaking, Sarah was competent in other areas of work.