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Julia Boyer Reinstein

Julia Boyer Reinstein (November 3, 1906 – July 18, 1998) was an American teacher and historian who grew up in western New York and began her career teaching in Deadwood, South Dakota. After more than a decade of teaching, she became a founder of the Erie County Historical Federation and the first historian of Cheektowaga, New York. Committed to preserving the history of the area and educating citizens about their heritage, she and her husband were instrumental in donating properties for the establishment of a nature preserve, several libraries and to higher education. She was a subject of an anthropological study evaluating gender fluidity and the nature of being public about one's sexuality in the 1990s.

Julia Boyer Reinstein
Erie County Historical Federation president, 1966
Born
Julia Agnes Boyer

(1906-11-03)November 3, 1906
DiedJuly 18, 1998(1998-07-18) (aged 91)
Cheektowaga, New York
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMrs. Victor Reinstein
Occupation(s)teacher, historian
Years active1928–1992
Known forphilanthropy

Early life edit

Julia Agnes Boyer was born on November 3, 1906, in Castile, New York[1][2] to Julia (née Smith)[3][4][5][6] and Lee Boyer.[7] Boyer's father, was an engineer who worked with Western Union Telegraph Company and then on various power and light projects throughout the Great Plains including Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, and in Indian Territory, before becoming the general manager of the Consolidated Power and Light Company in the Black Hills of South Dakota.[8] When Boyer was six weeks old, her mother left New York to join her father who was working on an engineering job in Wolseley, Saskatchewan. Her parents divorced when she was about 1+12-years old, and her mother took her back to Castile, where she found work as a school teacher.[9][10] Her mother's family, were prominent in rural western New York, where her grandfather, Frederick H. Smith worked as a cattleman, lawyer and banker.[11][3] Her great-aunt and -uncle, Julia A. (née Pickett) and Fred Norris, who helped raise Boyer, were the owners of the newspaper in Warsaw, New York.[5][9]

In 1915, her mother remarried Charles Mason,[4] the owner of a general store in Silver Springs. Boyer remained in Warsaw, living with the Norrises, and visited her mother and step-rather on weekends.[9] Her father was not allowed to make contact with Boyer, per the terms of her parents' divorce, until she turned eighteen. In 1924 Boyer enrolled at Elmira College and began exploring her lesbian feelings. In 1926, her father made contact with her and they met. He was accepting of her lesbianism and the two began an intense relationship to get reacquainted.[12] When she graduated in 1928 with a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate, Boyer moved to Deadwood, South Dakota, to live with her father and step-mother, Sarah Isabel (née Rouch).[13][14]

Arriving in Deadwood, Boyer began accompanying her father on business trips. She developed numerous flirtations with other women and while with her family and intimate circle, she was open about her sexual attraction, she remained very discreet, as was dictated by the times.[15][16] Her father, who often flew in his private plane to inspect the power plants he managed throughout Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota,[15] supported her affairs, and even helped arrange them, as long as she maintained discretion and did not report his own extramarital affairs.[17]

Career edit

With the advent of the Great Depression, Boyer took a job in one of the mining camps near Deadwood and worked there for two years. When she decided to continue her education in Chicago, her father did not want her to leave and used his influence to help her obtain employment in the Deadwood school system.[18] In 1930, she met another teacher and fell in love and for the first time contemplated what a committed lesbian relationship was. They developed a circle of other lesbian couples,[19] and though they did not hide their relationships, they did not discuss them.[20] When Boyer's father died unexpectedly in 1933, she left Deadwood[20] and returned to her mother's family in New York.[21] She obtained a teaching position in the conservative town of Castile bringing Dorothy with her. During the week, she rented rooms in town, but on weekends she and Dorothy shared a suite her mother and step-father had created for them in their home. During their summer breaks, the couple rented an apartment in New York City, to facilitate their taking master's courses at Columbia University.[11][21]

In the early 1940s, Boyer and Dorothy broke up and Julia accepted employment in Buffalo. The circumstances, much different than those she experienced with the comfortable protection of her family, did not allow her to find female companions.[22] Soon after she attained her master's degree in education from Columbia,[23] Boyer married Dr. Victor Reinstein on 28 September 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland,[7] and thereafter used the name Julia Boyer Reinstein, both to avoid being associated with Nazis and to acknowledge that she never truly gave up her lesbian orientation.[24] After teaching in New York state for a decade, Boyer Reinstein worked for a year and a half at the University of Buffalo in the history department.[25] In 1953, she became the first historian of Cheektowaga and was one of the founders of the Erie County Historical Federation, serving as its president. When the Federation was founded there were only seven affiliates, which reached twenty-eight societies during her tenure.[26][27]

