The Women’s Room Project: AC Female Profile Questionnaire, 2021
The Women’s Room History Project recovers and highlights the stories of women who, at one time, resided in Aurora County, South Dakota. This new collection of stories will help showcase women’s contributions to life in Aurora County, and therefore, create a more accurate, inclusive, and representative history of the area.
For examples of how to provide details, review the sample profiles assembled in the section, The Women, especially the Character Profile portion. Complete information is not required, just provide what you can. Given enough detail, I might be able to find more facts through my resources.
In doing your research, you might find this Family Group Sheetuseful for recording facts about birth, death, spouses and children. Obituaries are a good place to start collecting the data. Two good sources for family relations and census records are familytree.com and ancestry.com. Forms can be returned handwritten or entered electronically (preferred) and sent as attachments via email.
Return project to: Ruth Page Jones, rpjhistories@gmail.com, 262-366-3803
or mail to: Ruth Jones, % Plankinton Preservation Society, Inc., P.O. Box 367, Plankinton, South Dakota 57368
Enjoy! I’m sure you’ll learn many interesting things about your female ancestors.
Questionnaire
Name (First, middle, birth last name, married name 1, married name 2…)
Other names used (nicknames and alternate spellings):
Significant Dates & Locations:
| Birthdate and City/State/Country: |
| Death date and City/State/Country: |
| Cause of death (if known) |
| Burial Location (Cemetery and City): |
Marriages:
Spouse 1
| Name: | |
| Marriage Date and City/State/Country: | |
| Birthdate and City/State/Country: | |
| Death date and City/State/Country |
Spouse 2
| Name: | |
| Marriage Date and City/State/Country: | |
| Birthdate and City/State/Country: | |
| Death date and City/State/Country |
Note if any of these marriages were dissolved via divorce
Include information on any other spouses as well.
Spouses Occupations. Provide information on each spouse’s military and work background and any significant leadership roles in the community.
Homesteading: If subject or spouse homesteaded in Aurora County, identify who and list township and section number. Search by name and county at glorecords.blm.gov/search. This site uses township numbers, not names. See translation table at the end of this form.
Parents Names and Ethnicity: What was the ethnic heritage of her parents? If living in the country several generations, use Yankee, Euro-American, etc.
Example: Patrick Michael Kelly-Irish, Bertha Jane Benet-Austrian and French
Siblings: Note if step-siblings. For married sisters, provide married name. If name is gender-neutral, identify gender.
Example for Mary Peters with one stepbrother and two married sisters: Stepbrother William Anderson, John Peters, Bertha Smith, Kerry(male), Alicia, Katherine Kelly.
Locations: Note where she lived and when. Start with birth city and year and include any known locations and year of move into that location. If the subject lived on a farm, try to list the township. You will find more information about townships at the end of the document.
Example: Germany (1856), Mississippi (1870), Chicago (1871), Likely Gales Twp (1885), Gales Twp (1887), White Lake (1924).
Roles/Talent: list her roles and any talents or interests
Examples: Wife, mother, stepmother, church volunteer, homemaker, farmwife, community volunteer, great cook, artist, musician, good neighbor, sewer, crafter, etc.
Education: List any known schools, even primary, that she attended, and degrees earned
Work Experience:
Examples: taught xx in xx school, professional nurse, store clerk for xx, business owner of xx business, household helper.
Church, Clubs and Organizations: List any activities and memberships. Also note any leadership positions. Provide dates, if known.
Physical Appearance: height, body size, any distinguishing features
Children:
| Number of children: |
| Birth year of oldest child: |
| Birth year of youngest child: |
Names of children in birth order and their spouses. Example: John Smith m. Elizabeth Anderson. Note if any child died before adulthood.
Family Connections/Occupations: Here’s an opportunity to provide information about her family connections, parents, siblings, etc. and what they did in Aurora County. Write about any extended relationships in the area, both her and her husband’s family. Note if any relatives still remain in the area.
Character Profile: Write a few sentences that characterizes the individual (maximum 200-220 words). Who were they as a person? What was most important to them in their lives? At what age did they immigrate or move to Aurora County? Were there any significant events in their lives that might have influenced who they were and what they did? How did they interact with community? How did the community see them? How did their children and grandchildren see them? Sometimes this information is included in the obituary. Sometimes you might have to guess, for example: “Like many other women of her era, she would have seen her main role as homemaker and mother.” Or “As the mother of ten, and a farmer’s wife, her life would have centered around her home, the farm, and her family. In addition, as a member of xx church, she would have found solace in her religious beliefs.”
What Else (optional)? If this woman were alive today, what questions would you ask?
Objects: List any items that she may have used that the family still cherishes. We may possibly request a photo of some objects for later display.
Sources: List documents where information was found. Also, note any oral histories.
Missing Information: identify information that is incomplete, if not already noted in above sections.
Attachments: List any other items included such as obituary and copies of news articles
Date of Submission:
Name and Contact Information of Submitter:
_________________________________________________
Aurora County Cities and Townships: Township and Range Numbers
| R66W | R65W | R64W | R63W | ||
| T105 N | Patten | Pleasant Valley | Bristol | Belford | |
| T 104 N | Lake | Cooper | Firesteel | Palatine | |
| T 103 N | White Lake | Eureka | Plankinton | Hopper | |
| T 102 N | Gales | Crystal Lake | Pleasant Lake | Dudley | |
| T 101 N | Washington | Center | Truro | Aurora |
| T 101 N | R63W | Aurora | |||
| T 105 N | R63W | Belford | |||
| T 105 N | R64W | Bristol | |||
| T 101 N | R65W | Center | |||
| T 104 N | R65W | Cooper | |||
| T 102 N | R65W | Crystal Lake | |||
| T 102 N | R63W | Dudley | |||
| T 103 N | R65W | Eureka | |||
| T 104 N | R64W | Firesteel | |||
| T 102 N | R66W | Gales | |||
| T 103 N | R63W | Hopper | |||
| T 104 N | R66W | Lake | |||
| T 104 N | R63W | Palatine | |||
| T 105 N | R66W | Patten | |||
| T 103 N | R64W | Plankinton | |||
| T 102 N | R64W | Pleasant Lake | |||
| T 105 N | R65W | Pleasant Valley | |||
| T 101 N | R64W | Truro | |||
| T 101 N | R66W | Washington | |||
| T 103 N | R66W | White Lake | |||
| City | Plankinton | ||||
| City | White Lake | ||||
| City | Stickney |
This information will be used to compile two-page profile sheet for the Women’s Room collection. The story will be published on-line and added to the Women’s Room exhibit at the Sweep-VanDyke Railroad Museum & Cultural Center, Plankinton, South Dakota.
RPJ Histories - Ruth Page Jones 