USA > Ohio > Women of Ohio; a record of their achievements in the history of the state, Volume IV > Part 5
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Miss Ginther then went to California. When she returned to Akron she became active in the work of the National Council of Catholic Women. She served as president of the Akron Deanery of that organi- zation during a part of 1928, the year 1929 and part of 1930, and during that time she organized the first Catholic study clubs in Akron. She was president of the Akron Deanery Study Club in 1932 and when St. Sebastian's Sanctuary Society was formed Miss Ginther was one of the two who wrote the constitution and named the society. She was also
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diocesan chairman of study clubs and also diocesan chairman of the committee on spiritual activities.
Miss Ginther became a resident of Cleveland in 1930. She was ap- pointed by the headquarters at Washington, D. C., to membership on the national committee of Catholic study clubs and she served as presi- dent of the Cleveland Deanery Study Club in 1932-33, the club later changing the name to a Kempis Study Club. She is also a member of the Christ Child Society and the John Carroll Guild.
CONSTANCE HACKLE GIRARDOT
CONSTANCE HACKLE GIRARDOT, who was one of the organ- izers of the Catholic Woman's League of Toledo and its first secretary, and who has done much other organization work both in Ohio and other states, is the widow of Dr. Adolph Girardot and a daughter of Dr. Joseph and Katherine (O'Connor) Hackle, the former a native of Ger- many and the latter of Rochester, New York. Their family numbered four children, Georgia, Constance, Ernest, deceased, and Amelia.
Mrs. Girardot was born in Toledo and here attended St. Mary's School and the Ursuline Academy, from which she was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree. She also devoted a year to study in the evening classes at St. John's University and was a student in the Toledo Normal School for a year. It was in 1902 that she married Dr. Adolph Girardot and they became the parents of eight children, as fol- lows: Paul, who died in infancy; Katherine; Constance, the wife of Alvin Borer, of Toledo, who is with the Pillsbury Company, and they have two children, Constance and Michael; Eugenia; Lawrence; Norman; and Adolph and Joseph, who have departed this life, one dying at the age of nineteen and the other when twenty-four years of age. Dr. Girardot, who served in the World War, is now deceased.
Aside from rearing her family and managing her home, Mrs. Girardot has devoted much time to societies connected with her church.
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In 1920 she became one of the promoters of the Toledo Catholic Woman's League, of which she was the first secretary, and she also assisted in organzing the Toledo diocesan board of the National Council of Cath- olic Women and was appointed by Bishop Stritch to the position of secretary, which office she continued to fill for ten years and is still a member of the board. In 1916 she was elected a member of the invest- ment board of the Catholic Ladies of Columbia, served for two years and for six years was its secretary, while from 1921 until 1938 she was president and directed the organization work in the four states of Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana, and she introduced the juvenile insur- ance department while in office. Mrs. Girardot also served on the board of the National Fraternal Congress of America and on various committees. She is a communicant of St. Mary's Church of Toledo. She possesses executive ability, keen insight and understanding and has been a force in leading Catholic women in fields of service for the church and for humanity.
AGNES DEATRICK GNEUHS
AGNES DEATRICK GNEUHS, wife of C. Oscar Gneuhs, is closely associated with hospital and church work in Cleveland, where she has spent her entire life. She was born in this city March 14, 1889, her par- ents being Augustus and Margaret (Haag) Deatrick, who were also born in Cleveland and both were of German descent, their respective families settling here many years ago. The girlhood days of Mrs. Gneuhs were largely devoted to the acquirement of her education in the parochial schools of her native city, followed by a course in a business college here. She then took up secretarial work, which she followed up to the time of her marriage in 1908, when she became the wife of C. Oscar Gneuhs of Cleveland. Two sons have been born to them: Robert, who has gained the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery and is now engaged
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in practice in Lakewood, and Arthur, who is a student at Ohio State University.
Mrs. Gneuhs has long been actively interested in the work of the Catholic church and various of its allied organizations. She is now acting as superintendent of sewing in St. John's Hospital Guild and she is also president of St. Luke's Guild. She is filling the position of reservation chairman of the Cleveland Deanery of the National Council of Catholic Women, having acted in this capacity for five years, and she has membership in the Christ Child Society and with the Madams of St. Augustine, while of St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church she is a communicant. Along these lines she directs her activities in addition to her home duties and she is widely known in Cleveland, where her entire life has been passed, her present place of residence being at 1303 Donald Avenue.
