Domestic Economy Sample Book, 1902
Title
Domestic Economy Sample Book, 1902
Description
Seam Sampler and Description, 1902
This “First Seam Sampler” comes from a sampler book created by Edla J. Aylesworth during her first or second year (1900-1902) as a student in Bradley’s Lower Academy. The sampler book demonstrates Edla’s developing techniques with various stitches as well as basting, hemming, gathering, darning, patching, and button-holing. The page on the left displays Edla’s sample and the page on the right contains her description of the materials she used and how she did the work. Edla pursued two more years in BPI’s Higher Academy as part of the “Literature Group” and earned an Academic Certificate in 1904.
BPI promised to train girls and women to be good housekeepers. There is no denying the gendered expectations of the Institute's curriculum. Women pursuing studies in domestic economy at Bradley would have the “opportunity to gain knowledge and skill in the regular work of the house” and this included “marketing, cooking, and such care of the house as to make it healthful, attractive, and beautiful,” according to a June 1897 advertisement. For parents in Peoria and its surrounding rural communities, Bradley offered a sensible education for their daughters.
There’s more to the story, as Nina Collins explains in her book, An Industrious and Useful Life: The History of Home Economics at Bradley University. From the beginning, there was always a double, even subversive, agenda at work in the FCS curriculum. Studying sewing and food at BPI also meant studying “manly” subjects such as chemistry, geometry, and sanitation. Also, BPI opened the door for more women to enter higher education as students and teachers
On Sundays, Dr. William A Aylesworth drove his daughter Edla to Bradley from their home in Hannah City and he returned for her on Fridays. They traveled the fifteen miles by horse and buggy. Whether William or Edla thought much about how respectable (or rebellious) BPI’s course offerings might be for a young woman living in west central Illinois we cannot know. We do know that Edla pursued higher education at BPI at a time when such options were limited for women and when BPI’s own president Dr. William Harper warned of the dangers of hiring too many female faculty. We also know that Edla completed her teaching degree at Illinois State Normal University in Normal and, for several years, she taught in nearby Rome and Bartonville.
Marrying Emil Schimpff likely meant the end of Ms. Aylesworth’s teaching career. Still, she had all the liberties of a well-rounded education and benefited from the experiences Lydia Moss Bradley had envisioned for women in the Peoria area.
Photo by Ching Zedric.
This “First Seam Sampler” comes from a sampler book created by Edla J. Aylesworth during her first or second year (1900-1902) as a student in Bradley’s Lower Academy. The sampler book demonstrates Edla’s developing techniques with various stitches as well as basting, hemming, gathering, darning, patching, and button-holing. The page on the left displays Edla’s sample and the page on the right contains her description of the materials she used and how she did the work. Edla pursued two more years in BPI’s Higher Academy as part of the “Literature Group” and earned an Academic Certificate in 1904.
BPI promised to train girls and women to be good housekeepers. There is no denying the gendered expectations of the Institute's curriculum. Women pursuing studies in domestic economy at Bradley would have the “opportunity to gain knowledge and skill in the regular work of the house” and this included “marketing, cooking, and such care of the house as to make it healthful, attractive, and beautiful,” according to a June 1897 advertisement. For parents in Peoria and its surrounding rural communities, Bradley offered a sensible education for their daughters.
There’s more to the story, as Nina Collins explains in her book, An Industrious and Useful Life: The History of Home Economics at Bradley University. From the beginning, there was always a double, even subversive, agenda at work in the FCS curriculum. Studying sewing and food at BPI also meant studying “manly” subjects such as chemistry, geometry, and sanitation. Also, BPI opened the door for more women to enter higher education as students and teachers
On Sundays, Dr. William A Aylesworth drove his daughter Edla to Bradley from their home in Hannah City and he returned for her on Fridays. They traveled the fifteen miles by horse and buggy. Whether William or Edla thought much about how respectable (or rebellious) BPI’s course offerings might be for a young woman living in west central Illinois we cannot know. We do know that Edla pursued higher education at BPI at a time when such options were limited for women and when BPI’s own president Dr. William Harper warned of the dangers of hiring too many female faculty. We also know that Edla completed her teaching degree at Illinois State Normal University in Normal and, for several years, she taught in nearby Rome and Bartonville.
Marrying Emil Schimpff likely meant the end of Ms. Aylesworth’s teaching career. Still, she had all the liberties of a well-rounded education and benefited from the experiences Lydia Moss Bradley had envisioned for women in the Peoria area.
Photo by Ching Zedric.
Creator
Edla J. Aylesworth (Schimpff)
Subject
Domestic Science
Rights
For official publication permission or to request high resolution images, contact Special Collections at specialcollections@bradley.edu or (309)677-2822.
Citation
Edla J. Aylesworth (Schimpff), “Domestic Economy Sample Book, 1902,” Virginius H. Chase Special Collections Center, accessed May 8, 2024, https://bradleyspecialcollections.omeka.net/items/show/80.