Boyer Reinstein was active in multiple endeavors, serving as vice chair of the Cheektowaga Public Library board and as a member of the Erie County Historical Preservation Committee.[25] She was a sought after speaker, and in addition to publishing map books and stories on county history,[25][28][29][30] she and her husband became benefactors for the area. They donated the property for the Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve[27][31] and built the Anna M. Reinstein Library in Cheektowaga.[32] After her husband's death in 1984, Boyer Reinstein resumed her life as a lesbian.[33] In 1990, Boyer Reinstein began a series of donations to her alma mater to enable Elmira College to establish the Department of Women's Studies. An annual symposium in her honor is held by the college to promote scholarship on women.[34] The couple also donated funds to establish the Julia Boyer Reinstein Library in Cheektowaga and the Buffalo History Museum's Julia Boyer Reinstein Center on the museum's campus.[27]

Death and legacy edit

Boyer Reinstein died on July 18, 1998, and her memorial was held four days later in Cheektowaga, New York.[27] Reinstein was the subject of an anthropological study of LGBT life, done by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy written as supplemental research to her Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold (1993) to evaluate the difference between middle-class and upper-class lesbian lives.[35] Kennedy undertook the study to examine the understanding of what it meant to be "out" as a lesbian, women's sexual energy in the period, and the acceptance of her sexuality by her parents.

Due to her family's prominence in their community, and the taboos of talking about intimacy publicly, lesbians in her social class were protected and allowed to live their lives as long as they remained in traditional appearance as dutiful daughters and respected social niceties.[36] Sexuality was seen as a private concern and rumors were gracefully ignored to preserve one's standing in the community.[22]

By examining Boyer Reinstein's life, the complexities of a closeted existence emerged, showing that for women in upper classes, being in the closet was not oppressive, but rather, allowed them the freedom to express themselves as long as their expression was in the private, rather than public sphere.[37]

References edit

Citations edit

Bibliography edit

  • Fisher, Forrest (August 4, 1994). "Spotting deer in majestic velvet". The Sun. Hamburg, New York. p. 20. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • Hogan, Steve; Hudson, Lee (1999). Completely Queer: the Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia (1st Owl Books ed.). New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6031-6.
  • Jakobsen, Janet R.; Kennedy, Elizabeth Lapovsky (2005). "Sex and Freedom". In Bernstein, Elizabeth; Schaffner, Laurie (eds.). Regulating Sex: The Politics of Intimacy and Identity. New York City, New York: Routledge. pp. 247–270. ISBN 978-1-135-93403-3.
  • Kennedy, Elizabeth Lapovsky (1996). ""But we would never talk about it": The Structures of Lesbian Discretion in South Dakota, 1928-1933". In Lewin, Ellen (ed.). Inventing lesbian cultures in America. Boston: Beacon Press. pp. 15–39. ISBN 0-8070-7942-1.
  • Reinstein, Julia Boyer (April 1979). "A Postscript to 'Alaska Calling'" (PDF). Historical Wyoming. XXVI (4). Warsaw, New York: Wyoming County Historian's Office: 99–100. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  • Rey, Jay (July 22, 1998). . Buffalo, New York: The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  • Rupp, Leila J. (1999). A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-Sex Love in America. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73155-1.
  • Wisniewski, John (June 15, 1979). "New Library Called Regional Asset". Syracuse, New York: The Post-Standard. p. 6. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspaperarchive.com.  
  • "1920 United States Census: Silver Spring Village, Wyoming County, New York". FamilySearch. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. 19 January 1920. NARA microfilm series T625, roll 1274. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  • "1930 United States Census: Deadwood, Lawrence County, South Dakota". FamilySearch. Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. 25 April 1930. NARA microfilm series T626, roll 2226. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  • "Antiques Study Group Topic Is Old Homes". Hamburg, New York: The Sun and Erie County Independent. March 7, 1963. p. 7. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Boyer-Reinstein". Deadwood, South Dakota: The Deadwood Pioneer-Times. October 21, 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Cultural Pact". Hamburg, New York: The Sun and Erie County Independent. July 5, 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Death Claims Lee Boyer at Hospital Here". Deadwood, South Dakota: The Weekly Pioneer-Times. July 6, 1933. p. 2. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Degrees Conferred 1942–1943: Teachers College Master of Arts". Catalogue: 1943–1944 and 1944–1945. New York City, New York: Columbia University. 1945. pp. 270–286. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  • . News and Research Communications. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  • "Fred Norris". Warsaw, New York: The Wyoming County Times. May 18, 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  • "Genealogists Plan Workshop this Weekend". Syracuse, New York: The Post-Standard. June 24, 1970. p. 17. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Historical Federation Head Speaker Here". The Sun. Hamburg, New York. October 20, 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • . Elmira College. Elmira, New York. 2015. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  • "Iowa Marriages, 1809–1992: Lee M. Boyer/Sarah Isabel Rouch". FamilySearch. Fairfield, Iowa: Jefferson County Courthouse. 14 September 1911. FHL microfilm #1750233, reference 2:3R89GFT. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  • "United States Social Security Death Index: Julia B Reinstein". FamilySearch. Alexandria, Virginia: U.S. Social Security Administration. 18 July 1998. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  • "Warner Museum & Historical Society". Springville, New York: The Springville Journal. March 20, 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 25 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". Elmira, New York: The Star-Gazette. August 20, 1915. p. 5. Retrieved 24 June 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  

