OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Margaret Leonice (Needham) Still
Title: Margaret Leonice (Needham) Still Collection
Dates: 1850s-1890s
Quantity: 2 digital images
Location: As of 2008, original photographs are in the possession of Bonnie (Watts) Cook. Inquiries can be sent to John & Betty Hartman. Digital images are stored electronically by Greene Connections administrator, Candice Buchanan (63 W. Franklin St.; Waynesburg, PA 15370), and are available to view online at www.greeneconnections.com.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MARGARET LEONICE (NEEDHAM) STILL

Margaret Leonice (Needham) Still was born 8 September 1838 in Fenner, Madison County, New York, the eldest child of George William Needham and his wife, Risa Loretta Titus.

Margaret attended Waynesburg College in Greene County, Pennsylvania, as the result of a friendship between her father and Rev. J. P. Weethee, President of Waynesburg College 1856-1858. Her graduation from that institution in 1857 was historic. With classmates Laura Weethee and Lydia Weethee, first cousins and nieces of Rev. J. P. Weethee, Margaret completed an education equal to that of the male students and received a Bachelor’s Degree equal to theirs as well. Margaret was just 19 years old when she became the first woman in the state of Pennsylvania to receive such an honor.

While she was a student at Waynesburg College, Margaret was courted by a local boy and former classmate named Leroy Woods Cleavenger. Their relationship has been preserved in a journal that he kept and she later gained possession of and passed down through her family. It is not possible to know their intentions for certain, but Leroy’s early death in October 1859 prevented a future together. An inscription, believed to have been written by Margaret, on the page following the last of Leroy’s journal entries, certainly conveys feelings of a deep relationship.

Some years later, in July 1865 at Artesia Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, Margaret was united in marriage with Henry Still, a lawyer practicing in Leavenworth, Kansas. Together they raised one daughter, Cricket. Margaret’s husband gave instruction to her natural talent as an artist. She did sketching and painting in both water color and oil.

Margaret passed away 22 January 1912 at Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. She was laid to rest at Angel Hill Cemetery in Havre de Grace.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Margaret Leonice (Needham) Still Collection photographs were passed from Margaret Leonice (Needham) Still [1838-1912] to her daughter, Cricket (Still) Tubbs [1866-1955] to her daughter Bonnie (Tubbs) Watts [1906-1985] to her daughter Bonnie (Watts) Cook who owned, and with researchers John & Betty Hartman, shared the photographs with the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Photo Archives Project in 2006.

The collection was initially arranged by family; however, additional photos continue to be added to the end of the collection as they are shared for scanning. For best results, use the HART Collection Index to look for specific individuals or subjects.

RELATED MATERIALS

See WAYN – Waynesburg University Museum Collection.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Accession Information
Digital images were made in 2006 for the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Photo Archives Project, but the original photographs in this collection remain in the possession of Bonnie (Watts) Cook, as of 2008.

Processing Information
Processed by Candice Buchanan, 2008. Indexed by Candice Buchanan, 2008.

Preferred Citation
See each photograph for specific citation.

Restrictions
Photographs may be reproduced and used for family and genealogical/historical purposes. The only request made in exchange for this service is that the appropriate citation information be included with any photo reproduction, this includes both digital and physical presentations. See each photograph for specific citation.

INDEX

This Collection has been indexed. The index provides detailed listings for all known photograph subjects. Unidentified photographs are not included in the index.