Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: River Susan Schmidt papers
Dates: circa 1960s-2010
Collection Number: 2011-02
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 2.5 linear feet (2 cartons)
Repository:
GLBT Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94103
Abstract: River Schmidt (1959 October 23-2010 September 8) was a lesbian activist, artist, herbalist, and union electrician. Schmidt
grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio and later attended Kent State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science
in Nursing in 1984. After working as a nurse for six years, Schmidt joined an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
apprenticeship program and became a union electrician. Schmidt was active in lesbian feminist communities in Ohio and the
broader Midwest from the 1980s through the 1990s. In 1997, Schmidt moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lived until
her death in 2010. Photographs; high school yearbooks; drawings, handwritten notes; a few personal journals; and ephemera
document Schmidt’s childhood, her work life, and participation in Michigan Women Music Festivals, Ohio women’s land collectives,
and anti-racism workshops for whites. Official records, financial statements, and personal notes document Schmidt’s domestic
partnerships and experiences of cancer. Photographs and a DVD record her memorial service.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright to material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission
to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist.
[Identification of item]. River Susan Schmidt papers. Collection Number: 2011-02. GLBT Historical Society
Gift of Ann Valliant on May 10, 2011.
Scope and Content of Collection
River Schmidt (1959 October 23-2010 September 8) was a lesbian activist, artist, herbalist, and union electrician. Schmidt
grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio and later attended Kent State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science
in Nursing in 1984. After working as a nurse for six years, Schmidt joined an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
apprenticeship program and became a union electrician. Schmidt was active in lesbian feminist communities in Ohio and the
broader Midwest from the 1980s through the 1990s. In 1997, Schmidt moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lived until
her death in 2010. Photographs; high school yearbooks; drawings, handwritten notes; a few personal journals; and ephemera
document Schmidt’s childhood, her work life, and participation in Michigan Women Music Festivals, Ohio women’s land collectives,
and anti-racism workshops for whites. Official records, financial statements, and personal notes document Schmidt’s domestic
partnerships and experiences of cancer. Photographs and a DVD record her memorial service.