julia, boyer, reinstein, november, 1906, july, 1998, american, teacher, historian, grew, western, york, began, career, teaching, deadwood, south, dakota, after, more, than, decade, teaching, became, founder, erie, county, historical, federation, first, histori. Julia Boyer Reinstein November 3 1906 July 18 1998 was an American teacher and historian who grew up in western New York and began her career teaching in Deadwood South Dakota After more than a decade of teaching she became a founder of the Erie County Historical Federation and the first historian of Cheektowaga New York Committed to preserving the history of the area and educating citizens about their heritage she and her husband were instrumental in donating properties for the establishment of a nature preserve several libraries and to higher education She was a subject of an anthropological study evaluating gender fluidity and the nature of being public about one s sexuality in the 1990s Julia Boyer ReinsteinErie County Historical Federation president 1966BornJulia Agnes Boyer 1906 11 03 November 3 1906Castile New YorkDiedJuly 18 1998 1998 07 18 aged 91 Cheektowaga New YorkNationalityAmericanOther namesMrs Victor ReinsteinOccupation s teacher historianYears active1928 1992Known forphilanthropy Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Death and legacy 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 BibliographyEarly life editJulia Agnes Boyer was born on November 3 1906 in Castile New York 1 2 to Julia nee Smith 3 4 5 6 and Lee Boyer 7 Boyer s father was an engineer who worked with Western Union Telegraph Company and then on various power and light projects throughout the Great Plains including Kansas City and St Louis Missouri and in Indian Territory before becoming the general manager of the Consolidated Power and Light Company in the Black Hills of South Dakota 8 When Boyer was six weeks old her mother left New York to join her father who was working on an engineering job in Wolseley Saskatchewan Her parents divorced when she was about 1 1 2 years old and her mother took her back to Castile where she found work as a school teacher 9 10 Her mother s family were prominent in rural western New York where her grandfather Frederick H Smith worked as a cattleman lawyer and banker 11 3 Her great aunt and uncle Julia A nee Pickett and Fred Norris who helped raise Boyer were the owners of the newspaper in Warsaw New York 5 9 In 1915 her mother remarried Charles Mason 4 the owner of a general store in Silver Springs Boyer remained in Warsaw living with the Norrises and visited her mother and step rather on weekends 9 Her father was not allowed to make contact with Boyer per the terms of her parents divorce until she turned eighteen In 1924 Boyer enrolled at Elmira College and began exploring her lesbian feelings In 1926 her father made contact with her and they met He was accepting of her lesbianism and the two began an intense relationship to get reacquainted 12 When she graduated in 1928 with a bachelor s degree and a teaching certificate Boyer moved to Deadwood South Dakota to live with her father and step mother Sarah Isabel nee Rouch 13 14 Arriving in Deadwood Boyer began accompanying her father on business trips She developed numerous flirtations with other women and while with her family and intimate circle she was open about her sexual attraction she remained very discreet as was dictated by the times 15 16 Her father who often flew in his private plane to inspect the power plants he managed throughout Missouri Nebraska and South Dakota 15 supported her affairs and even helped arrange them as long as she maintained discretion and did not report his own extramarital affairs 17 Career editWith the advent of the Great Depression Boyer took a job in one of the mining camps near Deadwood and worked there for two years When she decided to continue her education in Chicago her father did not want her to leave and used his influence to help her obtain employment in the Deadwood school system 18 In 1930 she met another teacher and fell in love and for the first time contemplated what a committed lesbian relationship was They developed a circle of other lesbian couples 19 and though they did not hide their relationships they did not discuss them 20 When Boyer s father died unexpectedly in 1933 she left Deadwood 20 and returned to her mother s family in New York 21 She obtained a teaching position in the conservative