Leaving Her Mark: Notable Women of Rockland County

The year 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing many American women the right to vote in local and national elections.

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The amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, ending almost a century of protest. It is a seminal event in women's history that has had long-lasting effects on our political and social landscape.

This VIRTUAL EXHIBITION created in 2020 highlights 20 remarkable women, from the 18th century through the 21st century, whose achievements have left their mark on Rockland. The exhibition is based on a prior project from 2000, which highlighted the contributions of Rockland’s unique and diversely talented women in fields ranging from suffrage to medicine.

Hundreds of women were worthy of inclusion in the exhibition for their remarkable accomplishments. Over the coming weeks, we will highlight sixteen (most, but not all, from the original 2000 exhibition) as a sampling of what Rockland’s women have achieved over the past three centuries.

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Whether they championed a cause or are fighting to make a difference, the women featured here have left their mark on the social history of our county. When your read their stories, look for the obstacles they faced—and conquered. We welcome your comments, questions, and, most of all, suggestions of Rockland women you believe should be included. Email us at info@rocklandhistory.org!

To view the entire exhibition, click here. Or click on the links at right to view entries for individual women.

Mollie Sneden (1709–1810)

Jane Colden (1724-1766)

Cynthia Moore Hesdra (1808-1879)

Virginia Meriwether Davies (1862-1949)

Mary Mowbray-Clarke (1874-1962)

Caroline Lexow Babcock (1882-1980)

Alexandra Tolstoy (1884-1979)

Helen Hayes MacArthur (1900-1993)

Isabelle Keating Savell (1905-1988)

Belle Mayer Zeck (1919-2006)

Martha MacGuffie (1924-2011)

Susan Gitt Gordon (1924–2016)

Jacqueline Jones Holland (1925–2007)

Frances Powell Pratt

Georgine Hyde (1925-2015)

Stella Marrs (1927-2020)

Kathleen Lukens (1931-1998)

Arlene Clinkscale

Harriet Cornell

Ileana Eckert