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Cornell University Library 1994.Statistical Report of the
Women of the State of
New York
Columbian Exposition
Chicago
i893Statistical Report
OF THE
WOMEN
OF
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
*
(On Record in the Woman’s Building)

Columbian Exposition
CHICAGO
189?TROW DIRECTORY
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COM FA JY
NEW YORKREPORT
OF THE
WOMEN OF NEW YORK.
In presenting this report the Committee on Statistics wishes
to state that the data given therein has in every instance except
two (for the insane and criminal reports), been collected by vol-
unteers, and in all instances arranged by volunteers. When this
fact is realized, and it is also remembered that up to this time no
attempt has been made to make a general and complete classifi-
cation of the achievements and occupations of women, it will be
understood why the report is in some respects so imperfect and
so inadequate in representing the women of the State. Large as
the numbers given here are, and varied as are the channels into
which women have put their energies during the past twenty-five
years, this estimate of them undoubtedly falls far short of the
truth. The Committee hopes, therefore, that the following report
will be regarded only as a first statement, to be filled in later
more fully and more satisfactorily.
Prefacing each group of statistics, a short summary of the lead-
ing characteristics displayed therein will be given, and such con-
clusions as naturally suggest themselves drawn; but it has not
been thought advisable to attempt any generalizations, as the facts
and figures are considered to be the most valuable contribution
which can be made to the study of the progress of women.
The women of New York State number 3,020,960 (total popu-
lation, 5,997,953), an eleventh of the whole female population of
the Union. Owing partly to New York’s being an old and thickly
3settled^?tate, containing the largest city in the Republic, they have
initiated and led many of the most important experiments and
movements in which women have been engaged during the past
fifty years.
Among the professions, the progress of the study of medicine
by women has been peculiarly noteworthy : the first medical
diploma ever given to a woman being presented to Doctor Eliza-
beth Blackwell, in Geneva, New York, in 1849; the first Woman's
Hospital in the world founded in 1857, in New York City ; and
the first Medical Society to admit women members, opening its
doors to them in 1867.
The medical educational facilities for women, with the excep-
tion of hospital practice, are better in this State at this moment
than in any other state or country in this world.
The number of women journalists is also noteworthy, 2,401,
among whom 321 rank as editors of daily, weekly, and monthly
publications.
The philanthropic movements in which women have taken
part, and in most of which they have co-operated with men,
have not only been earnest and benevolent, but wise and enlight-
ened, and the conditions of important social problems have in many
instances been radically changed and bettered by their action. A
number of individual women, among whose names that of the
great reformer, Dorothea Dix, may be mentioned, have done val-
uable and important work in relation to the State care of the
insane, the pauper, and the criminal population ; notably in the
case of the State Charities Aid Association, which, in conjunction
with men but founded by a woman, has since its birth in 1872
made many important legislative reforms.
The Working Girl’s Club Association, the Training School for
Nurses, the Kitchen Garden system of education, the Day Nurs-
ery, the Consumers’ League, were all of them first started in this
State by women.
Its age and size, however, have also formed a strong conserva-
tive element in the State, and kept practically closed many pro-
fessions and checked many movements which the younger and
less fettered Western States have forwarded. For instance, the
practice of law by women is practically a dead letter in New
York, although the bar is nominally open to women and the
legal educational facilities good ; and in all questions concerning
4the political rights and duties of women New York holds a very
conservative position, and as yet has not extended any of the
privileges of the franchise (except the voting for school boards)
to women. The first woman member of the State Board of
Charities was appointed in 1877, in New York City. In col-
legiate, academic, and common-school education New York
stands next to Massachusetts, and in special professional, tech-
nical and industrial education leads the Union. Mention has
been already made of the special facilities offered to physicians,
and the list of valuable technical educational schools and institu-
tions is a long one.
The work in designing by the pupils of the Cooper Union
Art School, the Art Student’s League, the Academy of Design,
has been a valuable contribution to the artistic development of
the nation.
In presenting the reports on the insane, on the paupers, on
education, and on philanthropy, no effort has been made to com-
pare them with those of the other States; but in that on the
female criminals, the statistics being official, an effort has been
made to rank New York, and it has been found that she occupies
a sad pre-eminence, her total female population forming one-
eleventh of the Union and her female criminal population one-
third. This is partly accounted for by the fact that New York
City receives annually a large influx of low foreign emigrants.
A short report is given of the Afro-American inhabitants of
this State, and although the number of that race in New York is
small, the report is a most satisfactory one, giving a variety both
of professions and of industries, with a notice of their gifts and
bequests for public use.
The committee feel great hesitation in presenting the list of
gifts and bequests, as they know it to be very incomplete, but it
has been thought better to print the list as it stands, premising
its imperfections, and remembering that to record faithfully the
widow’s mite would indeed be impossible.
The first recorded gift by a woman was a silver communion
service, given by Queen Anne to St. Peter’s Church, Albany, in
1715.
The committee has tried to present a report on the acts of
heroism and public services performed by the women of the
State. But diligent personal research and public advertisement
5have succeeded in furnishing them with so few instances out of
the many which they know must exist, that they have decided
not to present the examples they have collected, as giving but a
partial and fragmentary idea of feminine achievement in that
direction. The difficulty in collecting data on this subject may
in many instances be attributed to the natural shrinking from
publicity which is characteristic of the doers of heroic deeds.
6SYNOPSIS
OF THE
Statutes of the State of New York
RELATING TO WOMEN.
POLITICAL RIGHTS.
I.	To Hold School Offices and Vote at-School Meeting.—-No
person shall be deemed to be ineligible to serve as any school
officer or to vote at any school meeting by reason of sex, who has
the other qualifications now required by law. (Chapter 9, L.
1880.)
II.	To Vote for School Commissioners .—All persons, without
regard to sex, who are eligible to the office of school commis-
sioner, and have the other qualifications now required by law,
shall have the right to vote for school commissioners in the vari-
ous commissioner districts of this State. (Chapter 214, L. 1892.)
PERSONAL RIGHTS.
I. Employees in Factories.—No woman under twenty-one
years of age employed in any manufacturing establishment shall
be required, permitted, or suffered to work therein more than
sixty hours in any one week, or more than ten hours in any one
day, unless for the purpose of making a shorter work day of the.
last day of the week, nor more hours in any one week than will
make an average of ten hours per. day for the whole number of
days in which such woman shall so work during such week.
(Sec. I, Chapter 673, L. 1892.)
7A suitable and proper wash-room and water-closets shall be
provided in each manufacturing establishment, and such water-
closets shall be properly screened and ventilated, and be kept at
all times in a clean condition, and if women or girls are employed
in any such establishment, the water-closets used by them shall
have separate approaches and be separate and apart from those
used by men. A dressing-room shall be provided for women
and girls, when required by the factory inspector, in any manu-
facturing establishment in which women and girls are employed.
(Id., Sec. 9.)
The factory inspector is hereby authorized to appoint from
time to time not exceeding sixteen persons to be deputy factory
inspectors, not more than eight of whom shall be women. (Id.,
Sec. 14.)
It shall be the duty of all employers of females in any mer-
cantile or manufacturing business or occupation to provide and
maintain suitable seats for the use of such female employees, and
to permit the use of such seats by such employees to such an
extent as may be reasonable for the preservation of their health.
(Chapter 298, L. 1881.)
II.	Executions.—Where the judgment debtor is a woman, she
is entitled to the same exemptions from levy and sale, by virtue
of an execution, subject to the same exceptions, as prescribed
in the case of a householder. (Sec. 1392, Code of Civil Proce-
dure.)
In an action brought in the district courts of the city of New
York by any female to recover for services performed by her, if
the plaintiff recovers a judgment for a sum not exceeding fifty
dollars, exclusive of costs, no property of the defendant is ex-
empt from levy and sale by virtue of an execution against prop-
erty issued thereupon ; and if such an execution is returned,
wholly or partly unsatisfied, the clerk must, upon the applica-
tion of the plaintiff, issue an execution against the person of
the defendant for the sum remaining uncollected. A defend-
ant, arrested by virtue of an execution so issued against his
person must be actually confined in the jail, and is not entitled
to the liberties thereof. (Sec. 3221, Code of Civil Procedure.)
III.	Exemption from Arrest in Civil Actions..—A woman
cannot be arrested as prescribed in this title except in a case
where the order can be granted only by the court; or where it
8appears that the action is to recover damages for a wilful injury
to person, character, or property. (Sec. 533, Code of Civil Pro-
cedure.)
An execution cannot be issued against the person of a woman
unless an order of arrest has been granted and executed in the
action, and, if it was executed against the judgment debtor, has
not been vacated. (Sec. 1488, Code of Civil Procedure.)
An order of arrest cannot be granted by a justice of the peace
where the defendant against whom it is applied for is a female.
(Sec. 2894, Code of Civil Procedure.)
IV.	Houses of Detention.—The boards of supervisors of each
of the counties of the State, except in'the county of Kings and
city and county of New York, are hereby authorized and em-
powered to procure, by lease or purchase, a suitable place or
places other than common jails, for the safe and proper keeping
and care and keep of women and children charged with offences
and held for trial, and all persons detained as witnesses ; such
places to be termed houses of detention. (Chapter 464, L. 1875.)
V.	Attendants for Insane Females.—In every order, commit-
ment, or direction made by any court, judge, or other officer for
the confinement of an insane or feeble-minded woman in any
hospital, public institution, or other place, not located at the
same place where such insane or feeble-minded person may be
at the time such order, commitment, or direction was made,
such court, judge, or other officer shall also direct therein that
such insane or feeble-minded woman shall have as an attendant
at least one suitable adult woman, while in custody pursuant to
such order, commitment, or direction, and while going to such
hospital, public institution, or other place 5 and no officer or
other person shall keep in his custody or take to any hospital,
public institution, or other place for the custody or confinement
of an insane or feeble-minded person, any insane or feeble-
minded woman unless accompanied by such an attendant.
(Chapter 40, L. 1890.)
VI.	Police Matrons.—The Mayor of every city in this State,
which according to the last state or national census contained a
population of twenty-five thousand or over, excepting the cities
of New York and Brooklyn, and in the cities of New York and
Brooklyn the Boards of Commissioners of Police of said cities
respectively, shall within three months after the passage of this
9Act designate one or more station houses within their respec-
tive cities for the detention and confinement of all women under
arrest in the said cities. (Sec. I, Chapter 90, L. 1891.)
The Mayors of all cities within this State, excepting New
York and Brooklyn, and in those cities the Boards of Commis-
sioners of Police, shall appoint for each station house designated
as in the last Section provided, not more than two respectable
women who shall be known as police matrons. .	.	. No wom-
an shall be appointed a police matron unless suitable for the
position and recommended therefor in writing by at least twenty
women of good standing, residents of the city in which the ap-
pointment is made. (Id., Sec. 2.)
A police matron shall, subject to the officer in charge of such
station house, have the immediate care and charge of all women
held under arrest in the station to which she is attached, and she
may at any time call upon the officer in command of such sta-
tion for assistance. (Id. Sec. 4.)
It shall be the duty of the Boards of Commissioners of Police
in every city, or if there be no Board of Police, then of the
Mayor of such city, to provide sufficient accommodation for wom-
en held under arrest, to keep them separate and apart from the
cells, corridors, and apartments provided for males under arrest,
and to so arrange each station house that no communication can
be had between the men and women who are there confined, ex-
cept with the consent of the matron or the officer in command of
such stations. (Id., Sec. 6.)
VII.	Prisons.—A female convicted of a felony punishable by
imprisonment must be sentenced to imprisonment in a county
penitentiary instead of the State prison. If there is no peni-
tentiary in the county in which she is convicted, she must be
sentenced to imprisonment in the nearest penitentiary. (Penal
Code, Sec. 698.)
