A Woman's Column from The Railroad Trainman 1890

Below is a copy of the "Women's Department" in an 1890 Railroad Trainman journal. Please note this was a two column article, which will make sense of the order and wording of some of the text below.

In the recent election of School Board in Boston, over six thousand ladies cast ballots.
The veil is said to have originated with the Hebrews, and was made of silk instead of lace.
The color of the Eiffel tower will have its influence in the world of fashion. Its brownish red will be conspicuous in French novelties this season.'

Mes. Ellen M. Giffoed, of New Haven, has given over 1116,000 to institutions and societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals. $30,000 of it was donated to a home for suffering animals in Boston.
We desire to again call attention to the necessity of sending all contributions for the Woman's Department directly to this office. They must reach Galesburg early in the month to appear in the following issue.

Conteirutions of several pages must possess unusual merit to be accepted. Observe that no long articles now appear in the Journal. We prefer those which make less than a page in print, and which never exceed two pages.

The Trainmen's Journal has undertaken to present each month the portrait of a remarkable woman. It is not possible, of course, to always give our readers the likeness and sketch of a woman conspicuous in labor circles. Such an undertaking would not only be impossible, but would confine us to a circle too limited to be thoroughly interesting. The intention is to have the range of subjects such as will give the life and variety that is pleasing.

Advice For American Women.
"I say to American girls who want to marry English dukes and marquises, earls and barons, lords and honorables and sirs, preserve your beauty; wear your veils and broad brimmed hats; keep out of the sun and wind: dread tan and freckles as you would the bite of a rattlesnake; retain your peach-like skins and your fragile figures. English dukes and marquises, earls and barons, lords, and honorables, and sirs, have enough bronze, leather-faced young women to choose from in Engiand without wanting any more from America. Give up tennis, unless beneath a wideawake, and even then just think of your poor hands! A backhander, which skims the net may cause you a thrill of delight, but it adds to the circumference of your wrist every time.
*****
"It is my belief that in their endeavor to be rough and mannish, brawny and brown-skinned, the American girls are overdoing it. It is a fad that will soon fade. It is too hot to last. There is really no stay in it. Unaccustomed to exercise, as exercise and for exercise's sake, these American girls will presently tire of their muscle and brown skins. Muscle and brown skins will then cease to be the fashion, and the pale faces and pink-and-white complexions will 'come in' again. In England, however,there will be no change."—[A London Press Correspondent.

It is fortunate for American women that the writer of the above advice lived to get across the Atlantic. Had anything prevented him studying the tastes of English noblemen American girls might have gone on indefinitely taking a little exercise, venturing out into the open air,and occasionally allowing a stray sunbeam to peep into their windows. It is quite unfortnnate this information didn't come months ago. The young women have been encouraged to ride and row and tramp through the woods, and even to play tennis, never dreaming, poor things, that it is dreadfully coarse and vulgar to increase the strength and circumference of their white wrists. They have even ventured to become florists and cultivate roses in the greenhouse without suspecting that it was foolish to bring the roses of health to their cheeks. And more; they have even dared to be gardeners and actually take right hold of a common hoe and massacre the -weeds in an onion bed. Ugh! The horrid creatures! And all this time they were unconscious of the fact that this was all wrong—that it is not what English nobility wants them to do, at all. This is a truly dreadful state of affairs and must be stopped instanter. The Journal hastens to assure tha London correspondent that the advice is fully appreciated on this side of the pond, and that it will leave nothing undone to hasten the "pink-and-white" millennium. And venturing to speak for the ladies, we further assure him that their only desire is to please Englishmen, and that the ambition of their lives is to lessen the frowns of English disapproval. In fact they don't give any other excuse for being in existence at all.

The correspondent may rest assured that all these awful practices will be promptly stopped. He did the proper thing by springing right into the gap. These relics of barbarism must be stamped out. Tennis must be tabooed. The sidesaddle must go. The hoe must be everlastingly banished. It may be a little unpleasant for the girls to stay out of the open air all the time, but they will have it to do. It may seriously injure their health, but that is a small matter if they can win an English smile. It may kill half of them off. What of it? The survivors will be sure of "pale faces and pink-and-white complexions," and it shall be done. Just let the nobility have a little patience and feminine barbarism over here will get a black eye.

A Woman with a record is Mrs. Emma Bull, of Maple, Maine, now ninety years old. She was one of the first settlers on the Aroostook river, and during the first three months did not see even an Indian woman.

ELIZABETH BISLAND.

