Bessie Wilkerson papers

Collection — Folder: 1

Identifier: IWA0320

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Bessie Wilkerson papers date from 1994 and consist of one newspaper clipping.

Dates

Creation: 1994

Creator

Wilkerson, Bessie (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been retained by the donor.

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

Bessie Wilkerson moved to Fort Madison, Iowa, from Des Moines, Iowa, in 1927 and attended high school there. She dropped out of school at the age of sixteen to marry Marshall Wilkerson. They had three sons and six daughters of whom seven lived to adulthood. To help support her family, Wilkerson took in sewing, which she could work on at home while raising her children. All of the surviving children attended college, even though neither Bessie Wilkerson nor her husband ever finished high school. Bessie Wilkerson was nominated for Mother of the Year in 1961.