Male and female prisoners (except husband and wife) shall
not be kept or put in the same room. 5 (Chapter 460, L. 1847,
Sec. 5.)
No female confined in any prison shall be punished by whip-
ping, for any misconduct in such prison. (Id., Sec. 149.)
VIII.	House of Refuge for Women.—All justices of the peace,
police justices, and other magistrates and courts, except in the
counties of New York and Kings, may sentence to the House of
10Refuge for Women at Hudson, New York, for a term of five
years, unless sooner discharged therefrom by the Board of Man-
agers thereof, any female between the ages of fifteen and thirty
years, who shall have been convicted by such justice or in said
court of petit larceny, habitual drunkenness, of being a common
prostitute, of frequenting disorderly houses or houses of prosti-
tution, or of any misdemeanor, and who is not insane, nor men-
tally or physically incapable of being substantially benefited by
the discipline of the said institution. (Chapter 187, L. 1881; Sec.
8 as amended, Chapter 17, L. 1887.)
It shall be the duty of the Board of Managers to decide upon
the means and the kind of employment for women committed to
the said House of Refuge, and to provide for their necessary
care and superintendence ; and the provisions for the safe keep-
ing and employment of such women shall be made with regard
to the formation of habits of self-supporting industry in such
women, and to their mental and moral improvement. (Id.,
Sec. 12.)
The Board of Managers of said House of Refuge may open
an account with all persons committed to the said House of Re-
fuge, charging them with all the expenses incurred by the Board
of Managers for their maintenance and discipline, not to exceed,
however, the sum of two dollars per week, and crediting them
with a reasonable compensation for the labor performed by them,
and at the expiration of their term of sentence, if any balance be
found due to them, may pay the same to them at the time of their
discharge. (Id., Sec. 13.)
By Chapter 238, Laws of 1890, provision was made for the
establishment of a house of refuge for women in Western New
York, to be conducted in a similar manner as that heretofore
located at Hudson. Such institution is not yet in operation.
IX. Crimes against Female Chastity.—Rape is an act of
sexual intercourse with a female not the wife of the perpetrator,
committed against her will and against her consent. A person
perpetrating such act, or an act of sexual intercourse with a
female not his wife,
1.	When the female is under the age of sixteen years ; or,
2.	When, through idiocy, imbecility, or any unsoundness of
mind, either temporary or permanent, she is incapable of giving
consent; or
113- When her resistance is forcibly overcome ; or
4.	When her resistance is prevented by fear of immediate
and great bodily harm, which she has reasonable cause to believe
will be inflicted upon her ; or
5.	When her resistance is prevented by stupor or weakness
of mind, produced by an intoxicating, narcotic, or anaesthetic
agent, administered by or with the privity of the defendant; or
6.	When she is, at the time, unconscious of the nature of the
act, and this is known to the defendant; is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than five, nor more then twenty years*
(Penal Code, Sec. 278.) A person who by force, menace, or
duress, compels a woman against her will to marry him, or to
marry any other person, or to be defiled, is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than three or more than ten years, or
by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.
(Id., Sec. 281.)
A person who,
1.	Takes, receives, employs, harbors, or uses, or causes or
procures to be taken, received, employed, harbored, or used, a
female under the age of sixteen, for the purpose of prostitution;
or, not being her husband, for the purpose of sexual intercourse ;
or without the consent of her father, mother, guardian, or other
person having legal charge of her person, for the purposes of
marriage ; or
2.	Inveigles or entices an unmarried female of previous
chaste character into a house of ill fame, or of assignation, or
elsewhere for the purpose of prostitution or sexual intercourse ;
or,
3.	Takes or detains a female unlawfully against her will, with
the intent to compel her by force, menace, or duress, to marry
him or to marry any other person, or to be defiled ; or
4.	Being parent, guardian, or other person having legal charge
of the person of a female under the age of sixteen years, consents
to her taking or detaining by any person for the purpose of pros-
titution or sexual intercourse; is guilty of abduction, and pun-
ishable by imprisonment for not more than five years, or by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both. (Id.,
Sec. 282.)
A person who, under promise of marriage, seduces and has
sexual intercourse with an unmarried female of previous chaste
12character, is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five
years, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by
both. (Id., Sec. 284.)
X. Hiring of Bar-maids Prohibited.—No female shall be
hired as bar-maid to compound or dispense intoxicating beverages
in any place where the same are sold or offered for sale. (Chap.
360, L. 1892, Sec. 1.)
A person who hires, or causes to be hired, any female as bar-
maid, to compound or dispense intoxicating beverages in any
place where the same are sold or offered for sale, is guilty of a
misdemeanor. But nothing herein contained shall apply to the
employment of females in hotels or restaurants, in waiting upon
customers at tables. (Id., Sec. 2.)
Rights of Married Women.
I.	The Marriage Contract.—Marriage, so far as its validity
is concerned, shall continue in this State a civil contract, to which
the consent of parties capable in law of contracting shall be
essential. (R. S., Part II., Chapter s, Title 1, Sec. 1.)
The age of legal consent for contracting marriage shall be
eighteen years in the case of males, and sixteen years in the case
of females. (Id., Sec. 2.)
II.	Insurance for the Benefit of Wives.—It shall be lawful for
any married woman by herself, and in her name, or in the name
of any third person, with his assent, as her trustee, to cause to
be insured, for her sole use, the life of her husband for any defi-
nite period, or for the term of his natural life ; and in case of her
surviving her husband, the sum or net amount of the insurance
becoming due and payable, by the terms of the insurance, shall
be payable to her to and for her own use, free from the claims
of the representatives of her husband, or of any of his creditors ;
but when the premium paid out in any year out of the property
or funds of the husband shall exceed five hundred dollars, such
exemption from such claim shall not apply to so much of said
premium so paid as shall be in excess of five hundred dollars, but
such excess, with the interest thereon, shall inure to the benefit
of his creditors. (Chapter 187, L. 1858, as amended by Chapter
277, L. 1870.)
III.	Rights in Patents.—Every married woman being a
13resident of this State who shall receive a patent for her own
invention, pursuant to the laws of the United States, may hold
and enjoy the same, and all the proceeds, benefits, and profits
thereof, and of such invention, to her own separate use, free and
independent of her husband and his creditors ; and may transfer
and dispose thereof, and in every respect perform all acts in
relation thereto, in the same manner as if she were unmarried ;
but this Act shall not authorize such married woman to contract
any pecuniary obligations to be discharged at any future time,
(Chapter n, L. 1845.)
IV/Rights to Separate Property.—The real and personal
property of any female who may hereafter marry, and which she
shall own at the time of marriage, and the rents, issues, and
profits thereof, shall not be subject to the disposal of her hus-
band, nor be liable for his debts, and shall continue her sole and
separate property as if she were a single female. (Chapter 200,
L. 1848, Sec. 1.)
The real and personal property, and the rents, issues, and
profits thereof, of any female now married shall not be subject
to the disposal of her husband, but shall be her sole and sep-;,
arate property, as if she were a single female, except so far as
the same may be liable for the debts of her husband heretofore
contracted. (Id., Sec. 2.)
Any married female may take by inheritance or by gift,
grant, devise, or bequest from any person other than her hus-
band, and hold to her sole and separate use, and convey and
devise real and personal property, and any interest or estate
therein, and the rents, issues, and profits thereof, in the same
manner and with like effect as if she were unmarried, and the
same shall not be subject to the disposal of her husband, nor be
liable for his debts. (Id., Sec. 3, as amended by Chapter 375,
L. 1849.)
All contracts made between persons in contemplation of mar-
riage shall remain in full force after such marriage takes effect.
(Id., Sec. 4.)
Any person who may hold or who may hereafter hold as
trustee for any married woman any real or personal estate or
other property, under any deed of conveyance or otherwise, on
the written request of such married woman, accompanied by a
certificate of a Justice of the Supreme Court that he has exam-
14ined the condition and situation of the property, and made due
inquiry into the capacity of such married woman to manage and
control the same, may convey to such married woman by deed
or otherwise, all or any portion of such property, or the rents,
issues, or profits thereof, for her sole and separate use and ben-
efit. (Chapter 375, L. 1849, Sec. 2.)
The property, both real and personal, which any married
woman now owns, as her sole and separate property ; that which
comes to her by descent, devise, bequest, gift, or grant; that
which she acquires by her trade, business, labor, or services, car-
ried on or performed on her sole or separate account; that which
a woman married in this State owns at the time of her marriage,
and the rents, issues, and profits of all such property, shall, not-
withstanding her marriage, be and remain her sole and separate
property, and may be used, collected, and invested by her, in her
own name, and shall not be subject to the interference or control
of her husband, or liable for his. debts, except such debts as may
have been contracted for the support of herself, or her children,
by her as his agent. (Chapter 90, L. i860, Sec. 1.)
A married woman may bargain, sell, assign, and transfer
her separate personal property, and carry on any trade or busi-
ness, and perform any labor or services on her sole and separate
account, and the earnings of any married woman from her trade,
labor, or services shall be her sole and separate property, and
may be used or invested by her, in her own name. (Id.,
Sec. 2.)
Any married woman possessed of real estate as her personal
property may bargain, sell, and convey such property, and enter
into any contract in reference to the same with the like effect in
all respects as if she were unmarried, and she may in like man-
ner enter into such covenant or covenants for title as are usual in
conveyances of real estate, which covenant shall be obligatory
to bind her separate property, in case the same or any of them
be broken. (Id., Sec. 3, as amended by Chapter 172, L. 1862.)
No bargain or contract made by any married woman in
respect to her sole and separate property, or any property which
may hereafter come to her, by descent, devise, bequest, purchase,
or the gift or grant of any person (except her husband), and no
bargain or contract entered into by any married woman in or
about the carrying on of any trade or business under the statutes
15of this State shall be binding on her husband, or render him
or his property in any way liable therefor. (Id., Sec. 8, as
amended by Chapter 172, L. 1862.)
Any married woman, being a resident of this State, and of
the age of twenty-one years or more, may execute, acknowledge,
and deliver her power of attorney with like effect, and in the
same manner as if she were a single person. (Chapter 300, L.
1878.)
Any transfer or conveyance of real estate hereafter made by
a married man directly to his wife, and every transfer or convey-
ance of real estate hereafter made directly by a married woman
to her husband, shall not be invalid because such transfer or con-
veyance was made directly from one to the other, without the
intervention of a third person. (Chapter 537, L. 1887.)
A married woman may contract with her husband or any
other person, to the same extent, with like effect, and in the same
form as if unmarried, and she and her separate estate shall be
liable thereon, whether such contract relates to her separate
business or estate or otherwise, and in no case shall a charge
upon her separate estate be necessary. But nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed to authorize the husband and wife to
enter into any contract by which the marriage relation shall be
altered or dissolved, or to relieve the husband from his liability
to support his wife. (Chapter 381, L. 1884, as amended by
Chapter 594, L. 1892.)
A will executed by an unmarried woman shall be deemed
revoked by her subsequent marriage. (R. S., Part II., Chapter 6,
Title 1, Article 3, Section 44.)
It shall be lawful for any married woman, being a stockholder
or member of any bank, insurance company (other than mutual
fire insurance companies), manufacturing company, or other insti-
tution incorporated under the laws of this State, to vote at any
election for directors or trustees, by proxy or otherwise, in such
company in which she may be a stockholder or member.
(Chapter 321, L. 1851.)
V. Rights in Husband's Property.—A widow shall be endowed
of the third part of all the lands, whereof her husband was seised
of an estate of inheritance, at any time during the marriage.
(R. S., Part II., Chapter 1, Title 3, Section 1.)
The widow of any alien, who, at the time of his death, shall
16be entitled by the law to hold any real estate, if she be an inhab-
itant of this State at the time of such death, shall be entitled to
dower of such estate in the same manner as if such alien had
been a native citizen. (Id., Sec. 2.)
