Looking for Ladies: The Importance of Local History in Women’s History

 

Looking for Ladies: The Importance of Local History in Women’s History

Local history and women’s history are often considered two separate arms of historical research. However, local history resources can be vital in telling women’s story, particularly when considering those who are often left out of the national historical picture. Considering approaches to both women’s history and local history acknowledges comparison of methodologies which in turn allows for development of further studies between the two specialisms. Charles Pythian-Adams argues that academic local history tends to be inspired by geographical subject matter which sees the separation of town and rural with the categories of urban history and agrarian history.[1] If local history is a study of people in a specific geographical local, why are women so often omitted form the local history studies?

It takes methodologies such as prosopography and collective biography to draw out the histories of these women and make them visible. These two methodologies are often considered interchangeable, however, Barbara Caine suggests that they should be considered separately as biography is not written to ‘create or establish a better understanding of individuals and their motives or their life experiences’.[2] Krista Cowman argues that collective biography should not be considered a lesser, ‘watered down’ version of prosopography.[3] These methods are particularly useful for the type of research I am currently undertaking as much of my work draws on producing biographies for the women being explored to consider whether they fit into the criteria of the study. It is important to consider that the research into these women cannot be undertaken as a separate entity as there is a question about how much the men in their lives influence the work that they are able to carry out.

In my research of ladies linked to the boot and shoe industry in Northampton in the Victorian and Edwardian period, I use a mixture of methods linked both to local history research as well as women’s history, for example, much of my data collection using methods from resources such as census returns, wills, local directories such as the Kelly’s Directory and newspapers. It must be considered that many of these resources are male orientated, for example, the census returns are often measured from the perspective of the head of the house who is predominantly male. Edward Higgs discusses census remunerators were predominantly males and an understanding of how this affected the recording of the employment and economic activities of women is important when considering the usefulness of resources as well as why women were often not given their full biography in the records.[4] This is particularly true when considering philanthropic work of women as these voluntary activities will rarely been recorded in resources such as census returns. For example, Lady Margaret Manfield, wife of Sir Moses Philip Manfield carried out many voluntary roles including being the first women elected on to the Northampton School Board following the introduction of the Education Act 1870.[5] However, on the census returns her occupation is left blank.

The attention given to women can be varied and dependent on the male perspective. When looking through newspapers for the women in my own research, many of whom were Mayoress of Northampton during the period of study, their deaths would often be reported in a small, one paragraph piece, and their funeral similar. This, it could be argued, negates the philanthropic work they did during their time supporting their husband as Mayor and, as if often the case with these women, their own achievements. For example, Catherine Lewis, wife of Thomas Davies Lewis, was the Mayoress of Northampton from 1923 to 1924 and was one of the first women to be invited to the Northampton Chamber of Commerce Luncheon in 1924 along with Margaret Bondfield. However, this significant event was only reported as one sentence in the local newspaper.[6] This, along with other organisations she was involved with, was not mentioned in her short obituary.[7]

Local history resources can help compliment women’s history and is important to consider the purpose of the resources as well as who was compiling them. Women were often omitted from these resources due to male dominance in creating them and this has often resulted in women logically being omitted from the local picture.  It is also significant to reflect on the context on which women are either omitted or not seen as having a significant role, for example, with the mayoresses of Northampton and, as my work aims to achieve, give them the prominence in which they deserve. 

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[1] Charles Phythan-Adams, ‘Local History and National History: The Question of the Peoples of England’, Rural History, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 1999 pp. 1-23 (p. 2)

[2] Barbara Caine, Biography and History, (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), p. 58

[3] Krista Cowman, ‘Collective Biography’, in Lucy Faire and Simon Gunn, Research Methods in History, p. 85

[4] Edward Higgs and Amanda Wilkinson, ‘Women, Occupations and Work in the Victorian Censuses Revisited’, History Workshop Journal, Issue 81, 2018

[5][5] Northampton Mercury, 6 January 1877; Patricia Hollis, Ladies Elect: Women in English Local Government 1865 – 1914, (Oxford: Clarenden, 1987), p. 7

[6] Northampton Mercury, 7 March 1924. Margaret Bondfield was MP for Northampton during this period.

[7] Northampton Mercury, 25^th March 1949