Topic: Women's History Resources in Archives & Special Collections

The collection dates from circa 1800 to 1978 and provides a unique view of one of the major brass producers in the history of the United States. The materials vary in type from newspaper clippings to minute books and ledgers dating from the early 19th century.

The collection contains a wide variety of materials documenting the activities of organized labor in Connecticut. Included are the files of several Council officers, proceedings, publications, administrative and financial records in addition to publications and information concerning the activities of the AFL-CIO nationally. The majority of the materials date from the 1950s through the 1980s.

In 1838, six Cheney brothers established the Mount Nebo Silk Company in Manchester, CT. The company adopted the family name in 1843. Aided by booming national markets, a protective tariff, and innovative production methods, the company grew into the nation's largest and most profitable silk mill by the late 1880s. Cheney mills employed many women workers throughout its history.

Collection consists of the records of labor unions in the greater New Haven, Connecticut, area. The collection also includes the papers of labor leaders and activists including David Montgomery, Joseph M. Rourke, Nicholas Aiello, Dorothy Johnson and the records of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 299; Frank Panzarella as President and Chief Steward of IAMAW Local Lodge 1990, and the United Way Papers of Irm Wessel.

In 1973, Marcia Lieberman was denied tenure with the University of Connecticut English Department. The same year, she initiated a class action suit against the institution, charging sexual discrimination on behalf of all women who had served or sought employment on or after 1 October 1967. The small collection contains correspondence, deposition copies, meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and other materials collected by one of the eighteen plaintiffs in the class action suit.

The collection contains extensive materials from Vivien Kellems' personal life, business career, extended family, real estate endeavors and various activist movements of which she was an advocate. Ms. Kellems founded Kellems Cable Grips, Inc. in 1927 and eventually moved her plant to Stonington, Connecticut. Successfully operating the company as president for over thirty years, the company's devices were used most notably during the construction of the Chrysler Building, George Washington Bridge, and also played an important role in production of wire and artillery shell grips used during World War II.