No act, deed, or conveyance executed or performed by the
husband without the assent of his wife, evidenced by the
acknowledgment thereof in the manner required by law to pass
the estates of married women, and no judgment or decree con-
fessed by or recovered against him, and no laches, default, covin,
or crime of the husband shall prejudice the right of his wife to
her dower or jointure, or preclude her from the recovery thereof,
if otherwise entitled thereto. (Id., Sec. 16.)
A widow may tarry in the chief house of her husband forty
days after his death, whether her dower be sooner assigned to
her or not, without being liable to any rent for the same, and in
the meantime she shall have her reasonable sustenance out of the
estate of her husband. (Id., Sec. 17.)
In all cases where a husband or wife, has been heretofore, or
may hereafter become, divorced one from the other, whether said
divorce be absolute or limited or granted to either the husband
or the wife, under the laws of this State or any State or country,
the said wife against whom, or in favor of whom, said divorce
has been or may be granted, is hereby authorized and empow-
ered, upon receiving a consideration satisfactory to herself, to
sell, convey, and release by deed of conveyance or release duly
signed, executed, and acknowledged, unto her said husband from
whom she has been divorced as aforesaid, all her right of dower
in and to all the real estate of which her husband was seised at
the time of the granting of said divorce, and all her inchoate
right of dower of, in, and to any and all real estate that he has
since that time acquired, and in which she would have a right of
dower or inchoate right of dower, and upon the execution and
delivery and recording of said conveyance or release, together
with the filing or recording in the proper county a certified copy
of the judgment or decree granting the said divorce, all the lands
and real estate of which the said husband was seised at the time
of the granting of the said divorce, or at anytime subsequent, or
lands which he may at any time acquire after the execution and
recording of said conveyance or release as aforesaid, shall forever
be released and discharged from any and all right and dower, or
17inchoate right of dower, claim or demand, as wife or widow of
said divorced husband. (Chapter 616, L. 1892.)
The wife of any alien resident of this State who has heretofore
taken by conveyance, grant, or device, any real estate, and be-
come seised thereof, and who has died before the passing of this
Act, and the wife of any alien resident of this State who may
hereafter take by conveyance, grant, or device, any real estate
within this State, shall be entitled to dower therein, whether she
be an] alien or citizen of the United States. (Chapter 115, L.
1845, Section 2.)
Any woman being an alien who has heretofore married, or
who may hereafter marry, a citizen of the United States, shall be
entitled to dower from the real estate of her husband within this
State, as if she were a citizen of the United States. (Id., Sec-
tion 3.)
Where a person shall have died intestate, the surplus of his per-
sonal estate remaining after paying his debts ; and where the de-
ceased left a will, the surplus remaining after the payment of debts
and legacies, if not bequeathed, shall be distributed to the widow,
children, or next of kin of the deceased, in the manner following :
1.	One-third part thereof to the widow, and all the residue in
equal portions among the children, and such persons as legally
represent such children if any of them shall have died before the
deceased.
2.	If there be no children, nor any legal representatives of
them, the one moiety of the whole surplus shall be allotted to the
widow, and the other moiety shall be distributed to the next of
kin of the deceased entitled under the provisions of this section.
3.	If the deceased leave a widow,, and no descendant, parent,,
brbther or sister, nephew or niece, the widow shall be entitled
to the whole surplus ; but if there be: a brother or sister, nephew
or niece, and no descendant or parent, the widow shall be entitled
to a moiety of the surplus as above provided; and to the whole
of the residue where it does not exceed two thousand dollars; if
the residue exceed that sum, she shall receive, in addition to her
moiety, two thousand dollars;; and the remainder shall be dis-
tributed to the brothers and sisters, and their representatives.
(R. S., Part II., Chapt 6, Title 3?, Article 3, Sec. 75.)
VI. Liabilities and Remedies of Husband and Wife.—An
action may be maintained against the'husband and wife jpintly,
f#for any debt of the wife contracted before marriage, but the ex-
ecution on any judgment in such action shall issue against, and
such judgment shall bind the separate estate and property of, the
wife only, and not that of the husband. (Chap. 576, L. 1853,
Sec. 1.)
Any husband, who may hereafter acquire the separate prop-
erty of his wife, or any portion thereof, by any ante-nuptial con-
tract, or otherwise, shall be liable for the debts of his wife con-
tracted before marriage to the extent only of the property so
acquired, as if this Act had not been passed. (Id., Sec. 2.)
From and after the date of the passage of this Act a married
woman shall have a right of action for injuries to her property,
injuries to her person or character, and injuries arising out of the
marital relation, in all cases in which an unmarried woman, or her
husband, now has an action by law. (Chap. 5.1, L. 1890, Sec. 1.)
A husband shall not be liable in damages for his wife’s wrong-
ful or tortious acts, nor for injuries to person, property, or the
marital relation, caused by the acts of his wife, unless the said
acts were done by actual coercion or the instigation of the hus-
band ; and such coercion or instigation must be proved in the
same manner as any other fact is required to be proved ; but in
cases embraced in this section the wife shall be personally liable
for her wrongful or tortious acts. (Id., Sec. 2.)
VII. Rights to Custody of Children.—When any husband
and wife shall live in a state of separation, without being divorced,
and shall have any child of the marriage, the wife, if she be an
inhabitant of this State, may apply to the Supreme Court for a
habeas corpus to have such minor child brought before it. (R.
S., Part II., Chap. 8, Title 2, Sec. 1.)
On the return of such writ, the court, on the consideration,
may award the charge and custody of the child so brought be-
fore it to the mother, for such time, under such regulations and
restrictions, and with such provisions and directions as the case
may require. (Id., Sec. 2.)
No man shall bind his child to apprenticeship or service, or
part with the control of his child, or create any testamentary
guardian therefor, unless the mother, if living, shall in writing
signify her assent thereto. (Chap. 172, L. 1862, Sec. 6.)
19Political Appointments Held by Women.
Common School Teach-	Trustees of State Institu-
ers..........,. ....26,623 tion for the Blind___.	2
Normal School Teachers no Trustees of State Custo-
School Commissioners...
Members of School
Boards..............
School Trustee.........
School Collector.......
Manager of State Indus- '
trial School........
Managers of State Hos-
pitals ...............
Managers of Reformatory
for Women...........
Managers of Houses of
Refuge for Women....
Superintendent of House
, of Refuge for Women.
4	dial Asylum for Feeble-
minded Women................... 3
5	Commissioner of State
1	Board of Charities____	3
1 Physicians in State Hos-
pitals ........................ 9
1	Postmistresses........... 235
Notaries Public.........	50
4 Commissioners of Deeds.	7
Clerk to Surrogate's Court	1
2	Deputy Factory Inspect-
ors .....................  8
3	Lighthouse Keepers----	7
Not specified.............. 19
1
20Noteworthy Positions Held by Women.
Librarians................. 615
Managers Public Libraries.	2
Clerk of School Board....	1
Registrar of Union College	1
Bank President.............   1
Bank Vice-President......	1
Bank Director............... 1
Recorders................... 5
Trustees ................... 4
21Criminal and Pauper Women of New York.
It has been found impossible for any amateur, with the limited
time given, to compile a full or very complete female criminal re-
port The State report refers generally to both sexes, and it
would require great labor and a complete rehandling of the data
from which the report is compiled to get any satisfactory certifi-
cates.
The female criminal report of the State is given in comparison
with that of the United States, and it is noteworthy that New
York furnishes one-third of the female criminals, but only one-
eleventh of the female population of the Union.
Women are not confined in the State prisons, but in the pen-
itentiary. It is noteworthy of remark that a larger percentage of
women than men serve the comparatively short sentences of one
or two years. Of the men about one-half are sentenced for less
than five years, but out of the female convicts more than one-half
are sentenced for less than five years.
The percentage of life prisoners is greater among women
than among men, being in the former case 7.86 and in the latter
6.28, a difference of 1.58 per cent.
The percentage of women who serve five years is also greater,
being 3.80 per cent.
In New York a married woman cannot be imprisoned in a
civil action, except for malicious injury to property or character.
Almshouses include all establishments maintained by coun-
ties, cities, or towns for the support and care of paupers, other
than hospitals for the sick or the insane or children’s homes.
The average age of an almshouse pauper is 51 years, which is
six years more than it was ten years ago.
The number of male paupers under 30 years of age and of
female paupers under 40 years of age is actually less than the
22numbers returned in the census of 1880. Relatively to the total
population it must be very much less.
In the far West one-half of all the almshouse paupers are
between 60 and 80 years of age.
From 20 to 50 years the number of female paupers exceeds
that of males. At all other ages the number of male paupers is
in excess, except after passing 100 years. The figures for ages
over 100 are untrustworthy.
The ratio of male to female paupers is slightly greater than it
was ten years ago. The excess of females in the middle decades
of life is decidedly less marked than then.
Children constitute a much larger percentage of the total
almshouse population in the Southern than in the Northern
States.
In the following table, the relatively small number of females
between the ages of 5 to 20 years is a striking feature and sug-
gests inquiry.
The cause may be found in the successful work of charitable
institutions within the State. Statistics furnished by these insti-
tutions point to the same conclusion. Prominent among these
beneficent agencies is the Children's Aid Society of New York
City.
Reducing to a percentage the figures referred to, it appears
that in New York the female children between the ages of five
and nine years inclusive are in number less than 2 and 7 per
cent, of the whole number in the United States.
Taking the ages between 10 and 14 years inclusive the per-
centage falls to 2.5 per cent.
Between 15 and 19 years inclusive, the percentage rises to
something under 4.5 per cent.
Bearing in mind that nearly 10 per cent, of the whole popu-
lation of the Union is credited to New York, the other percent-
ages are not only instructive, but fairly eloquent.
23TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF FEMALE PRISONERS THROUGH-
OUT THE UNITED STATES, AND IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
FOR THE YEAR 1890; THEIR OFFENCES, SENTENCES, AGES,
AND PLACES OF CONFINEMENT.
PENITENTIARIES.
House of Refuge for Women, Hudson..
Albany Co. Penitentiary, Albany.......
Erie Co. Penitentiary, Buffalo .......
Kings Co. Penitentiary, Brooklyn
Monroe Co. Penitentiary, Rochester
New York Co. Penitentiary, New York.
Onondaga Co. Penitentiary, Syracuse ..
United
States.
77
New
York
7
REFORMATORIES.
State Industrial School, Rochester........"i
House of Refuge, New York................>	32	3
N. Y. Catholic Protectory, Westchester....J
PRISONERS IN PENITENTIARIES.
Serving terms :
Less than 5 years 					333
From 5 to 9 years							 380	228
From 10 to 29 years					9
For life						 119	n
Not stated 			........ 9	8
Minority							 3	
Total				 1,791	1,589
Prisoners in Reformatories serving terms for
offences against:
Society................................
Property...............................
Person.................................
Miscellaneous..........................
Double Crimes..........................
1,708
346
17
1,202
36
194
57
1
625
5
Total
3,309	882
24Under 5 years of age.
From 15 to 19 years of age
From 20 to 24 years of age
From 25 to 29 years of age.
Unknown...............
Total.........
STATES AND THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
From 5 to 9 years of age.
From 95 to 99 years of age.
From 100 to 104 years of age.
From 105 to 109 years of age.
From 110 to 114 years of age
	127
	394
. 1,819	340
78	13
II	1
. 98	3
. 3,311	882
. 1,737	215
FEMALE PAUPERS	
:S OF THE	UNITED
United	New
States.	York.
1,230	112
686	18
623	13
852	37
1,421	128
1,769	144
2,047	197
2,353	263
2,567	375
2,4x7	400
2,490	454
1,999	372
2,564	559
2,324	488
2,306	472
i,739	309
1,365	202
59i	84
271	40
75	7
5i	5
18	1
9	0
25United	New
States.	York.
