ClovernookThe Trader Sisters’ Life Work

From 1995 to 1997, the Clovernook Center made three donations of its records to the Cincinnati History Museum. The collection comprises mostly correspondence, board minutes, financial records, press and promotional materials, and genealogy material for the Trader and Cary families. The collection documents how two women, Georgia and Florence Trader, changed the way blind and visually impaired people live their lives and how society sees them.

Georgia, Effie, and Florence Trader (c. 1880). cincinnati museum center

Georgia Duckworth Trader was born with impaired vision on January 30, 1876. Her sister and lifetime companion, Florence, was born on August 19, 1878. There were two other Trader sisters; the oldest sister and well-known artist, Effie, and the youngest, Louise. All of the sisters were born in Xenia, Ohio.

As a child, Georgia went to Cincinnati several times for eye treatments. In 1885, an operation caused an infection that resulted in her becoming completely blind by the age of eleven. With no suitable education facilities in Cincinnati, Georgia’s mother, Elizabeth, took her to the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind, later named the Ohio State School for the Blind, in Columbus. Unhappy with the conditions at the school, Elizabeth returned to Cincinnati with Georgia. She taught herself how to read and write in the New York Point system, which she then taught to Georgia. Georgia’s family, especially her sister Florence, ensured that Georgia led a normal life. She learned how to roller skate, dance, sew, and play piano and cards. She attended the school in Walnut Hills with Florence; she was the first blind child to attend public school in Cincinnati. Florence and Georgia later graduated from Miss Armstrong’s School in Cincinnati.¹

Inspired by the fact that many blind people did not have access to embossed books, Georgia and Florence approached the Cincinnati Public Library about creating a library for the blind. After proving there was a need, by visiting the four hundred blind people in Hamilton County and observing their conditions, the Cincinnati Public Library decided to provide a room to house books for the blind, but it would not provide funds for books. The Trader sisters raised money, bought the first hundred books, and organized the Cincinnati Library Society for the Blind on March 19, 1901. At the library, in addition to providing books for the blind, Georgia and Florence taught blind people how to read raised type, knit, and sew. The Trader sisters also worked with Cincinnati streetcar companies to provide free tickets to blind people and their guides, which enabled them to reach the library.

Photo of Georgia and Florence Trader (1903). cincinnati museum center

In addition to their work with the Public Library, the Trader sisters worked diligently to help the children of Cincinnati. In 1904, they used their influence to arrange for Dr. Frank Phinney to complete eye examinations on public school children for free. They hoped to prevent blindness caused by treatable eye diseases. They also used their influence to enable blind children to attend public school. Originally taught in a segregated classroom by a Miss Gaddum, they were eventually integrated into the general school population. The Trader sisters also arranged for the transportation of blind children to public school.

Donations for Books (1901–1902). cincinnati museum center

After years of visiting blind people in their homes, the Trader sisters realized that more needed to be done for them outside of education. After leaving school, many blind people were left destitute or committed to infirmaries, because they did not have an opportunity to earn a living. Hoping to bring some relief, the Trader sisters opened Clovernook, an industrial home for the blind, on May 8, 1903. The property was originally built in 1832 for Robert Cary and his nine children, two of whom were the famous poets Alice and Phoebe Cary. William A. Procter, a son of the Procter & Gamble cofounder William Procter, purchased the twenty-six-acre property, which included an eight-room...