town of Castile bringing Dorothy with her During the week she rented rooms in town but on weekends she and Dorothy shared a suite her mother and step father had created for them in their home During their summer breaks the couple rented an apartment in New York City to facilitate their taking master s courses at Columbia University 11 21 In the early 1940s Boyer and Dorothy broke up and Julia accepted employment in Buffalo The circumstances much different than those she experienced with the comfortable protection of her family did not allow her to find female companions 22 Soon after she attained her master s degree in education from Columbia 23 Boyer married Dr Victor Reinstein on 28 September 1942 in Baltimore Maryland 7 and thereafter used the name Julia Boyer Reinstein both to avoid being associated with Nazis and to acknowledge that she never truly gave up her lesbian orientation 24 After teaching in New York state for a decade Boyer Reinstein worked for a year and a half at the University of Buffalo in the history department 25 In 1953 she became the first historian of Cheektowaga and was one of the founders of the Erie County Historical Federation serving as its president When the Federation was founded there were only seven affiliates which reached twenty eight societies during her tenure 26 27 Boyer Reinstein was active in multiple endeavors serving as vice chair of the Cheektowaga Public Library board and as a member of the Erie County Historical Preservation Committee 25 She was a sought after speaker and in addition to publishing map books and stories on county history 25 28 29 30 she and her husband became benefactors for the area They donated the property for the Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve 27 31 and built the Anna M Reinstein Library in Cheektowaga 32 After her husband s death in 1984 Boyer Reinstein resumed her life as a lesbian 33 In 1990 Boyer Reinstein began a series of donations to her alma mater to enable Elmira College to establish the Department of Women s Studies An annual symposium in her honor is held by the college to promote scholarship on women 34 The couple also donated funds to establish the Julia Boyer Reinstein Library in Cheektowaga and the Buffalo History Museum s Julia Boyer Reinstein Center on the museum s campus 27 Death and legacy editBoyer Reinstein died on July 18 1998 and her memorial was held four days later in Cheektowaga New York 27 Reinstein was the subject of an anthropological study of LGBT life done by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy written as supplemental research to her Boots of Leather Slippers of Gold 1993 to evaluate the difference between middle class and upper class lesbian lives 35 Kennedy undertook the study to examine the understanding of what it meant to be out as a lesbian women s sexual energy in the period and the acceptance of her sexuality by her parents Due to her family s prominence in their community and the taboos of talking about intimacy publicly lesbians in her social class were protected and allowed to live their lives as long as they remained in traditional appearance as dutiful daughters and respected social niceties 36 Sexuality was seen as a private concern and rumors were gracefully ignored to preserve one s standing in the community 22 By examining Boyer Reinstein s life the complexities of a closeted existence emerged showing that for women in upper classes being in the closet was not oppressive but rather allowed them the freedom to express themselves as long as their expression was in the private rather than public sphere 37 References editCitations edit Social Security Death Index 1998 U S Census 1930 p 22B a b Reinstein 1979 p 99 a b The Star Gazette 1915 p 5 a b The Wyoming County Times 1950 p 8 U S Census 1920 p 9B a b The Deadwood Pioneer Times 1942 p 1 The Weekly Pioneer Times 1933 p 2 a b c Kennedy 1996 p 20 Rupp 1999 p 124 a b Jakobsen amp Kennedy 2005 p 257 Kennedy 1996 p 21 Kennedy 1996 pp 21 29 Iowa Marriages 1809 1992 1911 a b Kennedy 1996 p 22 Rupp 1999 p 125 Kennedy 1996 p 26 Kennedy 1996 p 29 Kennedy 1996 pp 30 31 a b Kennedy 1996 p 33 a b Kennedy 1996 p 37 a b Kennedy 1996 p 39 Columbia University Catalogue 1945 p 271 Kennedy 1996 p 199 a b c The Sun 1966 p 3 The Sun and Erie County Independent 1979 p 16 a b c d Rey 1998 The Springville Journal 1958 p 1 The Sun and Erie County Independent 1963 p 7 The Post Standard 1970 p 17 Fisher 1994 p 20 