Carbondale Branch AAUW

09/07/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On September 6, 1864, President Lincoln directs payment to a woman who served and a soldier who served in the Civil War.

Mary E. Wise joined 34th Indiana Regiment in the Civil War and served until wounded. Lincoln meets with Mary, because the paymaster withheld five months' pay because she was a female. Lincoln directs payment and offers to supply funds if paymaster cannot legally do so.

Many women served secretly in the Civil War, disguising themselves as male soldiers. Although we have no photo of Mary, the feature photo shows other women who served. Upper right is Frances Clayton, who disguised herself as a male soldier. The story of Albert Cashier (upper left and lower photos) is told in the Pontiac, IL area.

Learn more about Albert Cashier at
https://visitpontiac.org/about/history/civil-war/stories/

Learn about Francis Clayton:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Clayton

Info from www.thelincolnlog.org, and the American Battlefield Trust.
https://www.battlefields.org/.../female-soldiers-civil-war

Washington Chronicle, 11 September 1864.

09/06/2026

Once called "the most dangerous woman in America," Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was a prolific workers' rights advocate in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Born in Cork, Ireland, Jones fled to North America during the Great Famine of the 1840s. After her husband and four children died in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1867, Jones moved to Chicago and set up a dressmaking shop, which was destroyed in 1871 by the Great Chicago Fire.

As she helped to rebuild the city from the ashes, Jones rebuilt herself as a labor organizer, working for The Knights of Labor and United Mine Workers — gaining the nickname "Mother" for her maternalistic style.

While organizing West Virginia coal miners seeking higher wages and safe working conditions, Mother Jones leaned into her mother persona, questioning the courage and masculinity of coal miners who were reluctant to join the union.

"If you are too cowardly to fight, I will fight," she told coal miners on the steps of the capitol building in Charleston, West Virginia in 1912. To recalcitrant miners she added, "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves... to see one old woman who is not afraid of all the blood-hounds."

📸: Mother Jones attending the 1915 hearings of the federal Commission on Industrial Relations at the New York City Hall (Bain News Service/Library of Congress)

09/06/2026

The first American woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois.

After graduating from Rockford College in 1881, Addams traveled to Europe where she was inspired by London's Toynbee Hall, the first "settlement house", where college-educated people "settled" in an impoverished area and volunteered services to help their neighbors, such as childcare, healthcare, and education.

Addams was determined to open a settlement house in Chicago and rented the former residence of Charles J. Hull in the city's poorest neighborhood. When Hull House opened in 1889 it offered classes on Shakespeare, classical music concerts, and discussions of fine art. Over time, Hull House incorporated a day care center, a museum of labor, and a theater, and offered practical classes on sewing and mending, mathematics and electricity, in addition to their curriculum in the humanities.

Outside of the settlement house, Addams was motivated to improve the physical conditions of her neighborhood, starting with the putrid garbage that bred rats in the alleys and streets where her clients' children played. When the city ignored her reports on the garbage conditions in her ward, she tried to get a job as the garbage collector. The city did not give her that job, but in 1895, appointed her the inspector of garbage. As inspector, Addams would make sure that the garbage bins were fully emptied and that the trash was properly burned.

Addams continued her work for social reform until her death in 1935, just four years after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

📸: Jane Addams with children, 1930 (Underwood & Underwood)

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

Harriet Jacobs risked everything to tell the truth about slavery as she experienced it.

Born into slavery in North Carolina, Jacobs spent nearly seven years hidden in a crawl space above her grandmother’s home before escaping to the North. She later published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, becoming the first formerly enslaved African American woman to publish a full-length autobiography.

Jacobs later served as an activist and relief worker during the Civil War, supporting people who had escaped slavery and helping establish a school for newly freed children.

This September, Jacobs will join the National Women’s Hall of Fame as a historic member of the 2026 Inductee Class.

Learn more and purchase tickets: https://www.womenofthehall.org/induction-2026/

09/03/2026

09/01/2026

📆 September Webinars and Events
AAUW Work Smart: Know Your Value and Get Paid
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | 4:00 - 5:00 pm ET



AAUW Fall 2026 Member Gathering

Thursday, September 17, 2026 | 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET



AAUW Start Smart
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 4:00 - 5:00 pm ET



It's My Vote! 2026: Best Practices for Engaging Voters

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 | 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET

08/28/2026

Don't miss the Carbondale Branch AAUW's opening program on Tuesday, Sept. 8! Join us for "Celebrating Women Who Lead, Inspire and Make a Difference" 🎉

Hear from SIU women deans Dr. Kristina Boone, Dr. Hannah Brenner Johnson, and Dr. Victoria Groves-Scott, plus the presentation of AAUW Branch and Community Awards!

🕕 6 PM Reception | 7 PM Program
📍 Stone Center at SIU

See you there!

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, not only a talented musician, but also a true titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library has received multiple Library of Congress Literacy Awards and, in 2018, Dolly visited us to donate the program’s 100 millionth book to our collection. She even hosted story time. 🦋❤️

Watch the video of her story time reading at the Library. ⬇️ https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2020/12/dolly-parton-the-library-that-dolly-built/

Image: Dolly Parton reads to children in the Library’s Great Hall in 2018. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.