Lucy Gearhart papers, approximately 1834-1961

Lucy Gearhart (Mrs. John W.) was a Tacoma, Washington, civic leader involved with the temperance and woman suffrage movements. During the 1950s she took a keen interest in writing about the temperance movement in the West. In particular, Mrs. Gearheart researched and wrote extensively on George Cotterill's (1865-1958) temperance activities and his lengthy career with the International Order of Good Templars. Gearhart was both a friend and admirer of Cotterill, a Seattle Democratic politician and advocate of temperance and prohibition. As an expression of her interest, Gearhart assembled a collection of temperance materials, which included books, original documents, ephemera, songbooks, medals, and even commemorative china. Gearhart also gathered bibliographies on the subject and took extensive notes from published and unpublished sources. She hoped to publish a history, either in the form of articles or a book, but apparently never accomplished this. In 1965 and 1966, she donated her temperance collection and her research notes to the University of Washington Libraries so that other researchers could use them.