Wisniewski 1979 p 6 Oregon State University 2006 Elmira College 2015 Hogan amp Hudson 1999 p 324 Kennedy 1996 pp 16 33 34 Kennedy 1996 pp 16 17 Bibliography edit Fisher Forrest August 4 1994 Spotting deer in majestic velvet The Sun Hamburg New York p 20 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Hogan Steve Hudson Lee 1999 Completely Queer the Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia 1st Owl Books ed New York Henry Holt ISBN 0 8050 6031 6 Jakobsen Janet R Kennedy Elizabeth Lapovsky 2005 Sex and Freedom In Bernstein Elizabeth Schaffner Laurie eds Regulating Sex The Politics of Intimacy and Identity New York City New York Routledge pp 247 270 ISBN 978 1 135 93403 3 Kennedy Elizabeth Lapovsky 1996 But we would never talk about it The Structures of Lesbian Discretion in South Dakota 1928 1933 In Lewin Ellen ed Inventing lesbian cultures in America Boston Beacon Press pp 15 39 ISBN 0 8070 7942 1 Reinstein Julia Boyer April 1979 A Postscript to Alaska Calling PDF Historical Wyoming XXVI 4 Warsaw New York Wyoming County Historian s Office 99 100 Retrieved 25 June 2017 Rey Jay July 22 1998 Town Bids Farewell to Julia Reinstein Buffalo New York The Buffalo News Archived from the original on 24 June 2017 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Rupp Leila J 1999 A Desired Past A Short History of Same Sex Love in America Chicago Illinois University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0 226 73155 1 Wisniewski John June 15 1979 New Library Called Regional Asset Syracuse New York The Post Standard p 6 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspaperarchive com nbsp 1920 United States Census Silver Spring Village Wyoming County New York FamilySearch Washington D C National Archives and Records Administration 19 January 1920 NARA microfilm series T625 roll 1274 Retrieved 24 June 2017 1930 United States Census Deadwood Lawrence County South Dakota FamilySearch Washington D C National Archives and Records Administration 25 April 1930 NARA microfilm series T626 roll 2226 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Antiques Study Group Topic Is Old Homes Hamburg New York The Sun and Erie County Independent March 7 1963 p 7 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Boyer Reinstein Deadwood South Dakota The Deadwood Pioneer Times October 21 1942 p 1 Retrieved 24 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Cultural Pact Hamburg New York The Sun and Erie County Independent July 5 1979 p 16 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Death Claims Lee Boyer at Hospital Here Deadwood South Dakota The Weekly Pioneer Times July 6 1933 p 2 Retrieved 24 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Degrees Conferred 1942 1943 Teachers College Master of Arts Catalogue 1943 1944 and 1944 1945 New York City New York Columbia University 1945 pp 270 286 Retrieved 25 June 2017 Final Lecture in Horning Series to Examine Life of Julia Boyer Reinstein News and Research Communications Corvallis Oregon Oregon State University April 25 2006 Archived from the original on 25 June 2017 Retrieved 25 June 2017 Fred Norris Warsaw New York The Wyoming County Times May 18 1950 p 8 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Genealogists Plan Workshop this Weekend Syracuse New York The Post Standard June 24 1970 p 17 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Historical Federation Head Speaker Here The Sun Hamburg New York October 20 1966 p 3 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp History and Archives Elmira College Elmira New York 2015 Archived from the original on 25 June 2017 Retrieved 25 June 2017 Iowa Marriages 1809 1992 Lee M Boyer Sarah Isabel Rouch FamilySearch Fairfield Iowa Jefferson County Courthouse 14 September 1911 FHL microfilm 1750233 reference 2 3R89GFT Retrieved 25 June 2017 United States Social Security Death Index Julia B Reinstein FamilySearch Alexandria Virginia U S Social Security Administration 18 July 1998 Retrieved 24 June 2017 Warner Museum amp Historical Society Springville New York The Springville Journal March 20 1958 p 1 Retrieved 25 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp untitled Elmira New York The Star Gazette August 20 1915 p 5 Retrieved 24 June 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Julia Boyer Reinstein amp oldid 1206321664, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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