Women of Cayuga County

Cayuga County Historian's Office

Two mothers and their young children, sitting outside

Ethel & Gordon Ferguson, Kermit & Gracie Rhoads - Image Source

Collection Facts

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Historical Context

Cayuga County, nestled in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York, is named for the Cayuga nation of the Haudenosaunee people. Today, there are just over 75,000 residents in Cayuga County. The largest waves of European immigration were in the late 19th century and came from Italy, Poland, and Ukraine.

In the 19th century, women from prominent families like the Osborne-Wrights and the Sewards helped propel women's suffrage and abolition causes.

Scope of Collection

The General File of photographs in the Cayuga County Historian's Office includes hundreds of posted studio portraits and candid shots, donated to and collected by the office over the decades. This collection includes every woman in that General File of photographs.