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May E. Dexter Henshall (May 1, 1867 – July 30, 1962) was an American educator, clubwoman, and library professional. She was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2016.

Early life

Mary Eliza Dexter was born in Woodland, California, the youngest of four daughters of Thomas Jefferson Dexter and Elizabeth Hills Dexter. Her father moved from Illinois to California as a young man in the Gold Rush of 1849.

Career

May E. Dexter taught school in Woodland as a young woman. She was appointed superintendent of schools in Yolo County in 1906, then elected to the position in 1906 and re-elected without opposition in 1910. In 1914 she lost her bid for a third elected term. As superintendent, she oversaw building projects, raised teacher salaries, lengthened the school year, and worked on expanding library services in Yolo County. In 1915, she brought that experience into her position as school library organizer at the California State Library. She traveled extensively, "from the orange groves of Riverside to the show and below zero weather of Inyo County in one night", visiting schools and libraries throughout rural California, working on building county free libraries. She also taught in the library school at the University of California, Berkeley. She retired in 1937. "A more conscientious official has never held public office in this county," declared Yolo County historian Thomas Jefferson Gregory.

Henshall spoke often at conferences and published papers in professional journals, and active on the national level in the American Library Association. She contributed a detailed chapter on the history of Yolo County schools for the county history published in 1913. She was a charter member and president of Yolo County's chapter of Native Daughters of the Golden West. In 1914 she served on a committee of Yolo women responsible for providing a restroom at the California Building of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Personal life

Mary Eliza Dexter married John Alfred Henshall, an English-born newspaper editor, in 1910. John Henshall died in 1938. May Dexter Henshall died in 1962, aged 95 years. In 2016, she was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame.

References

1. ^ Gregory, Thomas Jefferson (1913). History of Yolo County, California: With Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men and Women of the County, who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present. Historic Record Company. pp. 140, 222–227. Dexter Henshall.
2. "County Primaries Favor Democrats". Sacramento Union. August 26, 1914. p. 6. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
3. Kurutz, Gary F. (2009). ""It's a Long Trip from Headquarters": An Exhibit Celebrating Early County Library Service in California" (PDF). California State Library Foundation Bulletin. 92: 13.
4. "Some Little Known Stories". capitolmuseum.ca.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
5. ^ "California Library Hall of Fame: May Dexter Henshall - California Library Association". www.cla-net.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
6. "May E. Dexter". Her Hat Was In The Ring. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
7. Dexter, May E. (July 1908). "Medical Examination of Pupils". Western Journal of Education. 13: 459–462.
8. Dexter Henshall, May E. (1918). "Summary of Progress in School Library Service". Handbook and Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, California Library Association: 57–67.
9. "County Librarians' Convention". News Notes of California Libraries. 12: 5. January 1917.
10. Crimmins, Nora; Harron, Julia S.; Henshall, May Dexter; Hope, Josephine A.; Humphrey, Frances R.; Peterson, Mildred Othmer; Ridington, John; Taylor, A. Marjorie; Thompson, Dorothy A. (1931). "This Is Your Affair". Bulletin of the American Library Association. 25 (6): 342–344. ISSN 0364-4049. JSTOR 25687410.
11. Henshall, May Dexter; Campbell, Donald K. (1930). "Publicity Round Table". Bulletin of the American Library Association. 24 (9): 458–463. ISSN 0364-4049. JSTOR 25687273.
12. "Yolo Names Rest Room Committee". Sacramento Union. October 7, 1914. p. 6. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
13. "An Important Social Item". Woodland Daily Democrat. November 26, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Funeral Tomorrow for John A. Henshall". Oakland Tribune. November 25, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• May Dexter Henshall at Find a Grave
• A photograph of the Madera County Free Library, taken by May Dexter Henshall, in the collection of the California State Library.

• 1867 births
• 1962 deaths
• American librarians
• American women librarians
• People from Yolo County, California