On the opposite page we present the portrait (recently published by Leslies') of a young woman who has performed a remarkable feat. Without employing any unusual mode of conveyance—without chartering any fast special trains or using any other than the ordinary mode of transportation at the command of every traveler, and being subjected to the same delays as the regular tourist, she circumnavigated the globe in seventy-five days — the best record ever made without employing special facilities. In this remarkable trip the courageous young woman traveled entirely alone, and whiled away her time by preparing a description of what she saw and learned, for publication in the Cosmopolitan upon her return.
Miss Bisland is a native of the South, and made her first appearance as a writer by occasional sketches in the New Orleans newspapers. After attracting some attention by literary ability she went to New York city about three years ago and became a contributor to a number of excellent publications. About three months ago the Cosmopolitan made an arrangement whereby her entire time is to be devoted to that rising star in the literary firmament, and her first work written while circumnavigating the globe, will be eagerly awaited by everybody who longs to see the strange sights of foreign countries as pictured by her pen.

On Women's Rights

Women's Rights came into the forefront during the later part of the 19th Century. Below is an article in response to another article that the writer totally disagreed with. Personally, I agree with the writer of this article but that's my own personal opinions and those of a 21st Century woman. However, it is always good to hear from those who were living at the time their opinions on Women's Rights. Enjoy!

The Husband Question.
[Written for the Journal.] Not long since, my eye fell upon an article in the Ladies' Home Journal, which struck my bump of combativeness, and aroused me to pass all former bounds and express myself on paper. The article mentioned was in answer to the question, "How shall I keep my husband at home?" and the answer in substance was that a woman should give her husband to understand that she knows nothing—therefore nothing must be expected of her; then he will be surprised and pleased should she give any evidence of possessing a little intellect and finally, if well entertained with all the neighborhood gossip and well fed, he will find his home attractive.
Now, I consider such an article [as that as just so much of a hinderance to the progression of woman. Through all the centuries since Adam and Eve, woman has been gradually lifting herself up to the plane upon which she will be recognized as the equal and natural companion of man, and every word which advises a woman to accept a position less than this has, in a measure, a tendency backward toward barbarism.
In this stage of civilization, and more especially in our own land of freedom, where young men and women mingle in society without the restraint of a chaperone and where marriages are founded on mutual attraction and without the services of a "go-between," it is reasonable to suppose that, as a rule, a man chooses one whom he regards as his equal to be his companion through life. Hence I say, the inequalities of married life are not intellectual inequalities, but differences arising from uncontrolled tempers and appetites, or from diversities of tastes.
If this be true, no amount of humbling one's self before one's husband is going to restore the lost congeniality. The man of the nineteenth century is prone to accept his wife's own estimate of herself, and if we give our husbands to understand that we are know-nothings, who can blame them if they treat us as such? If we entertain our husbands with neighborhood gossip and society scandal, can we blame them if they think us capable of nothing higher or better?
Since the beginning of civilization, homes have been held as sacred places. If a man be but one degree above a savage he expects the home influence to be elevating. If he be disappointed in this—if he feels that the sanctuary is desecrated, can he be blamed if he turn from it? Though he may go where a worse influence prevails, it will be where nothing better is expected; where he will not feel that there is a perversion of that which should be holy. Sister Lit.
Source: The Railroad Trainman ©1890

Amelia Bloomer the gal we get the term bloomers from

Last Wednesday I had a post on 19th century fashions and at the tail end there was a comment about bloomers along with four images. Here is a link back to that post. I had not realized that bloomers were actually designed by Mrs. Amelia Bloomer and her name has been attached to what we've used for years. This had me wondering about this woman, who she was and why she designed the outfits that she did. First misunderstanding she did not invent the outfit but Libby Miller from New England did in 1851. Amelia stopped wearing it in 1859. She was the author and editor of a lady's magazine called "LILY" which talked about women's rights and fashion. I have not found a copy of the magazine online but her husband wrote that a full copy of the editions were at the Albany, NY library.

Wikipedia gives a short overview of her life. Here's the link to that post.

But the real gem came in finding this book Life and Writings of Amelia Bloomer This book was published the year after her passing by her husband Dexter Bloomer. I have not read the entire book but what I have read is really touching as he writes about a woman he loved and their lives together and his encouragement to her to begin her writing, political life.

In this book are also excerpts from her letters and when she was out visiting various areas of the country she'd write descriptions of the areas. For example on page 291 she describes Colorado. She was huge advocate for the suffrage and temperance movements. Her husband even includes a brief conversation they had when he attempted to give her a glass of wine at their wedding reception.