From 115 to 119 years	of	age..................... 6	1
From 120 to 124 years of age..................	2	o
From 125 to 129 years	of	age....................  2	o
Not stated.................................. 627	95
Total....................................  32,304	4,776
FROM POLICE STATISTICS OF NEW YORK CITY, YEAR ENDING
DECEMBER 31, 1891.
Lodgings furnished to indigent females in various
station houses......................................   69,485
Lost and destitute women, with and without infants,
cared for................................................. 15
Lost female children (white)................................ 1,057
Lost female children (colored)................................  16
Female foundlings...........................................   106
Dead bodies of females (white)................................. 21
Dead bodies of females (colored)...............................  I
Police matrons................................................   4
In December, 1892, the number of police matrons on
duty in the station houses was..........................   20
26Insane.
In 1836 the State of New York, by the passage of the first
State Care Act, assumed the responsibility of the care of its
dependent insane, who before this time had been, relegated to
the county poor houses. This Act provided for the erection of
the-Utica State Hospital, opened in 1843. This continued to be
the only State hospital until the passage of the second State Care
Act in 1865. The policy of State care for the insane was re-
affirmed and practically entered upon by the passage of this Act,
the promises of the first State Care Act of 1836 not having been
fully carried out, owing to the fact that the appropriations had
never kept pace with the actual increase of the insane popula-
tion.
Under the second State Care Act were organized the Willard
State Hospital, opened in 1869; the Hudson River State Hos-
pital, opened in 1871; the Middletown State Homoeopathic Hos-
pital, opened in 1874; the Buffalo State Hospital, opened in 1880 ;
and the Binghamton State Hospital, opened in 188 r. The St.
Lawrence State Hospital was partly built and opened for patients
in 1880.
However, even with the erection of these numerous hospitals
the accommodation was insufficient, and the vicious county sys-
tem from necessity continued in existence. Thanks to the un-
tiring efforts of a few philanthropic women, a third State Care
Act was passed in 1890, to exterminate the abuses of the county
system and absolutely prevent their recurrence ; and one of
the first requirements of this statute was that accommodations
commensurate with the annual increase of the insane population
should be supplied. Since then the Rochester State Hospital
has been opened, and by an appropriation of $454,840 made by
the last legislature, together with appropriations already available
27and the proposed use of the old State Asylum for Insane Crim-
inals, it was hoped that there would be sufficient accommodation
for all the indigent insane and the insane in the county poor
house up to January i, 1892. But as the buildings cannot be
ready before October 1, 1893, a further appropriation will be
necessary to meet the annual increase.
This act also did away with the unfortunate division of in-
sanity into incurable and acute cases. The Willard and Bing-
hamton Asylums were established primarily and exclusively for
the class of insane supposed to be beyond the hope of recov-
ery ; but since 1890 these asylums, in common with all other
State hospitals, treat their patients with reference to their cura-
bility.
The report of the State Commissioners in Lunacy says : “ It
is curious to note that the only reason given for attempting
forcibly to divide the insane by law and practice into two classes
was a pitifully strained plea for economy, viz.: the presumable
saving which might be effected upon the assumption that the in-
sane who were believed to be beyond cure might need less
medical attendance, possibly a less generous diet, less diversion
and amusement, less of all other comforts and enjoyments which
go to make life bearable to this unfortunate class, doomed to
long-continued periods of deprivation of liberty. At best, for all
practical purposes, with any given number of patients the saving
would be scarcely appreciable. Persons who have been insane for
a number of years, and whose chances of recovery appear to be
slight, require as much care from a hospital point of view—ex-
cept perhaps in the matter of medication, which is not an impor-
tant item of cost—as those who have recently become insane.
Granting that by proper classification and the removal of quiet,
harmless cases, and of those of whom disease has been of long
standing, an actual saving in attendance, in cost of medical care,
etc., might be effected, it would be too small to deserve serious
consideration.”
The Asylum for Insane Criminals, situated at Auburn, having
capacity for one hundred and sixty-eight patients, was opened in
1859. This is an institution differing from the other hospitals, as
its inmates are largely composed of prisoners drawn from the
various penal institutions of the State who have become insane
during their term of imprisonment, and whose insanity generally
28is the direct offspring of vicious habits and indulgences, and of
brooding over their imprisonment.
The buildings at Auburn will shortly be abandoned, as the
new State Asylum for Insane Criminals at Matteawan, adjacent
to Fishkill-on-Hudson, is practically completed. The new asy-
lum has at present accommodations for five hundred and fifty in-
mates, and when entirely completed will be able to meet the
demands which may be made upon it for many years to come.
Exempted County System.
New York and Kings Counties have been permitted by the
State to care for their own insane.
In New York the asylum system consists of four divisions or
departments; one each on Blackwell’s, Ward’s, and Hart’s Isl-
ands, and one at Central Islip, L. I. These institutions comprise
collectively the New York City asylums for insane, and are an
integral part of the department of Public Charities and Correc-
tions of New York City, and are under the general control of the
Commissioners of Charities and Corrections. Their management
is intrusted to a general superintendent, appointed by the com-
missioners, who is the executive and administrative officer and
physician in chief, and is responsible for their government and
condition. Each asylum has its special medical superintendent,
who is responsible to the general superintendent.
The asylum system of Kings County consists of the institution
at Flatbush and the county farm at Kings Park, or St. Johnland,
in Suffolk County. These two institutions are in charge of a
general superintendent appointed by the Commissioners of
Charities and Corrections of Kings County, but he has not the
full power and responsibility of the superintendent in New York
County, being restricted in his power of appointment and dis-
charge of subordinate officers.
Licensed Private Asylum System.
Besides the State asylums, and the asylums in the exempted
counties, there are seventeen licensed private asylums. Five of
these are corporations, two being partly eleemosynary in their
character, and conducted without special reference to pecuniary
29gain. The licenses for the remaining twelve were in each in-
stance assured to individuals, and all of them are conducted as
private enterprises.
The aggregate capacity of these institutions is a thousand.
They are all of them subject to the supervision of the State Com-
mission in Lunacy, who have the power to continue or revoke
any existing license.
General Asylum System.
The asylums of the State are open to both men and women.
In seven out of the nine State hospitals, including the State
Asylum for Insane Criminals, a woman is employed as assistant
physician. There is no woman physician in the Middletown
State Homoeopathic Hospital nor in the Asylum for Insane
Criminals, although in both female attendants are employed.
The first hospital appointment of this kind was made at Bingham-
ton, in 1890, which is so recent that we are justified in hoping
that women physicians may find all the hospitals opened to them
before long. Women, by reason of their quick intuitions and
sympathies, should be peculiarly fitted to cope with a disease in
their own sex which is so often of nervous origin. While con-
gratulating ourselves on the advance made of late in this direc-
tion, it may not be amiss to call attention to the great inequality
of compensation paid to men and women for precisely the same
kind of services. Not only is this true with regard to the physi-
cians in the various hospitals, but with regard to the female attend-
ants. We note that the Commissioners in Lunacy are seeking to
reform this abuse. In the third annual report they say, speaking
of this inequality: “This is an evil in the State hospital system
which the Commission believes should be speedily corrected.
The disproportion in the case of the State hospitals between
the compensation paid to men and that to women is fully thirty-
three per cent. Moreover, it may ble said in behalf of women
employees and attendants that they usually give more hours to
service, and are more industrious, faithful, and painstaking as a
class than an equal number of men ; it therefore seems unjust and
parsimonious on the part of the State to permit a continuance of
this wide inequality between the sexes in the matter of com-
pensation.”
30So much has been accomplished for the amelioration of the
condition of the insane in the State of New York, that it would
seem as if but little remained to be done, but a glance at a sum-
mary of the recommendation in the last report will show that the
work is not yet completed.
Provision should be made for the erection of detached build-
ings or homes for attendants on the grounds of the several State
hospitals. With few exceptions the rooms for the attendants
are adjacent to the wards and patients' room, and when it is
remembered how great the strain is under which they live and
the constant necessity of self-control, it will be readily acknowl-
edged that they need to get away for a short period of each day
from the distressing circumstances which surround them for so
many consecutive hours.
Statutory provision should be made for conference at stated
intervals between the Commissioners and the managers or trus-
tees of the State Hospital. The benefit that would result from
this is obvious. The commission should be authorized by statute
to prohibit the employment by superintendents of the poor of
improper persons to convey public patients to State hospitals.
This is one of the abuses from which the insane have suffered
greatly in being transferred from the almshouse to the hospitals.
The statute should be amended so as to provide for the
admission of private patients to State hospitals at the maximum
charge of ten ($10) dollars per week. The State could then
make a proper distinction between pauperism and poverty in
dealing with its dependent insane, the great majority of whom,
while they may be classed as poor, cannot rightfully be consid-
ered as paupers.
Provision should be made for a special pathologist to conduct
pathological investigations on behalf of the State hospitals.
The legislators should require counties (except New York) to
provide suitable places of detention for persons pending exami-
nation as to their sanity, to be known as receiving pavilions, and
the appointment by county judges of a special officer who shall
have control of such persons until removed to a State hospital.
At present in most cases a person becoming violently insane is
taken to the poor house or county jail or town lock-up to await
medical examination and transfer to the hospital.
Statutory provisions should be made for the appointment by
31the commission of agents whose duty it shall be to induce
responsible relatives of insane persons to assume the expense of
their maintenance in State hospitals. This would be a just relief
to the taxpayer. The statute should be so amended as to pro-
vide for the districting of the State into hospital districts, with-
out reference to the capacity of the hospital, it now being impos-
sible to give each hospital a district with reference to such
capacity, as the hospitals already in existence have been located
without reference to population.
The State should also make separate provision for the care
of epileptics apart from the insane. To confine them with the
insane, as is now done, is an injustice to both classes of patients.
Statistics.
Total population of the State..................... 5,997,853
The total number of committed and registered insane
in the State on October 1, 1891............. 16,648
Total female population........................  3,020,960
Total insane female population, on October I, 1891...	8,793
Total number of insane women car£d for during the
year ending September 30, 1891.............. 11,058
Total number of women who died in asylums during
year ending September 30, 1891 (not including
private asylums)................................. 614
Total number of women admitted to State hospitals
during year ending September 30, 1891....... 1,306
Of these there were born in the United States.....	833
Born in Bohemia ................................ %
Born in Canada......................................    39
Born in Denmark................................. 1
Born in England ..... .......................... 27
Born in France.......................................    5
Born in Germany......................................   85
Born in Holland................ —............... 1
Born in Hungary.......................................   1
Born in Ireland................................. 189
Born in Italy..................... ............. 1
Born in Jamaica....................................      1
Born in New Brunswick.................. ........ ..	I
33Born in Poland.....................................
Born in Scotland...................................
Born in Sweden.......................................
Born in Switzerland...............................
Born in Wales......................................
Unascertained......................................
Professions, Business, and Industries.
The object in presenting this report has beerj to give more
than a general idea of the number and variety of positions held
by women, and in this way to encourage women who have to be
self-supporting in seeking the most suitable and congenial occu-
pations, however distinguished or difficult they may be. Each
woman who opens successfully a new door to employment, simpli-
fies the problem of her sex in finding adequate and suitable em-
ployment. The list of professions, businesses, and industries given
below show that, whether profitable or not (and of this it is as yet
almost impossible to judge), almost every one of the occupations
engaged in by men have been engaged in by women, and in
some instances to an equal extent. It is estimated, for instance,
by a leading New York publishing house, that women book
agents number 10,000.
The number of women employed in factories is the largest,
then follows domestic service, then dressmaking, and, fourth on
the list, farming. In Sullivan County, for instance, out of 604,-
514 acres, assessed at $5,450,383.00, 304 farms owned and man-
aged by women are assessed at a total of $165,187.00; 43,787
and three-fourths acres being considered worth $115,602.00..
