| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Sherrill Lynn Redmon |
| Known For | Feminist scholarship and archival leadership |
| Hometown | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Profession | Archivist, feminist scholar, historian |
| Major Institution | Smith College |
| Key Role | Director of the Sophia Smith Collection |
| Director Years | 1993–2012 |
| Former Spouse | Mitch McConnell |
| Marriage Period | Public sources commonly place it from 1968 to 1980 |
| Children | Three daughters |
| Key Achievement | Expanded attention toward diverse and underrepresented women’s histories |
| Net Worth | Not publicly verified |
Note: Several personal details, including Redmon’s exact birth information and current private life, are not consistently documented through primary public sources. They should not be presented as confirmed without reliable evidence.
Who Is Sherrill Redmon?
Sherrill Redmon built her professional reputation in women’s history.
She became director of Smith College’s Sophia Smith Collection. The position placed her within one of America’s important archives for women’s historical materials.
Smith College records describe a 2013 celebration honoring Redmon’s work. The event specifically recognized her service as director from 1993 through 2012.
Her career matters because archives influence historical memory.
Archivists decide what records receive attention and preservation. That work can affect which communities future researchers are able to study.
A Legacy Built Around Historical Memory
Redmon’s most important public legacy is connected with preservation.
Her work helped strengthen the historical record of women’s activism. This included attention toward voices sometimes marginalized within traditional archives.
That approach gave her career a lasting historical significance.
Smith College later described the Sophia Smith Collection as a home for extensive women’s history materials. Its digital collections continue documenting organizations, activists, and social movements.
Sherrill Redmon’s Career at Smith College
Redmon became director of the Sophia Smith Collection in 1993.
She remained in the role until 2012.
During those years, the collection continued developing its materials on women’s lives, activism, social movements, and political history. Smith College’s own retrospective materials later honored her leadership.
Why the Sophia Smith Collection Matters
The collection preserves primary historical materials.
These include papers, audiovisual records, organizational documents, and other sources connected with women’s history.
Its value lies in preserving original evidence.
Researchers can examine records rather than relying only on later summaries.
Smith’s archival programs also support oral-history collections. These projects preserve personal experiences that might otherwise disappear from the written historical record.
An Overlooked Part of Her Legacy: Oral History
One of the strongest angles in Redmon’s career involves oral history.
This work focused on recording people’s experiences directly.
The Voices of Feminism Oral History Project documented diverse women’s activism across the United States. Archive descriptions show that the project covered organizers, artists, writers, civil-rights advocates, reproductive-justice leaders, and other activists.
This matters because written archives often favor powerful institutions.
Oral history can preserve experiences from people whose stories received less official documentation.
Working Within a Wider Feminist Historical Network
Smith College materials connect Redmon with major women’s-history initiatives.
She also appeared in events involving prominent activists and scholars. A 2007 Smith College conference program lists Redmon introducing projects and presentations related to women’s history.
A later Smith College story described her role, alongside oral historian Joyce Follet, in developing interviews and relationships with feminist activists whose experiences became part of archival history.
This provides an important perspective on Redmon.
Her work was not primarily about personal celebrity.
It centered on helping ensure that other people’s histories survived.
Sherrill Redmon and Mitch McConnell
Redmon was previously married to American politician Mitch McConnell.
Their marriage remains part of her public biography.
However, it does not define her full professional career.
Public biographical sources commonly identify the marriage as occurring from 1968 until their divorce in 1980. They had three daughters together.
A 2017 oral-history interview housed by the University of Houston Libraries specifically includes a section on Redmon’s personal history and marriage to McConnell. The archive identifies Redmon herself as the interview subject.
Family Details
Redmon has generally maintained a relatively private personal profile.
Her three daughters have occasionally appeared in public discussions because of their father’s political career. However, Redmon’s family life itself is not widely documented through detailed primary sources.
For that reason, responsible biographies should avoid unsupported claims about:
- Her current relationships.
- Her daily private life.
- Her finances.
- Her health.
- Her exact current residence.
Privacy should not be filled with speculation.
Education and Intellectual Development
Publicly available biographical information identifies Redmon as an academic and historian.
However, detailed educational timelines are not consistently documented through strong primary institutional sources available online.
This is an important distinction.
Many celebrity biography websites repeat the same educational claims without showing original records.
A fact-based biography should therefore separate widely repeated information from independently verified institutional information.
What is clearly documented is her later professional standing within Smith College’s archival community.
Key Contributions and Achievements
Sherrill Redmon’s career can be understood through several lasting contributions.
Her Professional Legacy Includes
- Leading the Sophia Smith Collection from 1993 to 2012.
- Supporting the preservation of women’s historical materials.
- Participating in women’s oral-history initiatives.
- Helping connect archives with feminist activism.
- Supporting broader representation within historical collections.
- Contributing to conversations about whose stories deserve preservation.
Smith College formally marked her career with An Activist Archives, a 2013 celebration honoring her years of leadership. The event included Gloria Steinem, Loretta Ross, Alison Bechdel, and other prominent figures.
That recognition reflects the professional network surrounding her archival work.
Sherrill Redmon’s Net Worth and Private Life
Sherrill Redmon’s personal net worth is not publicly verified.
Reliable financial records are not available for public confirmation.
Any website offering a precise estimate should therefore be treated cautiously.
The same applies to claims about her present residence or lifestyle.
Redmon’s professional achievements are much better documented than her private finances.
That difference is significant.
A person’s historical contribution does not require a speculative net-worth figure.
Why Sherrill Redmon’s Story Still Matters
Sherrill Redmon’s story offers a useful lesson about historical visibility.
Some people become famous because they appear in history.
Others influence history by preserving it.
Redmon’s strongest documented legacy belongs to the second category.
Her work at Smith College helped support archives and oral histories that preserve women’s experiences for future generations. Those records allow researchers to study activism, identity, social movements, and personal history through primary sources.
Her biography is therefore larger than one former marriage.
It is a story about archives, feminism, memory, and historical preservation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long did Sherrill Redmon lead the Sophia Smith Collection?
Sherrill Redmon served as director of Smith College’s Sophia Smith Collection from 1993 until 2012. Smith College later held a celebration honoring her leadership and contributions to the collection. Her nearly two decades in the position represent the most clearly documented part of her professional public career.
What is Sherrill Redmon known for?
Redmon is known for her work as an archivist and feminist scholar. She is especially associated with the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Her career also connects with efforts to preserve oral histories and documents relating to women’s activism and social movements.
Was Sherrill Redmon married to Mitch McConnell?
Yes. Sherrill Redmon was previously married to Mitch McConnell. Their relationship is part of the public historical record, and Redmon later discussed aspects of her personal history in an oral-history interview preserved by the University of Houston Libraries.
How many children does Sherrill Redmon have?
Public biographical sources generally report that Sherrill Redmon and Mitch McConnell had three daughters. Beyond that basic family information, detailed private family matters should be treated carefully unless supported by reliable public sources.
What is Sherrill Redmon’s net worth?
There is no reliable, publicly verified figure for Sherrill Redmon’s personal net worth. Websites publishing precise estimates often fail to provide financial documentation. Her archival and academic contributions are considerably better documented than her private financial information.
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