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Jeanne Bridenstine papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0187

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Scope and Contents

The Jeanne Bridenstine papers date from 1962 to 2014 and measure 2 linear feet. The papers are arranged in three series: Personal, Jasper County Board of Supervisors and Women in politics.

The Personal series (1993-1995) contains one item, Bridenstine's 1993 Christmas letter.

The bulk of the collection consists of the Jasper County Board of Supervisors series (1970-1991) that documents Bridenstine's role as a three-term county supervisor. The series contains materials from Bridenstine's campaigns for office, some administrative minutes and correspondence, records of two court litigation's against the board and unbound scrapbooks of extensive newspaper clippings spanning Bridenstine's terms of office. A bright orange binder contains the journal she kept during 1975 and 1976. As the only women supervisor on the board, Bridenstine received little cooperation initially from the other two board members. Carrying the bright folder and writing entries convinced the others to become more cooperative when they felt their adversarial comments and actions were being documented.

The Women in politics series (1971-1984) contains material pertaining to Bridenstine's involvement in the Democratic party and in women's political caucuses in her community and the state. The series includes general information about the Jasper County Democratic Central Committee, as well as newspaper clippings and delegate records.

Dates

  • Creation: 1962-2014

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Dorothy Jeanne Watson Bridenstine was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1923 to Myron and Alice (Kuehl) Watson. Jeanne Watson married Eugene Bridenstine, a school guidance counselor, in 1945. The couple moved to Newton, Iowa, in 1950. They had five children. Jeanne Bridenstine became active in Iowa politics in 1968 when she joined the Democratic Party in Jasper County, Iowa. Bridenstine was also a member of the Iowa Women's Political Caucus and the Iowa League of Women Voters. In 1972 she was elected chairperson of the Jasper County Democratic Central Committee and retained the position until 1974, when she was elected to a four-year term on the Jasper County Board of Supervisors. After an unsuccessful reelection bid in 1978, Bridenstine served two more terms from 1982 to 1990. She was elected chairperson of the board during her 1972 term. Jeanne Bridenstine passed away in 2019 at the age of 95. [Biographical information found in Bridenstine's obituary as published in the Des Moines Register]

Extent

2.00 Linear Feet

70 Cassettes (AC1627 - AC1664, AC1666-AC1699 in box 5 and Audio Cassette collection.)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

First woman elected chairperson of the Jasper County Democratic Central Committee in 1972.

Method of Acquisition

The papers (donor no. 266) were donated in 1995 and subsequent years by Jeanne Bridenstine.

Author
Jennifer Holden, 1995; Randel W. Lackore, 1996; Laurel Rhame, 2016; Andrew Newell, Meredith Kite, 2024
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)