Finding aid for the Magee Family Photographs

Biography of Elizabeth Magee

Elizabeth Stewart Magee (1889-1972) was born in Des Moines, Iowa William A. and Lizzie Dysart Magee. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1911 and worked as a teacher in Pennsylvania and as a secretary for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Denver, Colorado, and Detroit, Michigan. She was the national secretary for the YWCA in New York, New York in the early 1920s where one of her primary interests was the condition of female industrial workers. She received her master's degree in economics from Columbia University in 1925.

Magee moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1925 and was the executive secretary for the Ohio Consumers League, a position she held until her retirement in 1965. She was active in Ohio's labor movement and forged close ties with state and national labor leaders and government officials. Her 1928 study of unemployment in Ohio and her work on Governor George White's Commission on Unemployment Insurance led to the creation of The Ohio Plan of unemployment compensation. The Ohio Plan's secure funding and larger benefit was influential in the formation of the Social Security Act of 1935.

Magee's work with the Consumers League of Ohio led to a minimum wage law for Ohio women in 1933 and Ohio's ratification of the federal child labor amendment. She also worked on behalf of migrant workers in Ohio. From 1943-1958, Magee served as the general secretary of the National Consumers League and moved its main office to Cleveland during her tenure. Magee died in 1972.

Scope and Content

The Magee Family Photographs, 1880-1960, consist of unidentified photographs of members of the family of Elizabeth Magee of Cleveland, Ohio, the executive secretary of the Consumers League of Ohio. The collection includes 78 black and white and color photographs measuring 8 x 10 inches and smaller; and six color negatives.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 3563 Elizabeth S. Magee Papers.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 52 Magee Family Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Consumers League of Ohio.

Detailed Description of The Collection