P0039 EVA M. VALESH: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society Finding aid prepared by Bonnie Beatson Palmquist Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul MN.

Manuscripts Collection

 Finding aid encoded by Dennis Meissner November 19, 2001Finding aid written inEnglish August 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman. OVERVIEW Minnesota Historical Society Valesh, Eva McDonald, 1866-1956. Eva McDonald Valesh papers. 1891-1983. Microfilm copy and typed extract (69 p.) of a reminiscence (1952, 232 p.) of the life of Eva McDonald Valesh, an early newspaper woman and labor organizer in Minnesota, as well as a few miscellaneous personal papers (1891-1983). 2 folders and 1 microfilm reel. See Detailed Description for shelf locations. BIOGRAPHY OF EVA McDONALD VALESH

Labor activist and journalist Eva McDonald was born September 9, 1866 in Orono, Maine, the daughter of John L. (1836-1911) and Ellen J. (Lane, b.1841) McDonald. The oldest of nine children, she graduated from high school in Minneapolis in 1881. After graduating from a teacher training school (ca. 1887) and not receiving a teaching offer, she began working for the St. Paul Globe and wrote a series exposing the working conditions of women in the Twin Cities under the pen name Eva Gay. This series ran from 1888 to 1889. She also reported on the streetcar strike of 1888.

Valesh soon became involved in the growing labor movement and was a speaker for the Knights of Labor and, later, the National Farmers' Alliance (1890-1891). She continued to write a labor column for the Minneapolis Tribune (ca. 1892-1895) and was also a campaign speaker for William J. Bryan in the Twin Cities during the 1896 presidential election campaign. In 1896 she moved to New York where she was a reporter for the New York Journal from about 1896 to 1899, following which she became a free lance journalist. From 1900 to 1910 she edited the American Federalist in Washington, D.C. and published and edited (1911-1918) American Clubwoman (New York) with her second husband. From 1925 to 1952 she was a proofreader for the New York Times.

Eva married Frank Valesh in 1891, divorced him in 1907, and later married Benjamin F. Cross (ca. 1910-1923). She had a son, Frank Morgan Valesh, about 1892. Eva Valesh died in 1956 in Westport, Connecticut.

For more information see Rhoda Gilman, "Eva McDonald Valesh," in Women of Minnesota: Selected Biographical Essays (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1977), pp. 55-76.

 SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Valesh relates her family life, early newspaper experiences in St. Paul and Minneapolis, especially in exposing working conditions of women in the Twin Cities and the streetcar strike of 1888, her work organizing labor groups, and her experiences as Minnesota's State Lecturer for the National Farmers' Alliance. Non-Minnesota portions discuss Valesh's work as a reporter for the New York Journal and for the American Federalist, as well as experiences working in Washington for labor leader Samuel Gompers. Her personal rememberances of prominent Minnesotans Ignatius Donnelly, James J. Hill, Thomas Lowry, W. J. Murphy, and Archbishop John Ireland are recounted. A typed remembrance (3 p.) of Eva by her sister Blanche McDonald (1957) is also included.

Miscellaneous papers include a copy of her marriage certificate (1891) to Frank Valesh, a photocopy of her wedding announcement, her divorce petition (1906), a copy of her divorce decree (1907), a letter to her daughter-in-law Alice (ca. 1916?), and a review of a play based on her life (1983).

 CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: American newspapers -- Minnesota. American newspapers -- New York. Journalism, Labor -- Minnesota. Labor movements -- Minnesota. Strikes and lockouts -- Street-railroads -- Minnesota. Sweatshops -- Minnesota. Women -- Employment -- Minnesota. Women journalists -- Minnesota. Women journalists -- New York. Labor unions -- Organizing. Persons: Anthony, Susan Brownell, 1820-1906. Barton, Clara, 1821-1912. Donnelly, Ignatius, 1831-1901. Gompers, Samuel, 1850-1924. Hill, James Jerome, 1838-1916. Ireland, John, 1838-1918. Lowry, Thomas, 1843-1909. McDonald, Blanche, 1880-. Murphy, William James, 1859-1918. Organizations: Knights of Labor. National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union. Places: Minnesota -- Politics and government -- 1858-1898. Document Types: Reminiscences. Occupations: Journalists. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Use Restrictions:

Minnesota Historical Society does not own the copyright in the microfilmed reminiscences. See Detailed Description for more information.

 Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Eva McDonald Valesh Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

 Accession Information:

Accession number: 8197; 8283; 14,770

 Processing Information:

Processed by: Bonnie Beatson Palmquist, August 1993

Catalog ID number: 09-00038062

DETAILED DESCRIPTION M575 Reminiscences, 1952. 1 reel positive microfilm. 35mm.

A microfilm copy of a 232-page transcript. The typed extract (69 p.) cataloged as P39 (described below) contains information pertaining to Minnesota. The pages not included in the extracted portion are 51-75, 78-197, 211-222, and 225-232. An index is found on pp. 229-232.

The reminiscences were derived from interviews between Valesh and Wendell H. Link of the Oral History Project of Columbia University. Valesh relates her family life, early newspaper experiences in St. Paul and Minneapolis, her work in organizing labor groups, and her experiences as Minnesota's State Lecturer for the National Farmers' Alliance. Her personal remembrances of such prominent Minnesotans as Ignatius Donnelly, James J. Hill, Thomas Lowry, W. J. Murphy, and Archbishop John Ireland are recounted.

In addition to the Minnesota-related topics contained in the extract, the reminiscences describe her experiences as a reporter in New York, including her discovery of the "Suicide Club" of prostitutes while working for the New York Journal. In describing her experiences for the American Federalist (Wash., D.C.), she relates details of a trip to Havana, including its starving population and the death of Senator Thurston's wife during the trip. Later she relates her experiences working for labor leader Samuel Gompers and her life in Washington.

After her marriage to Benjamin F. Cross, she and her husband published and edited the American Clubwoman for ten years. She describes their coverage of the Diamond Match Trust case. From 1914 to 1918 she was involved with a Christmas war fund for children. Later years found her with Benjamin in upstate New York. She describes their house, their neighbors, and her work helping nurse the sick.

There is very little information on her personal and family life. Very few years are given for the events related in the reminiscences.

USE NOTE: The microfilm, which is copyrighted 1972 by the Trustees of Columbia University, bears the notice that "No part of this manuscript may be published without permission from Columbia University."

 P39 1 Reminiscences, 1952, 1957.

A typed extract (69 p.) from the full (232 p.) reminiscences (1952) of Eva McDonald Valesh, focusing on her Minnesota years, as well as a typed remembrance (3 p., 1957) of Eva by her sister Blanche McDonald.

 Miscellaneous papers, 1891-1983.

A copy of her marriage certificate (1891) to Frank Valesh, a photocopy of her wedding announcement, her divorce petition (1906), a copy of her divorce decree (1907), a letter to her daughter-in-law Alice (ca. 1916?), and a review of a play based on her life (1983), with a note from a friend to her granddaughter Delores.