The different Committees appointed by the Lady Managers
to collect statistics on the professions, industries, and businesses
engaged in by the women of the State, have sent in reports of
differing .value and extent, some of them covering all self-sup-
porting women in the county reported on, and some of them
evidently giving only the women in the larger towns of the
county, or some one of the townships. As the total number of
the women in the State is official, it will make the total and pro-
portionate number of women given under these heads misleading,
unless the uneven and incomplete nature of these county reports
is clearly understood.
4
15
10
2
3
86
33PROFESSIONS.
Number of women in New York, 3,020,960.
Actresses............... 1,370
Artists................  1,341
Authors................... 215
Christian Scientists...	12
Clairvoyants............... 37
Composer of Music .....	1
Decorators..............	4
Dentists................... 21
Doctors..................	287
Draftswomen................. 3
Editors................... 137
Electricians.............. 127
Elocutionists............. 151
Engineer...................  I
Gold-cure................... 1
Inventors................   24
Journalists............. 2,409
Lawyers..................... 5
Lecturers................   38
Librarians...............  173
Masseuses................. 128
Midwives.................  621
Missionaries.............. 250
Musicians.................. 44
Nurses.................  1,840
Nurses, Trained ........ 1,058
Organists.................. 45
Pianists................... 17
Playwright and Manager 1
Preachers.................. 32
Proof-readers ...........   83
Reporters .............4,021
Teachers..............  41,219
Teachers, Art........... 4,021
Teachers, Dancing......	50
Teachers, Drawing......	18
Teachers, Languages....	120
Teachers, Music......... 2,035
Teachers, Physical Culture 11
Teachers, Embroidery ..	9
Teachers, Stenography..	4
Teacher, Whist ........	1
Translators................. 2
Violinists ................. 3
REPORT OF THE WOMEN IN NEW YORK STATE, ENGAGED
IN THE STUDY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.
I. REGULAR.—The first medical diploma granted to a
woman physician was that presented by the medical school at
Geneva, N. Y. (the Hubart School, now obsolete), to Doctor
Elizabeth Blackwell in the year 1849.
34The first Woman’s Hospital in the world was “ The Woman’s
Infirmary of New York City,” founded as an infirmary and small
dispensary by Doctor Elizabeth Blackwell in 1857.
The first medical society in New York State to admit a
woman member was “ The Medical Library and Journal Asso-
ciation,” which admitted Doctor Elizabeth Blackwell in 1869.
II. There are at present three medical schools in New York
State which admit women, viz. : “The Woman’s Medical College
of the New York Infirmary ; ”
“The Medical Department of the Syracuse University”
(which admits women together with and upon the same terms as
men);
“ The Medical Department of the University of Buffalo ”
(which also admits women together with and upon the same
terms as men).
“ The Woman’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary ’’
was organized in 1868, its charter having been granted in 1865.
The first class graduated in 1870.
The number of annual graduates since that date have been
as follows:
1870.	...5	1876.	... 4	1882.	... 10	1888.	...4
1871.	. . .2	1877.	... 12	1883.	...5	1889.	. . . 10
1872.	...9	1878.	... 7	1884.	... 9	1890.	... 20
1873.	...6	1879.	... 10	1885.	...11	1891.	. . . 16
1874.	...5	1880.	. . . IX	1886.	...8	1892.	. . .20
187s.	-••3	1881.	... 8	1887.	... 8		
Numbering in all, up to 1892 inclusive, 202 graduates (about two-
fifths of Matriculated). The number of Matriculates up to 1892
is 493. It is a fact deserving of notice that this college took
the initiative, both over colleges for men and women, in insti-
tuting the following medical reforms:
1st. The three years graded course (this was afterwards
adopted by Harvard and made obligatory, whereupon “ The
Woman’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary” made it
obligatory).
2d. Annual examinations.
3d. Division of lecture course over two years.
4th. Obligatory clinical work.
5th. Practical attendance of obstetrics.
356th. Laboratory work in chemistry, materia medica and his-
tology.
When this college issued its first prospectus, no college in the
United States required so thorough a course and such severity
of examinations.
“ The Medical University ” first admitted women in 1872.
The annual number of graduates since that date have been as
follows :
1874.	... I	1879....3	1884.	. . .	1889.	...3
1875.	. . .	1880		1885.	. . .2	1890.	... 1
1876.	. . .2	1881		1886.	. . .2	1891.	...
18 77. 1878.	. ..2	1882.... 1 1883—	1887. 1888.	... I . . . I	1892.	. ..2
Numbering in all, up to 1892, 22 graduates in 20 years.
The number of matriculates during these years have been in all
about 12.
“ The Medical Department of the University of Buffalo ” has
admitted women since 1875. Thejannual number of graduates
since that date has been as follows ;
1876	X	l88l.	... I
1877		1882.	... I
1878....	1883.	...3
1879....	1884.	. . .2
1880....2		
1885..	• •5	1889.	...2
1886..	.. 1	1890.	...6
1887..	. .2	1891.	...8
1888..	• •3	1892.	...7
Numbering in all, up to 1892, 43 women graduates. The number
of matriculates during these years is 92. The following extract
from a letter from one of the medical professors of this college,
in reference to the women students, will be of interest, as an ap-
parently impartial estimate of their capabilities “ As a class they
have held no middle place, but are at the extremes, either very
good students or just the reverse. Some of our best examination
papers have been furnished by women.
III. There are at present (1892), as far as can be ascertained,
nr regular women physicians practising in New York State.
Of this number 52 practise in New York City, 9 in Brook-
lyn, and the remaining 50 in the various smaller cities of the
State (according to the New York Medical Register of 1892).
36In 1864 there were 46 women who professed to practise medi-
cine in New York City, but of this number only 2 were autho-
rized to do so (according to the New York Medical Register of
1892). In 1866 the number of authorized women physicians in-
creased to 3.
In 1867 to 4.
In 1869 to 5.
In 1870 to 6.
In 1872 to 7.
In 1873 to 8.
In 1874 to 9.
In 1876 to 12.
In 1877 to 15.
In 1880 to 17.
In 1881 to 19.
In 1883 to 22.
In 1889 to 37.
In 1890 to 51.
In 1892 to 52.
An increase of 49 in 26 years.
IV.	INCOMES.—In response to a circular of inquiries as to
the average income received by a woman physician, answers were
received from 76 women whose annual income, if divided equally
among the 76, amounted to about three thousand dollars each.
Among these, however, ten earned between $3,000 and $4,000 a
year, five between $4,000 and $5,000, and four between $15,000
and $26,000.
The answers to these inquiries are necessarily very partial, and
can be quoted rather as illustrations than as statistics.
In response to a circular of inquiries sent by Doctor Pope to
470 graduates from medical schools, 138 women reported on
their incomes, and out of them only 11 had then practised over
two years and failed to become self-supporting.
It must be remembered that the income received by physicians
cannot fairly be considered as the measure of their skill and pro-
ficiency, a large practice as a rule being due rather to the
personal magnetic quality and to the circumstances which tend to
enlarge a physician’s acquaintance, than to professional fame and
ability. The statistics are therefore interesting rather as meas-
uring the demand for women physicians in general than individ-
ually.
V.	Relative Educational Advantages. — Notwith-
standing the fact that many of the colleges admit women upon
the same terms as men, women have not equal clinical advan-
tages extended to them by the general hospitals. With the excep-
tion of the few institutions which they have as yet been able to
build for themselves and the few instances in which they are
allowed to [fill subordinate positions in public hospitals “as a
37matter of social convenience, ” this important branch of medical
education is inacessible to them.
There are no hospitals or institutions in which women may
have positions (outside of their own hospitals), with the excep-
tion of the State Insane Asylum (each insane asylum being
obliged by law to have one subordinate woman physician). No
hope of promotion is extended to a subordinate woman physician,
whatever her efficiency may be.
The general hospitals are supported by the public, but those
for women are supported almost exclusively by themselves.
VI. It is chiefly in the respect of the facilities offered for
clinical instruction that the medical educational standard in
America is below that of Europe. There are no colleges in
Europe without hospitals attached. In England no college can
get a charter unless it has a hospital connected with it. Here
very few of the colleges have hospitals attached to them. An-
other important element of superiority in foreign medical edu-
cation is the obligatory course of four years, this being the
minimum allowed. This reform will be adopted by the “Woman’s
Medical College of the New York Infirmary ” next year.
It will be observed from this report that the entrance of
women into the medical profession, has tended to raise the
standard of requirements among the other colleges.
In order to insure their position, women were compelled to
start upon the basis of striving for a standard even more strict
than that for men.
HOMCEOPATHIC.—There is but one Homoeopathic Medical
College for Women in New York State, ‘ ‘ The New York Medical
College and Hospital for Women.” The college was organized
in 1863. Its charter was granted in 1864. The number of
annual graduates have been as follows :
1864..	.. I	1872.	... 8
1865..	..14	1873.	... 9
1866..	• • 3	1874.	... 7
1867..	• • 9	1875.	... 9
1868..	.. 8	1876.	... 4
1869..	.. 11	1877.	... 9
I870..	• • 5	1878.	...27
1871..	.. 6		
1879.	... 6	1886..	••13
1880.	...7	1887..	.. 10
1881.	... s	1888..,	.. 9
1882.	... 10	1889..	•• 5
1883.	...8	1890..	••IS
1884.	... 8	1891..	•• 9
1885.	...13	1892..	•• 9
38Numbering in all, up to 1892, 257 graduates. The number of
matriculates for this year, 1892, 18.
There are 60 homoeopathic women physicians practising in
Brooklyn and 43 in the rest of New York State, numbering in
all 137.
Thirty-three women physicians belong to the Homoeopathic
Medical Society of the County of New York.
The following homoeopathic hospitals admit women as well
as men to the clinics, showing an advance in the report over the
regular institutions: The Ward's ISLAND HOSPITAL, THE
New York Ophthalmic Hospital, The Laura Franklin
Free Hospital for Children, The Flower Hospital.
ECLECTICS.—There are 32 eclectic women physicians prac-
tising in New York State.
Women are admitted to the Eclectic Medical College of New
York City.
It is impossible to obtain any further information about eclec-
tic physicians, as they will not answer the inquiries addressed to
them.
REPORT OF THE WOMEN DENTISTS PRACTISING IN NEW
YORK STATE.
As far as can be ascertained, there are at present, 1892, six
women dentists who have diplomas, practising in New York
State.
As there is no dental college in New York State to which
women are admitted, all those practising in the State must have
been educated at one of the following institutions: The PENN-
SYLVANIA College of Dental Surgery, The Columbian
University of Washington, D. C., The Ann Harbor
Dental College, Michigan.
The first of these colleges to admit women was the “ Pennsyl-
vania College of Dental Surgery," which admitted Mrs. Hirsh-
feld (a German woman), now Dr. Hirshfeld.
The first woman who studied dentistry, Dr. Hirshfeld, gradu-
ated in 1872. It is interesting to note that Dr. Hirshfeld has
practised with success in Germany since her return from this
country, her annual income amounting to $10,000 or more, and
having had among her patients the late Emperor Frederick.
39The first American woman to obtain a degree was Doctor
Annie Romborger, who was admitted to the Pennsylvania College
in 1870.
The average of the highest grade of income received by women
dentists in America is estimated at about $5,000 a year, al-
though this has probably been exceeded in individual cases.
In all of the colleges mentioned women are admitted upon
the same terms as men, the college course • differing in no re-
spect
Women are admitted to the clinics of the New York Dental
Societies, although not as students to the college.
The largest number of women dentists practise in Philadel-
phia.
MID WIVES.