IDA COX GREELEY
In those progressive movements which have so largely claimed the attention of broadminded women in the past two or three decades, IDA COX GREELEY has been keenly interested. Women's clubs, the Red Cross, civic affairs, musical activities, literature and moving pictures, as well as church work, have all claimed her attention and profited by her cooperation and her definite plans for improvement. Her life story is thus closely associated with the upbuilding of the Clevland area. She now makes her home at 17218 Clifton Boulevard, in Lakewood, but was born in Cleveland. Her father, Michael Charles Cox, was born in Canada but in his childhood days became a resident of Ohio, where, after reach- ing adult age, he married Mary McGowan, who was born in Ireland but she, too, became a resident of this state in early life.
Rearing their family in Cleveland their daughter Ida here attended the Villa Angelo School and then entered Ursuline Academy, from which she was graduated with valedictorian honors. She afterward pursued
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a course of study in a business college and then took up secretarial work in which she engaged in Cleveland to the time of her marriage in 1906, when she became the wife of Alton Hovey Greeley and entered upon a happy married life that covered twenty-eight years, being ended in the death of Mr. Greeley on the 23rd of February, 1934. They had one son, Robert Cox Greeley, who continues his father's work as president of the Greeley General Warehouse Company.
Mrs. Greeley has always been interested in all progressive move- ments which make for the benefit of the individual and the welfare of society at large. She was the first chairman of Troop 60 of the Boy Scouts and she is very active in the Lakewood Woman's Club, of which she has served as secretary, treasurer and historian, while for ten years she has been a member of its board of directors. She has also been chair- man of its entertainment committee and has taken a helpful part in promoting its dramatic activities. In fact, she is an enthusiast on the subject of the drama and has done effective work in connection with that branch of art. She helped to organize the Lakewood Little Theater and has been a member of its board from the beginning.
For years Mrs. Greeley has been a member of the Woman's City Club, is affiliated with the Federation of Woman's Clubs and is a mem- ber of the Women's Club of Cleveland, in which she has served as chair- man of the entertainment committee for many years. She has member- ship in the League of Women Voters, but maintains an independent attitude in politics. In 1935 she acted as chairman of the Red Cross drive in Lakewood, which was the first one held in sixteen years, and she is still active in Red Cross work.
Mrs. Greeley is a communicant of St. James Roman Catholic Church and she was sent as a representative from the Cleveland Deanery to a meeting to promote clean literature and clean moving pictures. Since 1934 she has been civic cooperation chairman of the Cleveland Deanery of the National Council of Catholic Women. For one year she served as chairman of the Ladies Social Club of St. James Parish and was one of the organizers of the St. James Choral Society, of which she was president in 1939. Of St. James Catholic Church she is an earnest
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worker. Her civic activities have included membership on the mayor's advisory board in relation to playgrounds and recreation. She is also interested in dramatics in connection with that group and she has been a member of committees in charge of public speaking contests. She is a member of the Cleveland Safety Council and the Foreign Affairs Council and there is no movement for the benefit and upbuilding of the city or the improvement of its citizenship that does not elicit her inter- est, while her work along various lines has been very beneficial to the public.
NORA MARIE HANNON
NORA MARIE MURRAY HANNON, residing at 19700 S. Wood- lawn Road in Cleveland, has the qualities of leadership and has thus been active in the work of the Catholic church and various of its kindred societies. She is a native of Michigan, her birth having occurred in Saginaw. She pursued her education in the Sacred Heart Convent in Chicago, Illinois, and also attended Miss Knox School at Knoxville, In- diana. She is a daughter of John W. and Harriet Elizabeth (Rapin) Mur- ray, who like their daughter were born in Saginaw, Michigan, and are now residents of Detroit, where the father is engaged in business.
