I am in the process of writing captions for an exhibit of photographs from the Village of Spencerport & Town of Ogden, and have had little luck in finding more than a small amount of information on a photo depicting the Spencerport "Broom Brigade." The photo depicts a group of 24 young women in fancy hats and uniforms, carrying brooms and formally posed. The back of the photo gives the date as 1883, and lists the names of the women. I have found some information on the formation and performance of "Broom Brigades" throughout the northeast in the 1880s and 1890s, but have yet to find a definitive source identifying the purpose of the brigades or whether they were affiliated with a larger organization such as the G.A.R. or W.C.T.U. Can anyone out there enlighten me?