Texas Almanac, 1996-1997 Page: 61
672 p. : col. ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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History
mation of Mother's Clubs, the forerunner of the
modern Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). These
groups campaigned against exploitation of child
labor in fields, mills and kitchens, as well as fighting
unsanitary conditions in schools.
The Texas Congress of Mothers, founded in
Hillsboro in 1909 by Ella Caruthers Porter, lobbied
the legislature for laws protecting children, calling
for a juvenile-court system, public kindergartens,
compulsory school attendance, a division of child
welfare and a bureau of child hygiene.
Hispanic Women Form Assistance Groups
The Mexican-American women of Texas began
organizing in Laredo in 1911. Jovita Idar founded La
Liga Femenil Mexicanista (League of Mexican
Women) to support education for poor Mexican-
American children. In 1913, when the Mexican Rev-
Jovita Idar
founded La
Liga Feminil
Mexicanista in
Laredo in 1911.
Photo cour-
tesy The Insti-
tute of Texan
Cultures, San
Antonio.
olution began affecting the Laredo area, she and
Leon6r Villegas de Magn6n founded La Cruz
Blanca (White Cross) to nurse the wounded. Ms.
Idar moved to San Antonio in 1917, where she
started a free kindergarten.
After World War I and into the Depression years,
Mexican-American women in the Hondo area oper-
ated a volunteer organization called La Cruz Azul
(The Blue Cross). They distributed food, money,
clothing and household equipment to the poor, ill
and unemployed without regard to race, color or
creed.
Prohibition Supporters Win
Meanwhile, the fights for prohibition and for
woman suffrage continued. Prohibition forces were
finally victorious in December 1917, when the 18th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed Con-
gress. Ratification came slightly more than a year
later, in January 1919.
Suffrage efforts had been mostly on state and
local fronts for several years. But in March 1913,
national suffrage leaders convened a huge parade of
women the day before Woodrow Wilson's inaugura-
tion as U.S. president. The march turned into a
melee, with troops being called in to restore order.Texas Women's Timeline
This list is only a sampler of highlights in the history
of Texas Women from the mid-1800s to 1928:
1831 - Mary Austin Holley writes first book in
English about Texas.
1850 - Mary Madison files a petition with Texas
Legislature to remain a free woman of color.
1872 - Sarah Cockrell builds first iron bridge
across Trinity River at Dallas.
1876 - Salado women's literary society starts a
circulating library.
1877 - Black laundresses in Galveston strike for
higher wages.
1887 - Eleanor Brackenridge of San Antonio
becomes first woman bank director in the United
States.
1888 - Anna Pennybacker publishes first Texas
history textbook.
1893 - Olga Kohlberg and El Paso Woman's
Club are responsible for Texas' first public
kindergarten.
1897 - Texas Federation of Women's Clubs is
organized, making libraries their first priority.
1903 - WCTU leaders spearhead founding of Girls
Industrial College of Texas in Denton (now
TWU).
1905 - Texas Association of Colored Women's
Clubs is founded.
1909 -Ella Caruthers Porter calls first statewide
meeting of mother's clubs, later the PTA.
1910- Hortense Ward, Houston, is first woman
admitted to Texas Bar.
1911 - Mexican-American women in Laredo and
San Antonio found La Liga Femenil. Leon6r Vil-
legas de Magn6n organizes La Cruz Blanca to
nurse war refugees from Mexican Revolution.
1912 - Katherine Stinson of San Antonio is fourth
female licensed pilot in the United States.
1913 - Hortense Ward authors Married Women's
Property Act.
1918 -Women gain right to vote in primary elec-
tions. Dr. Annie Webb Blanton is first woman
elected to statewide office.
1922 - Edith Wilmans, Dallas, is first woman
elected to Texas House of Representatives.
1926 - Margie Neal, Carthage, is first woman
elected to Texas Senate.
1928 - Oveta Culp Hobby codifies state's banking
laws.
Complied from information in Texas Women: A
Celebration of History, "published by the Texas Foundation
for Women's Resources, Austin, 1981. Used by permission
of the Foundation for Women's Resources, Austin.
For the first time in 26 years, the suffrage amend-
ment was debated in Congress.
The suffragists continued their more militant
tactics, holding parades, rallies and mass demon-
strations. The New York Times characterized the
campaign as "an advance in the reign of terror."
Texas Suffragists Change Tactics
The first Texas suffrage convention since 1904
was held in San Antonio in April 1913, attended by
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Ramos, Mary G. Texas Almanac, 1996-1997, book, 1995; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162514/m1/61/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.