It was in Detroit, on the 17th of June, 1918, that Nora Marie Mur- ray became the wife of Clarence William Hannon, formerly of Saginaw, and they now have a family of three daughters and a son: William Mur- ray, Nora Marie, Helen Elizabeth and Mary Terese. Mrs. Hannon attends the Gesu Roman Catholic Church and she belongs to the National Council of Catholic Women. She is interested in philanthropic, charitable and welfare work and she has membership in St. Ann's Hospital Society, the Catherine Horstman Home, which is for the aid of girls of the teen age, and assists still other welfare organizations. That she is an earnest and loyal worker is evidenced in the fact that she has been a member of the board of directors of the above mentioned organizations.
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CATHERINE MARTIN HOUCK
Among those who are most active in supporting the Catholic organ- izations and projects in Cleveland is numbered CATHERINE MARTIN HOUCK, living at 2905 W. Fourteenth Street. This is her native city, where she was born November 16, 1875, a daughter of John and Ellen (Foley) Martin. After attending the St. Augustine's Parochial School, she continued her education in the West High School and in the Cleve- land Normal, thus qualifying for the profession of teaching in which she engaged for ten years, being thus connected with the Cleveland schools from 1895 to 1905.
In the last mentioned year Catherine Martin became the wife of William S. Houck of Cleveland and they are now the parents of seven daughters: Louise, who is now Mrs. F. Lambert McGannon of Cleve- land; Eleanor, the wife of John Davin; Agnes, who married Frank J. Foley; Catherine, at home; Henrietta, who is now Sister Mary Wilmarie of the Order of Notre Dame; Genevieve, now Mrs. Dan Cantillon; and Mary Alice, at home. These daughters are all graduates of Notre Dame Academy in Cleveland and Notre Dame College, South Euclid, Ohio.
Mrs. Houck's interests outside of the home have largely had to do with the societies which operate in direct connection with the Catholic church. She is a past president of the Cleveland Deanery of the National Council of Catholic Women; is a member of the Christ Child Society and a member of the board of the Child Guidance Clinic. She is also a mem- ber of the board of trustees of Merrick House. Her interest in activities which affect the general welfare is shown in her membership in the Consumers League, and she is also a past president of the Civic Associa- tion.
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ANNA MeNIFF JOHNSON
ANNA McNIFF JOHNSON, who since 1930 has been a resident of Akron and who through the intervening years has been a participant in the work of various societies sponsored by the Catholic church here, was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1877, a daughter of Patrick McNiff and his wife, Catherine (Peters) McNiff, the latter a native of Germany, while the father was born in Ireland, whence he came to the new world in 1848, settling in Harrisburg. There he reared his family and his daughter, Mrs. Johnson, attended the grade and high schools there, while later she was graduated from the Bloomsburg (Penn.) State Teachers College, with the class of 1896. She then took up the profession of teaching, which she followed in the schools of Lan- caster and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, until the year 1900.
At that time she was married in Harrisburg to M. P. Johnson, also a resident of Pennsylvania's capital city. They have become the parents of nine children. Removing to Akron in 1930, Mrs. Johnson has since been active in the National Council of Catholic Women and from 1931 until 1936 she was chairman of the study clubs of the Akron Deanery. Since that time she has been chairman of the committee on education of the National Council of Catholic Women. She has done much im- portant work along educational lines and has been particularly inter- ested in giving educational opportunities to the negroes. For several years she has served as president of the Akron Deanery Study Club and she is interested in all that makes for intellectual advancement. She has membership in St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church and is a mem- ber of the Altar Society of St. Vincent's Parish.
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HELEN HANTAK KOFRON
HELEN HANTAK KOFRON has devoted a large share of her time and effort to work of the Parents-Teachers Association, especially in connection with the Catholic schools in the diocese of Cleveland, in which city she makes her home, residing at 4215 Wichita Avenue. Mrs. Kofron was born in Cleveland, November 12, 1897, her parents being Frank and Rose (Ledvina) Hantak, who were also born in Cleveland. While spend- ing her girlhood days under the parental roof she attended the public schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and later she attended the Ohio Business College, after which she spent five years as secretary in a Cleveland business office.
The 10th of October, 1917, was the marriage day of Barney F. Kofron and Helen Hantak and they have become parents of four chil- dren, but lost their only son, Bernard. The daughters are Patricia, Adrienne and Jacqueline.