There are two Colleges of Midwifery in New York State,
namely, the New York College of Midwifery and the Colum-
bia College of Midwifery, both in New York City.
The New York College of Midwifery was organized in April,
1883. There have been 294 graduates from the college since
that date.
The average number of annual graduates from “The Colum-
bia College of Midwifery ” is 70.
There are 15 mid wives practising in New York City, accord-
ing to the United States Medical Directory; but the mid wives
in other parts of the State do not register, so that it is impossible
to ascertain their number.
MASSAGE.
There are two Schools of Massage in New York City : The
New York Training School for Massage, and The New
York College of Massage.
There is also an agency (Ellis's) which sends out 25 women
masseurs. There are 5 women (outside of these schools) regis-
tered in the Directory of New York City.
The New York College of Massage was organized February
25, 1891. The number of graduates since that date is 34.
It is impossible to ascertain the number of women practising
massage in New York State, as there is no register which con-
tains their names.
40REPORT
;OF THE
WOMEN LAWYERSI
In the State of New York, January, 1893.
It has been difficult to secure the information desired for this
report, and the following statistics are not known to be exhaus-
tive.
In New York State women were not eligible for the position
of attorney and counsellor-at-law until 1886. In May of that year
an amendment was passed which allowed the admission of women
to the Bar of the State.
Miss Kate Stoneman, admitted to the Albany Bar in 1886,
.was the first woman lawyer of New York.
Since then Miss Meta L. Cowles has been admitted at Syra-
cuse, in November, 1892, and Miss Grace E. Robinson, in the
same month and year, was admitted at Albany.
No woman has yet been admitted in the city and county of
New York. Through the Woman’s Legal Education Society a
special law course for women was opened at the University of
the City of New York in October, 1890 ; and all the courses in
the regular Law School of the University were also extended to
properly qualified women applicants.
In 1892 three women graduated from the Law School, two of
whom (Miss Rose Lebere and Miss Julia A. Wilson) expected to
apply for admission to the Bar during this year.
The Law School of Cornell University and the Buffalo Law
School admit women students, but have, as yet, no women
41graduates. The Law School of Columbia College still refuses ad-
mission to women.
There are twelve women notaries in New York City. The
best known of these is Mrs. Ella F. Braman, who is a partner in
her husband's law firm, and who has made for herself a success^
ful and respected legal reputation.
42REPORT
ON
WOMEN LIBRARIANS
In the State and City of New York.
Number of libraries in the State of New York, containing 300
volumes and upward, employing librarians...................
Number of libraries in the State of New York employing
women...............................................   31
Number of libraries in the city of New York, not counting
branches............................................   35
Number of libraries in the city of New York employing
women...............................................    n
The highest salary paid to a woman is $2,000 ; the lowest is
at the rate of twenty cents an hour. The longest working day is
nine and a half hours.
43BUSINESS.
I
Total Number of Women in New York, 3,020,960.
Agents, Advertising....	6 Bleacheries, Straw		1
Agents, Book (estimat-	Boarding-house Keepers.	4,46s
ed)		10,000 Boats (to let)		2
Agents, Collecting		24 Boiler Compound		1
Agents, Commission....	72 Bonnaz Work		1
Agents, Dramatic		4 Bookkeepers	 .	1,418
Agents, Employment....	203 Booksellers		9
Agents, Express		3 Boot and Shoe Dealers..	52
Agents, Insurance		43 Bowling Alleys		I
Agents, Mailing		1 Brokers		3
Agents, News		5 Butter, Cheese, and Egg	
Agents, Pension		3 Dealers		34
Agents, Railroad		18 Cashiers		44
Agents, Real Estate		42 Caterers				150
Agents, Sewing-machine.	5 Chaperons		8
Agents, Shopping		70 Chemicals			1
Agents, Ticket		 .	37 Chiropodists		29
Animal and Bird Dealers.	2 Church Furnishers		3
Antiquities and Bric-a-	Clerks		799
brac. 		2 Clothiers		29
Artists* Supplies		2 Clothing, Second-hand..	32
Awnings		1 Coal Dealers		10
Badges and Medals		S Coffee Roaster.		1
Bakers’ Supplies		1 Confectioners		327
Barbers		16 Co-operative Stores		261
Basket Dealers		1 Copyists		438
'Baths		5 Corset Dealers		3i
Bicycles			1 Costumers		19
Billiard Goods		1 Crockery Dealers.......	20
Billiard Saloons		1 Delicatessen.					64
Bill Poster		1 Dry Goods		141
44Exchangers, Women's...	1,306 Money Lenders		8
Fancy Goods	..	294 Music Stores		3
Feather Dealers.		S Newspaper Dealers		16
Fish Dealers		15 Opticians. ... ;		3
Fishing Tackle		3 Paints, Oils, etc.			8
Florists				105 Pawnbrokers		1 c
Forewomen			27 Pharmacists		556
Fortune Tellers and Me-	Picture Dealers		II
diums				no Poulterers... 			4
Fruit Dealers			15 Prepared Food		2
Funeral Directors		13 Printing Houses.		2
Fur Dealers		i$ Produce Dealers		20
Furniture		40 Publishers		11
Gold Leaf.		1 Restaurant Keepers		160
Grocers.		742 Saddles and Harness....	y 1
Hair Dealers		S Saleswomen		6,645
Hair Dressers		389 Saloon Keepers		195
Hardware		8 Sand Dealer		1
Hotel Keepers		50 Secretaries		34
House Furnishers		41 Shopkeepers..			453
Housekeepers			1,644 Slate Dealer.					1
Ice Dealer			1 Stamping and Embroidery	20
Importers			7 Stationers.			96
Janitors.			250 Stenographers			1,294
Jewelrv		20 Stewardesses		42
Junk Dealers					8 Storage		1
Kindling Wood		1 Tailors, Merchant.......	36
Lamps, Shades, etc.. ..	3 Teamsters		2
Laundries				152 Telegraphers		372
		
Liquor Dealers			252 Telephoners		184
Livery-stable Keepers...	12 Tobacconists		170
Lodging-house Keepers.	13 Toilet Supplies		9
Manicures..					69 Toy Dealers		16
Manufacturers		352 Typewriters		T ,280
Matrons		.. Umbrellas and Parasols..	8
Meat Markets		13 Undertakers		19
Men's Furnishings		32 Variety Stores		317
Military Goods		1 Vermin Exterminator....	1
Milk Dealers		12 Watchwomen		3
Millinery Goods		45 Window-glass Dealers...	4
45INDUSTRIES.
Apiculturists.........
Artificial Flower Makers
Awning Makers ......
Bakers................
Basket Makers.......
Bath Girls..........
Bean Pickers..........
Bill Poster...........
Bookbinders...........
Bottlers..............
Box Makers...........
Brass Founders........
Bread Makers..........
Brick Manufacturer....
Burial Robe Makers....
Butter Makers ........
Button-hole Makers....
Cabinet Maker.........
Cake Makers...........
Cane Makers...........
Canners of Fruit, etc....
Carpet Sewers.......
Carpet Weavers........
Carriage Builders and
Trimmers............
Chair Makers..........
Cheese Makers.........
Cider and Vinegar Man-
ufacturers ...........
Cigar Makers.......
Cleaners..............
Cloakmakers.......
Collar Workers........
Color Maker...........
Compositors...........
Condensers............
138 Coppersmith................. 1
39 Copy Holders............... 48
64 Corn Bundlers............... 7
213 Corn Huller................. 1
376 Cutters of Garments... 4
18 Day Laborers. ............. 31
88 Doll Makers................. 8
1	Domestic Service..... 29,850
66 Dressmakers............ 15,237
4 Dusters ...............	14
117 Dyers...................... 26
2	Embroiderers............. 443
87 Factory Hands........... 6,898
1 Farmers............... 3,314
12 Feather Curlers............ 51
170 Floriculturists........... 107
723 Fruit Pickers........... 7,524
1	Furniture Repairer___	1
138 Fur Sewers................. 55
2	Gate Tenders.........	2
201 Glass Worker ..............  1
478 Glaziers ................... 4
51 Glove Makers.........	102
Hair Workers.........	11
17 Harness and Saddle
82	Makers............. 141
85 Hatters and Hat Block
Makers.................. 46
1 Hop Pickers .. ..... ... 10,290
127 Horse Shoers ........ .	4
3,526 Horticulturists ........	145
197 House Cleaners........	6,300
6,868 Jewellers................... 4
1 Kalsominer ................. 1
6,811 Knitters...... ....... 3,101
3 Lace Makers .......... 6
46Lace Menders............... 26
Laundresses......	20,960
Leather Workers........	I
Machine Hands............ 265
Mail Carriers.............. 1
Market Gardeners.......	117
Mattress Makers............ 1
Menders.................... 78
Miller....................  1
Milliners............... 3,234
Miners.................... 13
Necktie Makers.......'.	53
Novelty Workers............ 35
Packers of Drugs, Can-
dies, etc.............. 151
Painters.................. 21
Paper Box Makers.......	184
Paper Flower Makers. ..	26
Paperhangers....____...	2
Paper Pattern Makers. ..	9
Paper Workers.............. 3
Photographers............. 72
Photograph Retouchers.. 18
Picklers................... 49
Plaiters and Fluters...	4
Plumbers................... 5
Poultry Raisers............ 17
Press Feeders............... 4
Printers...............	66
Rag Sorters.............. 144
Rubber Stamp Makers.	13
Sample Binder.............. 1
Scavengers................ 15
Seamstresses........... 7,356
Shepherdess................ 1
Shirt Makers............. 485
Shoe Binders.............. S3
Shoemakers................ 15
Sign Painter............... 1
Silk Folders............... 2
Spinners................... 5
Spring Bed Makers....	15
Stencil Cutter............. I
Straw Bleacher............. 1
Straw Worker............... 1
Suspender Makers.....	2
Tailoresses............ 2,142
Taxidermists............... 7
Tent Makers............... 14
Tinsmiths.................. 3
Twine Twisters........	25
Upholsterers.............. 64
Varnisher.................. 1
Vineyardists............. 133
Wax Candle Decorators	31
Weavers .................  20
Wool Worker................ 1
Yeast Makers............... 3
Factory Report.
Total population..........................................  5,997,853
Total female population.................................... 3,020,960
Total women employed in factories............................ 154,657
Women under 21 years of age.............................. 59,438
Girls under 16 years of age.............................. 8,295
Men employed in factories.................................... 170,147
This report is official.
47State and County Fairs.
Women have exhibited and taken premiums for the follow-
ing exhibits:
Fruits,	Needle Work,
Honey,	Pickles,
Horses,	Preserving Fruit,
Home-made Wines, Poultry,
Cakes and Pies,
Carpet Weaving,
Cattle,
Embroidery,
Fine Arts, Maple Syrup,	Wood Inlaying,		
Flowers,			
in the following counties :	Year.	Exhibited.	Prizes.
Cayuga County			. . .	17
Chemung County			92	10
Erie County		. 1888	394	. .
Erie County			. 1889	648	. . .
Greene County	 New York County		. 1892	9	301
Orleans County			. . .	12
Otsego County		. 1891	. . .	257
Otsego County		. 1892	. . .	238
Orange County		. 1892	. . .	349
Rensselaer County		. 1892	403	. . .
Sullivan County				. 1890	416	. . .
Sullivan County		. 1892	800	. . .
Tioga County			. 1892		321
Tompkins County. 				. 1892		47
Warren County		. 1891		234
Warren County		. 1892		258
Wayne County		. 1892		456
It is impossible to obtain any full statistics with regard to
women in domestic service. There are 200 employment agen-
cies in the city of New York.
Out of I5,757cases examined,the following percentages were
found to exist:
Cooks...........  46	per	cent.	Waitresses..... 26	per cent.
Laundresses..... 11	per	cent.	Janitresses ...... I	per	cent.
