Delia C. Kenyon

(1858–1945) Delia graduated from Rochester Business School, moved to Mendon, NY where she initially took a job as a secretary and bookkeeper at a local mill. She remained in the milling business and ultimately advanced to form a partnership with Roscoe and Samuel Tomkinson. The firm of Tomkinson, Kenyon and Tomkinson (TK&T) leased a mill on North Main Street. Although the mill had its difficulties (it burned down in 1901 and the inside had to be rebuilt), by the First World War, TK&T was exporting flour to France.

In addition to her flourishing business, Kenyon was involved in a variety of community activities. She was a long-term member of the Honeoye Falls School Board. She helped to establish the Mendon Public Library and served as the president of its governing board.

Delia's commitment to women’s rights is evidenced in the role she played in the Fortnightly Club, circa Feb. 19, 1913. The club, a women’s group established with the purpose of the advancement of women in Honeoye Falls, was formed over one hundred years ago and remains in existence. Delia was instrumental in organizing the Club, and acted as its President.

By1914 both the New York State Grange and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union had endorsed the cause of women’s suffrage. A glance at the program for March 31, 1915, a year in which Delia served as President, shows the club’s concern for women’s issues. “The Benefits of Equal Suffrage” was discussed, and women also spoke and heard about “Clara Barton and the Red Cross,” (Barton being a known suffragist) the “Growth of Temperance,” and “The Grange.” The program concluded with a “Roll Call of Women Reformers.”