February 20, 1919: From the Diary of Martha Barksdale

One of the first women students to enroll at the College of William and Mary, Martha Barksdale kept a journal during the first year of co-education. Her first entry for the school year was dated November 26, 1918 and a later entry was dated February 6, 1919. Below is her entry from February 20, 1919.

"I had an engagement with Rieves to go to the movies, but we couldn't go until the second show so decided to stay on the sofa and chat. Oh! you chats."


"Miss Tupper came in with the news that I might ask Rieves to take me to Janet's turning out party. I did and he agreed to take me."

--From the diary of Martha Barksdale available in the Special Collections Research Center.











For additional information about the first women students at the College of William and Mary see: When Mary Entered with her Brother William: Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945 by Laura F. Parrish; "The Petticoat Invasion": Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945; The Martha Barksdale Papers; and the Women at the College of William and Mary page on the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.