Schmidt (River Susan) Papers, circa 1960s-2010

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Scope and content:: 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.
Acquisition information:: Gift of Ann Valliant on May 10, 2011.

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: circa 1960s-2010
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: 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.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US