Author: Elizabeth Cooper Major: History & Anthropology 

My research involves examining and exploring the interaction of spiritualism, race, class, and gender in early twentieth century Fayetteville, Arkansas through the life of Lessie Stringfellow Read. Born in Texas in 1891, Lessie was adopted at a very young age by Henry and Alice Stringfellow. The Stringfellows had lost their son Leslie to disease in the late 1880s, and held nightly spirit-writing sessions with Leslie throughout Lessie’s childhood. In 1911, Lessie and her adoptive parents moved to Fayetteville and set up residence in a house on Washington Street where Alice continued to conduct seances and Lessie reportedly hosted meetings of the local Rosicrucian Society. Lessie was a prominent journalist, editor, and clubwoman who worked for the Fayetteville Daily Democrat, which operates today as the Northwest Arkansas Times. While at the Democrat, Lessie worked under the direction of the paper’s owner Roberta Fulbright, herself an uncommonly influential and vocal figure in Fayetteville during the time period.  Lessie was also heavily involved in the local women’s suffrage movement, the Washington County Historical Society, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, and several other political and community-oriented organizations. Like so many of the female spiritualists of the late nineteenth century, Lessie’s life, publications, and activities challenged social and cultural norms during a time when the structures of race, class, and gender strictly regulated movement and behavior in society. By examining the relationships between the more progressive ideas tied to the spiritualist movement, I hope to gain a clearer picture of how Lessie’s spiritualist background and related ideas influenced her life and subsequently the lives of those around her. My research impacts and contributes to the often underrepresented or understudied fields of women’s history, the history of spiritualism, and Arkansas history. 

My research experience involved a good deal of primary and secondary source reading, as well as consulting resources from the University’s Special Collections and Museum Collections, online newspaper archives, and even census records. Some resources were much more useful than others, and early on I took the advice of looking through reviews, summaries, and tables of contents of secondary sources to see if they would be useful for my research before committing to read an entire book.  

During the course of my research I learned that the major subjects I was researching, particularly spiritualism in Arkansas and women’s history in the state, were so much broader than I initially realized. Many of my sources inspired me to think about other questions or topics that would provide interesting research projects in their own right. I also learned how much I enjoy research that involves working with tangible items from the past. I was fortunate enough to be able to look through the Lessie Stringfellow Read papers in the University’s Special Collections Department and to view a dress Lessie wore that is housed in the University’s Museum Collections. Being able to hold letters, cards, and other personal items helped me to appreciate, understand, and connect to Lessie beyond just reading about her.  

I was also fortunate enough to have Dr. John Treat, the Director of Development for the Honors College, as my research mentor for this project. Dr. Treat helped me to narrow down and focus my research into something manageable and cohesive. He supplied me with numerous secondary sources and also gave me many ideas of where to look for productive primary sources. I will forever be grateful for his continual support and encouragement during the research and writing process!  

My next steps are to continue developing my research and writing skills while deciding what type of graduate studies I would like to pursue. I have a very large list of books I’d like to read, many of which I discovered or read parts of during my research into Lessie’s life. In the meantime, I’ll also be continuing to be a part of the University I love by working as an Administrative Specialist with the Development Research Department.