Nurses........... 14	per	cent.	-Housekeepers ....	2	per	cent.
48Of the total, 72 per cent, are foreigners.
It seems to be the universal belief that while the natives are
of higher intelligence and education than the foreigners, they do
not make such good servants, and are not in so much demand.
The Irish are more in demand than any other nation.
In general there are more places to be filled than there are
women to fill them, and wages are already increasing.
Women Artists.
It is utterly impossible to give an adequate idea of the art
work done by women in the past twenty-five years. Although
a number of distinguished examples might be mentioned, the
greater and more important part of woman’s work has been in
the obscure though vital sphere of design and decoration.
The whole aesthetic life of this country has been changed and
modified by the designs of every kind of household decoration
produced in thousands by the women who have studied in our
art schools and abroad. The immense stimulus given by the
artistic educational facilities opened to women in the past twenty-
five years in this State has shown most marked results in china
and porcelain decoration and designs for wall-paper and housed
hold materials, as well as in the higher branches of art.
The figures which follow show the different heads under
which this work has been classified:
Total number of artists					629
Natives of New York				306
Residents in New York....,			617
Studied at			
The Cooper Union......	60	Studios in other Ameri-	
National Academy of		can cities		69
Design	f		37	Studios in Paris.				74
Art Students’ League...	84	Studios in other foreign	
Studios in New York City	144	cities.					36
Exhibited in			
New York City		264	Paris—Salon, etc		32
Boston		36	London — Burlington	
Philadelphia		54	House, etc		11
Other American cities...	94 49	Other foreign cities		20Received
Prizes.................. 24
Medals.................. 26
Artists in
Oils................... 226
Portraits............... 40
Landscapes.............. 66
Flowers and Fruit.....	38
Figures................. 26
Animals.................. 6
Water-color............. 67
Sculpture................ 9
Miniatures..............  3
Drawing................. 18
Honorable mention, etc. 47
Pastels.................. 4
Crayons................. 11
Etching.................. 3
Engraving............... 12
Illustrating............ 14
Lithography.............. 1
Illuminating............. 3
China Painting..... ...	24
Design.................  12
Tapestry................. 5
Afro-American.
The education of the youth of a country determines to the
greatest degree its progress, its prosperity, its standing among
other nations of the civilized world.
School for all classes of children was early demanded a neces-
sity in New York State, looking forward, as the wise and
thoughtful ones of the past did, to a time when this should be
termed the Empire State, leading the great united fraternity of
commonwealth. A school for colored children was opened in
1787, and was attended by 12 boys and girls. This was sup-
ported by the Manumission Society, and was the pioneer institu-
tion of learning for the race in the State. A school for girls
alone was organized in 1792, but it was not until a lapse of forty
years that we find colored female teachers employed to instruct
them. Acknowledgment of fitness for this new sphere of life
was at once accorded when the methods of these first instructors
were observed by the school authorities. From 1832 to the pres-
ent time there have been more than 150 female teachers employed
in the public schools of the State. In New York City alone we
have had reported over 75, and in Brooklyn 25. At the present
time the number does not exceed 44, as every school-house opens
wide its doors to children of all nationalities, none being discrimi-
nated against.
SOJustice demands that there shall be equality all along the edu-
cational line; that teachers when properly trained, and when
successful in their chosen sphere of activity, shall be employed
irrespective of race. All barriers were swept away for the New
York teachers by an Act of the Legislature which was passed in
1884. The law reads :
“ The colored school in the city of New York, now existing
and in operation, shall hereafter be classed and known and be
continued as Ward School and Primaries, with their present
teachers, unless such teachers are removed in the manner pro-
vided by law; and such schools shall be under the control and
management of the school officers of the respective wards in
which they are located, in the same manner and to the same ex-
tent as other Ward Schools, and shall be open for the education
of pupils for whom admission is sought, without regard to race
or color.”
Nowhere in the State do we find the signs, “Colored
School,” save perhaps in a few rural districts in the Southeastern
section.
In every town and city colored girls are graduating from the
high and the normal schools, and diplomas are given and degrees
conferred by literary, scientific, medical, and pedagogical depart-
ments of colleges and universities. The number in the last two
'may not be large, but this indicates that the educational torch is
burning brightly, that thoughtful women are endeavoring to show
by example the way to a higher plane, physically, intellectually,
morally. Could a more efficient means of inspiring the young
with high ideals be formulated ?
There have been students and graduates from art schools,
public and private, making as their specialties designing, wood
carving, wood engraving, crayon drawings, painting in water-col-
ors, pastel, and oil. Some find ready sale for their pictures and
other specimens of artistic work, while others, instead of trying
to progress and perfect themselves in their specialty by years of
devotion to study and practice, are forced to allow their talent to
lie dormant, owing to the necessity for obtaining means to supply
immediate and pressing needs.
The only sculptress of the race, Miss Edmonia Lewis, was
born in this State. Unflagging, persistent, well-directed study
51in Boston, years of devotion to art in Italy and France, have won
for her name and fame on both sides of the vast Atlantic.
A half-century ago the women of the race had but just com-
menced to be employed as teachers, and the majority of the
industrious ones of this large body of workers earned a livelihood
in domestic service. Although the opportunities for obtaining
instruction in the various trades, in improved methods in the
industries and of obtaining a business education, have been
meagre, we find now that there are at least some representatives
in almost all departments of labor. The statistics that have been
gathered are a forcible guarantee of the truth of this statement.
This compilation does not fully represent the plane upon
which the women stand, for even at the time of making this final
report, there are some sections from which returns although
faithfully promised, have not been received.
Stenographers and typewriters are receiving recognition for
swiftness and accuracy, and are being employed by lawyers and
business houses in our large cities. One is now serving as a
clerk in the Regent’s Office at Albany, and still another is con-
stantly engaged in Saratoga as a court stenographer.
As dressmakers and milliners, employing from six to ten hands
as the season may demand, as hair-workers, manicures, et£., the
women are making a marked success.
Organizations, charitable and benevolent, are found in every
city, in almost every town. Indeed, relief societies are so abun-
dant that it is rare that any self-respecting female goes without
proper care when sick, or decent interment. Comparatively
speaking, there are but few who find a pauper’s grave, owing to
the forethought shown in joining these associations.
Although a people poor in worldly belongings, yet of their
penury we find them giving shelter and support to the aged, the
poor, the orphaned. Two homes for the aged, “ St. Philip’s
Parish House” in New York, and “The Home for Aged Colored
People ” in Brooklyn, while not originated alone by women,
were founded mainly by them, and have always been indebted
for their maintenance largely to the acts of self-sacrifice, the
liberality of females.
The Brooklyn Howard Colored Orphan Asylum owes its
origin to a colored woman. It was organized in 1866, under the
siame of “ Home for Freed Children and Others.” Many freed
52women who came North with children were unable to procure
homes for themselves with their children. They were offered at
the Asylum in New York City, but were refused admission.
Mrs. S. A. Tilghman, a noble-hearted woman, for six months
cared for twenty children in her own home at 105 W. 13th Street.
At the expiration of this time, by the advice of Gen. O. O. How-
ard, the Orphanage was removed to Brooklyn, where it is now a
flourishing institution.
The past counted among its honored daughters many mem-
bers of this race, many who might well be termed heroic. In
spite of the grinding heel of cruel oppression on every side,
they braved dangers unparalleled to bring to freedom, to the sun-
light of liberty, those whom they could of their enslaved people.
The hard and daring blows for emancipation dealt by the
undaunted spirit of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman claim
for them a place in history.
Let me hope it will be seen that individuals are making daily
advances, and that all the women of this branch of the great
American people are striving to make for themselves a name, an
honored future, and are taking steps forward as surely as the
world is increasing in years. The women are endeavoring to
“ labor for that larger and larger comprehension of truth, that
more and more repudiation of error, which shall make the history
of mankind a series of ascending developments. ”
Afro-American.
Total population....................................... 67,901
Female population...................................... 36,977
Industries.
Artificial Flower Makers.
Bakers...................
Barber...................
Basket Makers..........
Blacksmith...............
Bookbinders..............
Button-hole Makers.......
Carpet Sewers............
13 Chair Caner............... 1
5 Compositors................ 4
I Cooks.................  1,587
22 Decoration Painters.........	40
I Dressmakers ............. 578
9 Dusters................... 41
46 Embroiderers ............ 26
40 Factory Hands............ 64
53Farmers		... 120 Milliners 		...	
Floriculturists		3 Paper Flower Makers..	• • 13
Horticulturist		... 1 Photographers				3
House Cleaners . ....	».. 478 Preservers of Fruit		.. 18
Knitters		40 Seamstresses.			• • 417
Lace Makers	*.. .	3 Shirt Makers		
Lace Menders		.. . 7 Tailoresses		6
Lamp Trimmers		13 Upholsterers		9
Laundresses		... 2,636 Waitresses		..1,177
Maids		... 837 Waitresses, Private ....	
Menders.			50 Wax Figure Makers ...	
	Gifts.	
Church Furnishings...	... 15 Communion Service ...	
Bequests.
Land....................... I Money..................... 5
Clubs and Societies, 30.
Political Appointments, 6.
Professions.
Artists			Nurses, Trained		12
Doctors			 5	Organists		15
Editors			Pianists 				11
Elocutionists			 45	Reporters		7
Inventors			Singers		16
Librarian			Teachers of Music		47
Masseuses		..... 37	Teachers of Physical Cult-	
Midwives			ure 			2
Missionaries			Teachers, Private School.	2
Nurses					 185	Teachers, Public School..	44
54Business.
Agents, Book.............. 25
Agents, Collection........ 25
Agents, Employment....	31
Agents, Real Estate.....	13
Agents, Shopping........	8
Boarding-house Keepers	.	177
Bookkeepers............ 5
Cashiers............... 6
Caterers............... 42
Chiropodists........... 5
Copyists............... 8
Exchanges, Women's....	2
Fairs, Women’s Work in	.	53
Funeral Directors...... 4
Hairdressers.......... 161
Housekeepers.............. 68
Janitors ................ 384
Manicures................. 52
Marketers................. 10
Matrons ..,............... 14
Pharmacists................ 2
Saloon Keepers..............7
Secretaries................ 7
Shop Keepers............. 141
Stationers................. 2
Stenographers............  18
Stewardesses............. 109
Telegraphers............... 2
Typewriters............... 53
EDUCATION.
In collegiate, academic, and public school education for
women, New York is considered to rank directly after Massa-
chusetts. In facilities for technical and professional training she
ranks easily first, if we except the professions of dentistry, where
Pennsylvania is superior, and law, more favored by the Western
States.
She first introduced the idea of training nurses for and by
hospital work, and has since carried this further than any other
State, although it has gone throughout the country. She also
has recently introduced training schools for children’s nurses, fill-
ing a much-needed want. Her facilities for medical education,
with the one exception of hospital practice, are the best in the
world, and her number of business colleges the largest. In
many ways, however, there is much to be done. But six women
have served as School Commissioners as yet, and the much-
needed kindergarten system is in its infancy in this State ; nor
has there been made any effort to introduce cooking, sewing, or
gymnastics into public school course.
In the patriotic exercises, introduced by a woman, a valuable
55contribution has been made to the making of our emigrants' chil-
dren into good citizens in New York City, and it is hoped that
this innovation will be adopted in time by the other States. A
college for women teachers, in which the industrial department is
peculiarly well equipped, has been founded in New York City,
which bids fair to raise the standard of all educational teaching.
Academies and Private Schools.
Schools for the Blind........
Colleges and Scientific Schools.
Commercial Schools...........
Schools for Deaf and Dumb....
Evening Schools..............
Schools for the Feeble Minded.
High Schools.................
Normal Schools...............
Medical Schools..............
Training Schools for Nurses....
Reform Schools...............
