Collections Pertaining to Women's History and Women's Issues from the State Archives of Florida

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

This guide to collections relevant to women's issues and women's history was compiled from the State Archives of Florida’s holdings of over 40,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. In addition to the records listed in this guide, the Archives holds other collections that contain materials related to women's issues and women's history. In particular, subject files and correspondence of governors, legislators, and state agencies often contain relevant records. Such records contain files on equal opportunity employment, abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment, women's organizations, and other related subjects. It is possible to search folder and box titles using the Online Catalog, a process which can be useful in locating files on women contained within larger collections.

Legislative committee records consist of Florida Senate and House committee files and audio tapes of hearings. Subject matter includes legislation directly affecting women, such as that dealing with welfare reform, labor and equal opportunity, and women in the military. The Archives also holds the United States census for Florida from 1830 to 1930, as well as for various other states, which can be helpful in compiling statistical information on women. The state censuses are available for 1885, 1935, and 1945. County and other local record series, though not listed in this guide, are also a rich source of information. The Archives' local government series consist primarily of microfilm copies of county court records. The records of the sixty-seven Florida counties include probate, marriage, birth, military, and property records concerning women.

The Archives houses three types of collections: state government records, local government records, and manuscript collections. Collections listed in this guide have an assigned call number beginning with either an S, L, or M, indicating the type of collection. All three of these record categories are valuable in terms of researching women's history.

Records Descriptions:

The following information is provided for each collection described in this guide:

• The creator or creating agency
• Series or collection title
• Inclusive dates of the records (semicolons denote gaps in date spans, approximate dates are noted by c., and undetermined dates by N.D.)
• Volume
• Series or collection number:
• S=State government records
• L=Local government records
• M=Manuscripts
• Restrictions (when applicable)
• Series or collection description (may include history, form of material, subjects)
• Reproduction note (if available in a form other than the original and not otherwise noted)
• Language note (if other than English)