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A women’s history conference will be offered by the Yates County History Center at the Hampton Inn in Penn Yan on June 28 & 29^th.  Speak To The Light: Two Centuries of Women’s History in the Finger Lakes is being offered to commemorate Jemima Wilkinson, the first American woman to found a religion on the 200^th anniversary of her death.

                The conference will offer eight speakers on a variety of topics plus a museum visit and bus tour of historic sites in Yates County.  The keynote speech will be given at the evening banquet by Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, founder and Director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center for Social Justice Dialogue in Fayetteville, NY.  She was the first American woman to receive a PhD in Women’s Studies and has authored several books.  She will speak about her anthology, Women’s Suffrage.  The banquet will be held at the Top of the Lake restaurant in Penn Yan.

                Starting off Friday’s conference will be a sermon by The Public Universal Friend, portrayed by Anita Gaston, with advice to her followers.  Dr. Paul Moyer, author of The Public Universal Friend, will lecture on the life ofJemima Wilkinson.

Born Jemima Wilkinson in 1758, in Cumberland, Rhode Island, she broke with her Quaker faith and took the name Public Universal Friend in 1776.  With the foundation of her new sect, she and her adherents moved into Pennsylvania and established a following.  In 1788 some of her faithful arrived in present day Yates County where they were the first white settlers, building mills along Keuka Outlet.  Establishing an amicable relationship with local Native Americans, taking in runaway slaves and giving leadership roles in her sect to women, the Public Universal Friend predated progressive movements that would later blossom in the Finger Lakes region.

The Public Universal Friend died on July 1, 1819 in her home in the Town of Jerusalem in Yates County.  The Friend is recognized as the first American woman to establish a religious sect.  The Yates County History Center holds the most extensive collection of artifacts and documents in the United States regarding this trail blazing pioneer.  The History Center maintains a permanent exhibit interpreting her life.

During the conference on Friday, Dr. Melissa Grube will speak about Lucretia Mott and the influence of Quaker women on the women’s rights movement.  Dr. Jenny Lloyd will speak about Antoinette Brown, the first ordained female minister in the United States.  The influence of the Haudenosaunee culture on the women’s rights movement will be reviewed by a spokesperson from the Ganondagan State Historic site in Victor, N.Y.  Two speakers from Wayne County N.Y. will lecture- Marjory Allen Perez on the women involved in the Underground Railroad and Peter Evans on the Fox sisters and spiritualism.

Saturday’s schedule includes an open house at the Yates County History Center to view the Public Universal Friend exhibit, lunch and bus tour of historic sites in Yates County.

Registration closes on May 15^th.  Conference fee is $95 which includes three meals plus speakers, museum visit and bus tour.  Call Yates County History Center at (315)536-7318 to register.  A block of rooms has been reserved at a special conference rate at the Hampton Inn.  You must book by May 28^th.

Madison County Historical Society’s Heritage Handicrafts: A Leisure Arts Workshop Series:Art of Theorem Painting on Saturday, June 29 from 10 am- 12 pm.

Artist, Educator, Pamela Vogan Lynch, a professional artist and retired Director of Art for the Oneida City School District will be the instructor.Theorem Painting is an early American decorative technique that dates back to the first half of the 19^th century- a leisure art form that enabled the average non-professional artist to create acceptable art forms for decoration and personal enjoyment. Participants will learn theorem painting techniques that involve using multiple overlay stencils to paint a 3D bird on velvet.

Pamela Vogan Lynch was hired by the Oneida City School District in 1976 and taught art at Oneida Junior High School until 1993, when she then transferred to the high school to teach both Studio and Advanced art classes. She was appointed Director of Art in 1988. During her tenure she served several art organizations at the local, state, and national levels and was recognized as NYS Section 3 Art Educator of the Year. Since retirement, she has devoted much of her time to her own art, participating in various media workshops, and exhibiting her work in galleries throughout the region. She is an active member of the Cazenovia Watercolor Society, and is a Signature member of the Central New York Watercolor Society/Gold Medallion status, and currently serves on the CNYWS Board of Directors. Her community volunteerism includes membership in the Collections Committee of the Madison County Historical Society, trustee of the Oneida City School District Foundation, the United Way of Greater Oneida, and supporting the Oneida Healthcare Auxiliary, and volunteer curator of the Jessie Harp Griffing Memorial Gallery at the Kallet Civic Center.

The workshop will be held at the Madison County Historical Society located at 435 Main Street in Oneida on Saturday, June 29 from 10 am- 12 pm. The cost for the workshop is $35. Theorem materials will be provided. This workshop is for adults and children aged 13 years and up.  Space is limited to 20 participants, so register soon. For more information please contact the Madison County Historical Society at 315-363-4136, or history@mchs1900.org. The Madison County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that operates both a museum and the Mary King Research Library located at 435 Main Street in Oneida.  The society continues to preserve, collect, promote, and exhibit the history of Madison County and its fifteen towns and one city through the development of programs that enhance Madison County’s heritage. The historical society’s headquarters are housed in an 1849 Gothic Revival Villa that is listed on the State and National Registry of Historic Places.

Madison County Historical Society’s Heritage Handicrafts: A Leisure Arts Workshop Series is programming designed to engage and involve Madison County residents in Fine Arts and Craft activities common in the 19^th century, with a focus on making cultural connections to creative pastimes which are still relevant today. Botanical Watercolors is part of a series of five workshops: Pysanka Egg Decoration (offered in March); Botanical Watercolors (offered in May); Adirondack Pack Basket (July 13); and Rag Rug Trivet (August 10).This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.

Art of Theorem Painting Workshop, Saturday, June 29 at theMadison County Historical Society from 10 am - 12 pm. Image courtesy of Jean Hansen.