Our History
Each month, walk with us through history as we share how GFWC was created and how it has impacted our world.
Gladys Boroughs - picture from article by Gardner Webb University.
Gladys Boroughs - SWC Charter Member
Gladys Boroughs turned 100 on December 28, 2022, and the SWC members showered her with birthday cards.
Her alma mater, Gardner Webb University, did a wonderful article about her life. Check it out at the button below.
UNC-G Library and Archives
At our September meeting, Professor Stacey Krim shared the work that is happening at UNC-G to archive and preserve the history of our area. She shared information about other non-profits that they have worked with to create collections related to their history.
Some of these collections are available online through the Gateway Portal.
Our club hopes to work with UNC-G to preserve our rich history and maybe one day be included in the online collections.
Just the beginning
In 1868 Jane Cunningham Croly, a New York journalist who wrote under the pen name of Jennie June, attempted to attend a dinner at an all-male press club honoring Charles Dickens. Croly was denied admittance based upon her gender, and, in response, formed a club for women.
Jane Cunningham Croly chose the name Sorosis, for her woman’s club. It is a Greek word meaning “an aggregation; a sweet flavor of many fruits.”
Jane extended an invitation to women’s clubs throughout the United States to attend a ratification convention in New York City. Six-three clubs attended and on April 24, 1890, the General Federation of Women’s Club was founded.
Upon its founding in 1890, the motto for the Federation became “Unity in Diversity.”
One of the signers of the GFWC Constitution was Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the lyrics of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
North Carolina joins the Federation
In 1896, North Carolina Sorosis (the oldest North Carolina Federated club), was chartered in Wilmington. The Goldsboro Womans Club was founded in 1899 with the mission to organize the town’s women to identify and address their community’s needs.
Finally, in 1901 the 56th Congress of the United States chartered GFWC and designated the Federation be headquartered in Washington, DC.
1902 was a busy year for Womans Clubs in North Carolina. Winston-Salem and Charlotte pulled together several local groups of loosely organized clubs to establish GFWC Federated clubs in their communities.
That same year, the first annual meeting of the NCFWC was held in Winston-Salem with 17 North Carolina clubs and 27 delegates in attendance. The second convention was held in 1903 in Concord, NC. By this time membership had grown to 440 women.
Once organized, these clubs began to have an immediate impact. During the very early 1900’s the NCFWC donated 96 traveling libraries in cases to the State Library. Shortly after this, the NCFWC adopted the federation colors of blue and white. The pinecone was selected as part of the Federation pin design with a sprig of green pine for an emblem.
The New Bern Womans Club, founded in 1905, was the first to declare a mission to provide educational opportunities outside the home for adult women. This was in an era when education for women was not readily accessible.
Who was Sallie Southall Cotten?
Interviews are scheduled for early December at Ragsdale High School. At the beginning of each school year, the Sedgefield Womans Club and many others across North Carolina raise money to fund scholarships worth thousands of dollars. The winner of SWC’s Mary Eakes scholarship is required to compete in the Sallie Southall Cotten competition with an award at the District 4 level, and the winner is eligible to compete at the State level.
Sallie Southall Cotten (1846 – 1929) was an American writer and clubwoman based in North Carolina. She was actively engaged in establishing the NCFWC in the early 1900’s. She was fortunate to be educated at Wesleyan Female College and Greensboro Female College where she graduated in 1863.
She was elected state president of the NCWFC from 1911-1913. It was during her tenure that the first permanent loan fund was established for the benefit of North Carolina girls seeking higher education. It was named after Mrs. Cotten. She also oversaw the division of NCWFC into eight districts.
As NCWFC president, one of her primary initiatives was having North Carolina women permitted on local school boards. She was rebuffed by the Attorney General and the Governor. However, after much work and cooperation with the Teacher’s Assembly, a law was passed by the NC Legislature permitting women to serve on school boards.
Mrs. Cotten was married for 63 years and had 7 children. Despite her domestic duties, she advanced the causes championed by the NCWFC. She wrote the Federation’s anthem, and she served as the historian for the NCWFC. She wrote books and poems throughout her lifetime. UNC published a book by Sallie Southall Cotten titled “History of the North Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs. 1901-1925”. She also researched and published a book entitled “The White Doe, The Fate of Virginia Dare”.
Most famous quote from Sallie Southall Cotten: “What has been known as the Woman’s Movement was a revolution--bloodless but not purposeless”. Women in 2022 enjoy rights and privileges that were fought for by women like Sallie Southall Cotten.