Since 1929 Mrs. Kofron has been active in Parents-Teachers work, serving in the local group of the organization as vice president and for three years as president. She has aided in forming Parents-Teachers Associations in the Catholic schools of this diocese and in 1936-7 was president of the Catholic Parents-Teachers League, of which she had previously been secretary and vice president. During her term as presi- dent of the League the first annual school of instruction for officers and members and for all groups connected therewith was inaugurated. She is a member of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and as life membership in her local group.
Mrs. Kofron is also a member of the National Council of Catholic Women, belongs to the League of Women Voters and has been officially connected with the Civic Association of Cleveland. She is interested n all that leads upward along social, political, intellectual or moral ines.
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LAURA LANG
LAURA LANG, living at Park Lane Villa, has been a resident of Cleveland since 1936 and previous to that time she had devoted eighteen years to teaching in the public schools of Toledo, which is her native city. Spending her girlhood days there, she attended the grades and the high school of Toledo and completed a course in the Toledo Normal in 1908. In that year she began teaching in the schools of her native city and continued her educational work there from 1908 until 1926, her long connection with the schools there indicating how satisfactory was her service, for she had the ability to impart clearly and readily to others the knowledge she had acquired.
After returning from her school work, Miss Purtil, daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Keating) Purtil of Toledo, was married in 1926 to Robert Lang of that city and since 1936 she has made her home in, Cleveland, where she has membership in St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church and is identified with various societies which constitute branches of the church work. She belongs to the National Council of Catholic Women and is a member of the board of the Catherine Horstman Home for Girls. She also belongs to the Christ Child Society and the Charity Hospital Guild and is interested in all agencies which further the church interests or which ameliorate the hard conditions of life for the un- fortunate. She is also a member of the Athena Study Club and has that joy which comes from intellectual stimulus. Her entire life has been passed in Ohio and she has a deep attachment for her native state.
KATHERINE LEFFLER
KATHERINE McSHAFFREY LEFFLER has always resided ir Akron, where she now makes her home at 1051 W. Exchange Street
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She was born in this city April 27, 1892, her parents being John and Mary Elizabeth (Walsh) McShaffery, both of whom were natives of Ireland, whence they crossed the Atlantic to the new world, establishing their home in Akron in the 1860's. Here they reared their family and their daughter Katherine attended the Grace Public School and St. Vincent's Grade and High Schools. She was also a student in the Per- kins Normal School and received a teacher's certificate for elementary school work. She then taught for five and a half years in the Akron Kindergarten School, and proved a very competent instructor.
On the 28th of April, 1917, Katherine McShaffery was married in St. Vincent's Church of Akron, becoming the wife of William Phillip Leffler of Akron, and their family now numbers nine children: Kather- ine Rose, twenty years of age; Frances Anne, aged eighteen; William Phillip, Jr., a youth of seventeen; Mary Louise, sixteen; Joan Marie, fourteen years of age; James Arthur, thirteen, Patricia Ann, eleven; Thomas Richard, nine; and James Thomas, now seven years of age.
Mrs. Leffler's interests outside of her home and family have to do with the church work and with club activities. She is a member of St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church and is the president of the Akron Deanery of the National Council of Catholic Women, in which work she has been active for many years. She belongs to the Catholic Daugh- ters of America and is serving on the Summit County Board of Aid for Dependent Children. She is much interested in church organization work, and she finds keen pleasure in intellectual advancement, so that she now has membership in the Akron Deanery Study Club, the Akron Deanery Poetry Club and the Isabella Study Club, devoting much time to reading, so that she has broad knowledge of the best in literature.
ELIZABETH DEVLIN McNAMEE
ELIZABETH DEVLIN McNAMEE, living at 2225 Coventry Road, Cleveland, was born in the city which is still her home, her parents being John and Anne (McCabe) Devlin. She acquired her education
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in the parochial schools here and also pursued a business course, after which she started out in the world by taking up secretarial work here and in this line of work was engaged up to the time of her marriage.