Public Schools, Boys' and Girls’
No. of female No. of women
students.	teachers.
9,181	754
59	27
3,385	243
1,653	47
629	75
8,148	215
268	17
7,023	252
567	28
199	
389	
494	63
1,054,044	26,623
New York Women Students in Colleges in
Bates		other States.		 32
University of Boston...		...... 85
Bryn Mawr				
Colby					155
Cornell				 80
Leland Stanford			
University of Michigan.	... 12 Total		00 N 1-0
Literature.
The number of New York women who have engaged in the
pursuit of literature is a very large one, over one thousand and
eighteen (1,018) names being recorded of those who are natives
or residents, and who have published books, the number of
these books mounting up to three thousand three hundred and
56forty-five (3,345). Two thousand two hundred (2,200) of these
are to be exhibited as New York's literary exhibit in Chicago,
and afterwards placed in Albany as a permanent collection.
This large number of authoresses does not include women who
have written for magazines or weekly or daily periodicals. The
number of journalists reported is two thousand four hundred and
one (2,401), of whom 321 are editors.
The first woman author recorded is Charlotte Lenox, born
1720; and the most famous woman which New York has pro-
duced so far is Harriet Beecher Stowe, authoress of the famous
“ Uncle Tom's Cabin." Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the
“ Battle Hymn of the Republic," has made perhaps the most
lasting contribution of any woman to our literature.
The following are the heads under which the books will
be classified :
Poetry,
Fiction,
Education,
Essays,
Travels,
Philanthropy.
Juvenile Literature, Useful Arts,
Sociology,	Translations,
Natural Science,	Compilations,
Fine Arts,	Miscellaneous.
In glancing over the work of philanthropy throughout the
State, we realize that hardly any other State of the Union has
equal occasion for system and variety in its methods.
The growth of our charities in number, variety, and scope,
within the past twenty-five years, has been enormous, and one
vastly important factor is the part borne by women. While they
have always been more or less active in philanthropy, their
charity formerly was too often unregulated, indiscriminate, and
^impulsive. Within the past few years they have made great
strides in the application of business principles to charitable
works, and with the light thrown by the Charity Organization
Societies upon the methods of imposition practised by the un-
worthy poor, have subordinated emotion and sentiment, and
have learned that not only sympathy, self-sacrifice, and generosity
are necessary, but concentration of purpose, system, and clear
judgment.
The recognition of their efficiency is evidenced by the fact
57that women are now received on boards of management upon an
equality with men in a large proportion of benevolent organi-
zations.
No massing of figures or array of statistics could adequately
measure or present the time and strength, the loving sympathy,
the ingenuity and consideration with which women devote them-
selves, with unflagging zeal, to the care of the sick, the helpless,
and unfortunate of every age and condition.
The city of New York has long taken the lead in benevolent
enterprises. Its situation compels it to receive the greatest num-
ber of poor, and in such variety of nationality and need that
fresh schemes must be constantly adopted or devised to meet the
exigencies of a rapidly increasing population.
The reports that have been sent in from the large cities of the
State indicate them to be admirably equipped and awake to
meet the needs of their own communities. Especial mention
must be made of Buffalo, from which New York itself learned the
system of its Charity Organization Society. Buffalo was the first
city outside of New York to establish a day nursery and training
school of nursery-maids, also a baby hospital. There, too, the
kindergarten movement is very much advanced.
Among the charities and societies started in New York State
in which women have had a leading part are the Children's Aid
Society, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Prison
Reform Association, the Isaac Hopper Home for Discharged
Convicts, the Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor in
their Homes. There are throughout the State thirteen Charity
Organization Societies, doing most efficient work.
Of the many works started by women, some have extended
beyond the limits of our own State. The Shut-in Society, with
its paper called “ The Open Window," was started in New York
City, and has been the means by which hundreds of invalids have
been cheered and benefited.
The work of the International Medical Association, especially
the sending of trained nurses to the sick poor in their homes,
cannot be over-estimated. The College Settlement Society, an
association of college women, was organized for the purpose of
establishing settlements in large cities; and our own Rivington
Street settlement is doing excellent work in training children and
needy people mentally, morally, and socially. Those connected
58with it are giving rare examples of personal devotion and sac-
rifice.
The work done by the Bible and Fruit Mission is not fully
known or appreciated. The various committees have in charge
the city institutions on the islands, and each week visit their spe-
cial charge and carry material comfort to the sick, and consola-
tion and sympathy to all. No work seems to be more com-
pletely organized than that of temperance. Of the various
societies, in all nine hundred and sixteen branches have been re-
ported.
In suggesting certain departments of work which seem to
have been neglected, I wish to mention the need of more accom-
modation for incurables. There are only three homes for con-
valescents reported, and two for consumptives. Not only are
these needed in New York City, but throughout the whole
State.
The greatest need in this city, which is felt equally by physi-
cians. and all those interested in schemes of benevolence, are
hospitals for contagious diseases for the benefit of the poor, but
equally for that large class of people living in hotels and board-
ing-houses. At present there is no place in the whole city where,
by payment of any sum, persons suffering from contagious dis-
eases can be removed, except to the Willard Parker Hospital,
which is limited in accommodations and always overcrowded.
There is also another kind of charity which I should like to
mention—a hospice for the dying. There is a small one in ex-
istence in London, but the most important is that in Dublin,
containing over a hundred beds. Here those who soon must die
may spend their last days in comfort and with the best of care.
It must be borne in mind that, notwithstanding the effort to
obtain reports from every institution in the State, many have not
responded, and all comment must be accepted as at the disadvan-
tage of being based upon information not absolutely complete.
General Hospitals........	27
Emergency Hospitals....	5
Children’s Hospitals......	6
Maternity Asylums......... 7
Orphan Asylums........... 41
Homes for the Aged.....	40
Homes for Children and
Young Girls............  10
Homes for the Friend-
less..................... 12
Homes for Fallen Women.	8
Homes for Other Classes. 12Charity Organization So-
cieties .................. 9
Christian Associations....	9
Temperance Societies...... 916
Dispensaries [obviously
wrong] ................. 11
Diet Kitchens.............. 15
Summer Outing............	20
Home Missionary Societies 70
Foreign Missionary Socie-
ties.................... 16
Flower and Fruit Missions 10
Shut-in Societies........... 3
Aid Societies for General
Benevolence............. 81
Aid Societies for Relief of
Special Classes......... 39
Aid Societies Auxiliary to
Institutions............ 34
Societies for Mutual Pro-
tection.................. 22
Other Protective Societies. 7
Sewing Societies........... 15
Educational and Industrial
Unions..............*.. *	10
Industrial Schools......... 65
Training School for Nurses 16
Day Nurseries.............. 31
Kindergartens.............  35
Employment Societies.... 22
Exchanges for Women’s
Work.................. 1,306
Library Societies and Peo-
ple’s Rooms.............  23
Clubs.................  ;	16
Lodging and Boarding
Houses................... 12
College Settlement.......	1
Tenement House Work
Societies.............,	10
Visiting Committees......	3
Indian Associations......	6
Penny Provident Stations. 6
Other Saving Societies....	2
Reformatories..............  5
Consumers’League...........	1
Clubs, Societies, and Associations.
The principle of co-operation and association may be said to
be one of the marked characteristics of the nineteenth, as of the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries—with this important difference,
that in this century it has also applied to women, although in a
less degree than to men, while in the Middle Ages women were
practically excluded from its influence.
The clubs and associations joined by the women of New York
divide themselves into six general classes, apart from those
formed for purely philanthropic ends. The classes include
1st. Clubs formed for social purposes.
2d. Clubs formed for education and self-improvement.
3d. Societies for patriotic ends.
4th. Societies for the extension of the political rights of
women.
605th. Literary societies.
6th. Associations for mutual protection in business relations.
Under the first head we may group the Colonial Dames of
America (New York members, 150), founded in 1890.
The Daughters of the Revolution (members, 200). founded in
1891.
The Ladies' New York Club (members, 500), founded in 1889.
The Woman’s University Club of New York City (members,
91), founded in 1889.
Under the second head clubs formed for education and self-
improvement come the Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
New York (members, 21,895), and its junior branch.
The Young Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (members,
2,505), founded in 1874.
The Association of the Working Girls' Clubs, including 26
clubs (members, 2,833), founded in 1885.
The Ladies' Christian Union, the oldest Christian association
of women in the State.
The Berkeley Ladies’ Athletic. Association (members, 300),
founded in 1890.
The East Evans Clubs of Erie County (members, 22).
Under the third head come societies for patriotic ends.
At the time of the war there were several associations formed
for the purpose of aiding the government in caring for the sick
and wounded. In these organizations men and women worked
together, although there were certain departments which fell
particularly into the women’s hands. These were the first co-op-
erative efforts of any importance made by women in this country,
and the philanthropic and associated work done by women in the
past twenty-five years is largely due to the training and experi-
ence gained by our women in aiding the Sanitary Commission.
The Woman's Sullivan County Sailors’ and Soldiers' Monu-
ment Association (members, 71) is only one of the many socie-
ties formed to commemorate the deeds of the war.
Under the fourth head come societies for the extension of the
political rights of women. There are societies for this end in
every county in the State.
61Under the fifth head, literary clubs. An exhibit is being
made at Chicago, the number chronicled being 287. Clubs
formed of men and women, 32.
The associations under the sixth head are extremely difficult
to properly report, as there is a distinct reluctance among the
members and promoters of such associations to furnish any infor-
mation. This may be ascribed to the fact that women do not
seem as yet to have fully acquired the rights, which are now
entirely ceded to men, of combination for mutual protection in
their business relations.
There have been 1,234 clubs reported unspecified.
Bequests and Gifts.
Land: For Protestant Churches	6	Founding 159 Hospital Beds			
For Roman Catholic Churches				1	Founding 7 Aid Societies Fund for City Charities,	
For Libraries,		 For Parks			2	$60,000 Fund for Poor of Town.	
Buildings : Protestant Churches		6	Fund for Poor of Church Founding 23 Protestant	
Roman Catholic Churches	2	Schools		
Charitable Institutions..	S	Founding 3 Roman Cath-	
Memorial Tower		1	olic Schools.			
School Houses.				1	Founding 13 Libraries..	
Libraries		3	Founding 1 Reading	
Observatory ... *		1	Room		
Art Building..			1	Gift to 1 Observatory...	
Young Woman's Chris- tian Association		1	Founding one thousand (1,000) dollar Shake-	
Not specified		13	speare prize at Univer-	
Money: For Building 65 Protest-		sity 	 Gift to Industrial School	1
ant Churches			Gift to Y. W. C. A		4
For Building 22 Roman		Gift to Episcopal League	1
Catholic Churches....		Gift to W. C. T. U.....	1
For Building 146 Protes- tant Churches			Gift to Bible Tract Soci- ety 				1
For Building 16 Roman Catholic Churches			Gift to Baptist House Mis- sion 			1
62Gift to American Baptist
Mission...............  I
Gift to American Baptist
Publishing House....	I
Gift to Domestic and For-
eign Mission......... I
Gift to Cemeteries....... i
Gift to Roman Catholic
Convents............... 6
Gift to Roman Catholic
Historical Society. ...	i
Gift to Roman Catholic
Foreign Missions ....	3
Gift to Roman Catholic
Evangelical Alliance..	1
To buy Pictures.......... 2
Pictures:
Complete Collections. ..	2
Single Pictures.......... 12
Statuary :
Soldiers’ Monument....	2
Soldiers’ Statues......... 5
Curios :
Small Collections to Met-
ropolitan Museum ...	13
Collections to Natural
History Museum.......	3
Miscellaneous:
University............... 1
University Bell.......... 2
Fire Engine.............. 1
Fountains................ 2
Stone to Build Church..	1
Organ for Church.......	1
Church Pulpits, Fonts,
etc................. 73
63