As we end Women’s History Month 2026, I’ve been focusing on not only my female ancestors, but the women involved in various genealogical organizations. One of my questions has been the role of women in the early days of the National Genealogical Society (NGS). Many early genealogy societies were founded by white men and excluded women. I was pleasantly surprised that NGS included women from the very beginning. Women were founding members of NGS and one woman was the first editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ).[1]
Yes, the NGSQ’s first editor was a woman (as well as
the second editor). And although she only edited the inaugural issue, her
contribution to NGS and other genealogical organizations was a priority and
focus of her life.
Lillian Adelaide Norton (1860-1945)
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| "Valuable Historical Research Work is Aim of National Genealogical Society," The Washington (District of Columbia) Times, 5 Sept. 1914, p. 8, cols. 1-3; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/: 2 April 2026). |
Who was that first NGSQ editor? She was Lillian Adelaide Norton. Born in 1860 in Massachusetts, Lillian was no doubt interested in genealogy judging from her list of genealogically related memberships. She was also known for something that seems remarkable considering her place in time. She was the “highest paid woman employee of the Federal Government.” In 1901 she was appointed superintendent of postal finance in the post office department. The Wauwatosa News (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) article announced her appointment and pay. Curiously, it assumed that eventually a man would replace Lillian but a look at the US Census shows that Lillian continued to work for the post office through 1930, though possibly at a different position.
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| "Her Salary The Highest," Wauwatosa (Wisconsin) News, 30 Nov. 1901, p. 3, col. 3; digital images, Newspaper Archive (https://newspaperarchive.com/: 2 April 2026). |
NGS Beginnings
NGS was founded on 24 April 1903, by “six individuals [who] met
to discuss a plan: Dr. Joseph G. B. Bulloch, Newton L. and Gertrude Collamer,
Alfred Barbour Dent, Eugenia Washington Moncure, and Ruth M. Griswold Pealer.”[2]
One of the earliest decisions was to add a periodical to the NGS offerings to
members. According to a 1906 The Washington Herald newspaper article,
the new periodical was planned for a December launch and was to be eventually a
monthly publication.
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| "Plans Genealogical Paper ," The Washington (District of Columbia) Herald, 11 Nov. 1906, p. 6, col. 2; digital images, Newspaper Archive (https://newspaperarchive.com/: 2 April 2026). |
This newspaper article reports other activities of the new
society including welcoming two new members, Miss Isabel Fraser Johnstone and
Miss Lillian Adelaide Norton.
What Did that First Issue Include?
Despite the initial December launch date, that first issue of
the NGSQ did not appear until April 1912. The nine-page periodical
included genealogies, heraldry, and a question and answers section. On the
first page of the new periodical is a list of NGS Officers including the
inaugural editor, Miss Lillian Adelaide Norton.
After the NGSQ
Genealogists trace lives from birth to death. So, as I
continued to learn about Lillian, I wanted to see what I could find about the
end of her life. Her 1945 obituary was published in The Evening Star (Washington,
District of Columbia) under the headline, “Miss Lillian Norton, District
Resident for 67 years, Dies at 85.”
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| "Miss Lillian Norton, District Resident for 67 Years, Dies at 85," The Evening Star (District of Columbia) Times, 27 August 1945, p. 10, col. 5; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/: 2 April 2026). |
Her life’s work is detailed in this obit along with her
membership in “patriotic organizations”
including her charter membership in Mary Washington Chapter 504 of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Colonists,
the Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America, the Daughters of 1812,
the Huguenot Society, the Dames of the Loyal Legion, the Columbia Historical
Society, the Eastern Star, and the National Geographic Society. The paragraph
of her membership affiliations ends with the statement, “She was also a
genealogist.”
There is no mention of NGS in the obituary, but we know that
she was an active member in the decades after she joined. Yes, that one single
issue of NGSQ, was the end of Lillian’s editorship, however, she did
hold other roles at NGS including corresponding secretary, treasurer,
councilor, and vice president. She was elected to honorary membership in 1937.[3]
Lillian helped NGS in a number of ways including editing
that founding issue of the NGSQ. Her leadership led to other women who
took that editorship of the publication over the next one hundred years
including today’s editors, Diane MacLean Boumenot, CG, and Mary Kircher Roddy,
CG, CGG.
To read the first issue and other archived issues of the NGSQ,
see the NGS website at https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/ngsq/ngsq_archives/. NGS
members have access to the complete NGSQ
archive.
[1]
NGS was founded by white men and women. NGS did have a history of exclusion
based on race. More on this can be found in the online article, Our Journey
from Exclusion to Inclusion on the NGS website: https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/towards-a-fully-inclusive-genealogy-community/.
[2]
Wilcox, Shirley Langdon, The National Genealogical Society: A Look At Its
First 100 Years (2003). Available at https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/wp-content/uploads/NGS-History/history_of_ngs_4.0.pdf
[3] National
Genealogical Society Quarterly 100th Anniversary Commemorative
Brochure (2012), pg. 3.