On the 2nd of August, 1923, Elizabeth Devlin became the wife of Charles J. McNamee of Cleveland. Two children have been born to them, Eileen Marie and Jean Elizabeth. Mrs. McNamee is a communi- cant of St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church and she is identified with various organizations affiliated with the church, including the National Council of Catholic Women. She also belongs to the Christ Child Society and is particularly interested in hospital work and in activities that tend to ameliorate the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate. She is serving on the board of St. Ann's Maternity Hospital, is also a mem- ber of the Charity Hospital Board and belongs to the Social Missions. Her interests thus center in her philanthropic work and her home and she is well known in Cleveland, where she has always lived, and where her circle of friends is an extensive one.
MARGARET CECILIA DOHERTY MULCAHY
MARGARET CECILIA DOHERTY MULCAHY, residing at 96 South Maple Street, in Akron, was born in Belfast, New York, a daughter of Michael and Mary Anne (Miley) Doherty, who were also natives of the state of New York. In the town in which she was born Mrs. Mulcahy began her education. She afterward attended Villa Angelo School of Ursuline Academy in Cleveland, thus completing her studies.
In 1903, in Defiance, Ohio, was celebrated the marriage that made Margaret C. Doherty the wife of Cornelius Mulcahy of Nevada, Ohio, and they have become parents of a daughter, Mary Cecilia. Mrs. Mul- cahy is a member of St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church and was the first vice president of the Altar Society. She has taken quite an active interest in the work of organizations sponsored by the church and is a past president of the Akron Deanery of the National Council of Catholic Women with which she has been identified since it was founded. She is
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a member of the Akron Deanery Study Club and of the Catholic Daugh- ters of America and she is connected with the Federation of Woman's Clubs of Akron and Summit County, of which she has been vice presi- dent. These associations indicate the nature of her interests and the rules which govern her activities and she is especially well known in church circles. Her political allegiance is given to the Democratic party. In addition to her other connections, she has been made an honorary member of Theta Phi Alpha Sorority, of which she was one of the first patronesses.
CATHERINE I. NEVILLE
CATHERINE I. MCINTYRE NEVILLE, living at 1288 Hathaway Avenue, in Cleveland, was born in this city October 16, 1881, her parents being Michael and Catherine (O'Malley) McIntyre, both of whom were natives of Ireland but became residents of Cleveland in early life. While spending her girlhood days under the parental roof, Mrs. Neville attended St. Colman's Parochial School and in Cleveland, on the 22nd of May, 1900, she was married to Richard James Neville, who was cap- tain of a boat sailing on the Great Lakes. By her marriage she became the mother of four children, but three of the number, Smith Anthony, Earl and Coletta Agnes, have departed this life, leaving but one sur- viving daughter, Rita Delores.
Mrs. Neville is a member of St. Colman's Catholic Church and takes an active and helpful interest in the church work and in kindred societies. She first became interested in Court Cleveland of the Catholic Daughters of America and was so enthusiastic over its work and its purposes that in 1931 she became one of the founders of Court Lake- wood of the Catholic Daughters of America. She has a wide acquaint- ance in Cleveland, where she has always made her home, and throughout the years the number of her friends has continuously increased.
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AGNES POWER
AGNES POWER, of Youngstown, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, October 19, 1915, a daughter of John A. and Marie L. (Beckman) Coak- ley. Her father is president of the Automatic Sprinkler Corporation and her mother is quite prominent in connection with Catholic and cul- tural activities of Cleveland. She is mentioned elsewhere in this publica- tion. They make their home in Cleveland, where they are well known.
Mrs. Power was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Noroton, Connecticut, and in Trinity College at Washington, D. C., and in 1935, in St. Ann's Church in Cleveland Heights, she became the bride of John J. Power, Jr., of Worcester, Massachusetts, who is now con- nected with the Automatic Sprinkler Company of Youngstown. After a year spent in Europe Mr. and Mrs. Power established their home in Youngstown. They have two children, John J. Power, III, and Kathleen Marie, and reside at 1329 Fifth Ave., Youngstown.
Mrs. Power has been an active worker for charity and church. She belongs to the Junior League, is a member of the National Council of Catholic Women, is a communicant of St. Edward's Catholic Church, is connected with the Altar and Rosary Society and is a member of Trinity College Alumnae Association.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Women In The Law (Continued from Page 671)
WOMEN OF OHIO
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