Women’s history came alive at the Webster Public Library

Many thanks to everyone who came out on Thursday afternoon to the Webster Public Library to take part in the Webster Women — Past and Present program organized by the Webster Museum.

About 30 people gathered in the library’s Community Room to listen to six Webster women tell their stories of what was — or is — notable about their lives. I was honored to be included in that outstanding group of women, speaking for around five minutes mostly about how I began my Webster on the Web blog and how it’s become a valued resource in our community.

I was joined by,

• Victoria Woodhull (portrayed by Gwen Hoffman), daughter-in-law of Byron Woodhull, Webster’s first Town Supervisor, who has the distinction of being the first-ever woman to run for president of the United States, in 1872;

• Erva Wright (portrayed by Eileen Brookins), a Monroe County politician whose active role in civic service at the local, county and state levels earned her the title “First Lady of Webster”;

• Esther Dunn (portrayed by Lisa McNamara), long-time teacher and Webster Historian, best known for the book she published in 1971, Webster Through the Years;

• Agnes Semmler (portrayed by Sharon Pratt), a farm wife who raised her family on Shoecraft Rd.; and

• Ginny Nguyen, present-day Town of Webster councilwoman whose father was a South Vietnamese Army officer, and who escaped with her family from Vietnam after the war.

The stories were all fascinating, especially when Victoria Woodhull (Gwen Hoffman) talked about how she advocated for “free love” (which at that time meant the freedom to marry, divorce and bear children without government restrictions) and how she wound up in jail on election day the year she ran for president.

The program was organized to commemorate Women’s History Month, and was a great illustration of how the women of Webster helped shape our town, and continue to do so.

Thank you again to all who attended, and to Sharon Pratt at the Webster Museum for her hard work organizing the event.

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(posted 4/1/2023)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, town of webster, Webster museum, Webster NY, Webster Public Library