Vira Boarman Whitehouse
Encyclopedia
Vira Boarman Whitehouse (September 16, 1875 - April 11, 1957) was the owner of the Whitehouse Leather Company, and a suffragette
and early proponent of birth control
.
She attended Newcomb College in New Orleans. She married James Norman de Rapelye Whitehouse (1858–1949), a New York stockbroker, on April 13, 1898. They had one child, Alice Whitehouse Harjes.
She was chairman in 1913 of the publicity council of the Empire State Campaign Committee and in 1916 of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party (NYSWSP). She was a leader in securing suffrage for New York women in November 1917.
In 1918, she became director of the Swiss office of the Committee on Public Information
. She reported her experiences in A Year as a Government Agent (1920).
In 1921 she bought the Buchan-Murphy Manufacturing Company, a leather business, renamed it the Whitehouse Leather Products Company, Inc., and reorganized it with herself as president. She managed the company for eight years, reducing the work week from 48 hours to 44 hours, among other changes.
In 1925 she was elected a member of the Democratic County Committee from Manhattan's 15th Assembly District.
In 1926 she became Chairman of the Independent Women's Committee for Judge Wagner. She sold her leather company before the stock market crash of 1929.
She died at her home in New York City on April 11, 1957.
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
and early proponent of birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
.
Biography
Vira Boarman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 16, 1875, to Robert Boarman and Cornelia Terrell.She attended Newcomb College in New Orleans. She married James Norman de Rapelye Whitehouse (1858–1949), a New York stockbroker, on April 13, 1898. They had one child, Alice Whitehouse Harjes.
She was chairman in 1913 of the publicity council of the Empire State Campaign Committee and in 1916 of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party (NYSWSP). She was a leader in securing suffrage for New York women in November 1917.
In 1918, she became director of the Swiss office of the Committee on Public Information
Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence U.S. public opinion regarding American participation in World War I...
. She reported her experiences in A Year as a Government Agent (1920).
In 1921 she bought the Buchan-Murphy Manufacturing Company, a leather business, renamed it the Whitehouse Leather Products Company, Inc., and reorganized it with herself as president. She managed the company for eight years, reducing the work week from 48 hours to 44 hours, among other changes.
In 1925 she was elected a member of the Democratic County Committee from Manhattan's 15th Assembly District.
In 1926 she became Chairman of the Independent Women's Committee for Judge Wagner. She sold her leather company before the stock market crash of 1929.
She died at her home in New York City on April 11, 1957.