Welcome to A Little HerStory

The recent days of terror in the Ukraine have touched me deeply. A peaceful country that has been strategically and ruthlessly attacked because they are valuable. I did not understand why this was happening at first, but since then it has become crystal clear. I saw this outlined by a friend last week. Being the second largest country by area in Europe and has a population of over 40 million, Ukraine ranks: 1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores 2nd pl

From They Persisted Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke was born in Knox County, near Mount Vernon, Ohio, on July 19, 1817, to Hiram and Annie Cassady Ball. Her father was a farmer. Her mother died when she was just seventeen months old. Hiram, now a grieving and overwhelmed widower, sent Mary Ann to live with her elderly grandparents, who farmed in Richland County. Upon their deaths, she went to live with her uncle, Henry Rogers, on his farm in Hamilton County, Ohio. She had a very lim

She graduated in 1937 with a major in psychology and a minor in economics. She was the first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa. Who was this woman? She is Dr. Edith Renfrow Smith, born in Grinnell, Iowa on July 14, 1914. She is the fifth of six children and the granddaughter of slaves. “My grandfather came from Virginia. His father was a white owner. My grandmother was born in South Carolina. Her father was a Frenchman, and her mothe

Justina Ford was born in Illinois in 1871. Her mother was a nurse and Justina followed her around while she treated patients. Justina had a deep interest in medicine from a young age. Anatomy lessons were frequently offered at the dinner table, as her mother dissected a chicken before they ate. She graduated from Chicago’s Hering Medical College in 1899, and briefly served as a physician and hospital administrator in Alabama. The south offered a very restrictive life for her