Collections

Eunice Baird Whittlesey was born in Yorkville, New York. She married Joseph I. Whittlesey on August 30, 1947, and had one daughter, Anne Whittlesey Donlan. Mrs. Whittlesey graduated from the University at Albany (then known as the New York State College for Teachers) in 1944. Mrs. Whittlesey began her professional life as an English, Speech and Drama teacher in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has also held several prominent positions in the New York State and national Republican parties.

The records of the League of Women Voters of Albany County (LWVAC), include material produced by the LWVAC as well as material that was produced by the League of Women Voters of New York State and the League of Women Voters of the United States. The most comprehensive series in the collection is the Administrative Files. There are meeting minutes, annual reports, and Board of Directors lists from 1940-2001. A large portion of the LWVAC collection relates to the two main purposes of the organization: voter service and "study and action." Records relating to voter service include pamphlets with information about candidates and citizen voting rights published by the LWVAC and material used to increase voter participation. Records related to "study and action" include material used by the LWVAC to inform citizens about public policy issues locally, statewide, and nationally. A strength of the LWVAC collection is the amount of material related to various public policy issues and how they affected the local community.

The Business and Professional Women's Club of Albany, New York, (BPW) was founded in 1934 with 22 charter members as a chapter of the Business and Professional Women's Clubs of New York State, Inc. (founded in 1919) and a member of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. The objectives of the club, according to its by-laws, were "To elevate the standards for women in business and in the professions; To promote the interests of business and professional women; To bring about a spirit of cooperation among business and professional women of the United States; [and] To extend opportunities to business and professional women through education along lines of industrial, scientific, and vocational activities."