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- Charlotte Burroughs Ray
Charlotte Burroughs Ray (1813–1891) Charlotte was a dedicated suffragist and church woman. She wholeheartedly dedicated her life to advocating on behalf of a woman's right to vote. Her mission was one that was firmly rooted in Christian theology. The archive is limited in its ability to fully capture the breadth of her contributions to Black women and their liberation. Her faith was of great importance to her and served as a prime motivator to her activism. Charlotte was a member of the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) founded in 1866. Their mission was to secure equal rights---especially the right of suffrage. Her daughter, Charlotte E. Ray, was the first female African-American lawyer in the United States. Cypress Hills Cemetery Possibly Section 2 833 Jamaica Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11208 Kings County Learn More
- Lorinda Moore Bedortha
Lorinda Moore Bedortha (1809–1875) Lorinda was a speaker at the first New York state women's convention held in Congress Hall, Saratoga Springs, NY, and served as the Superintendent of Women's Studies at Oberlin College. Her husband was the proprietor of a water cure and hotel, called Congress Hall. Lorinda was born in Fredonia, NY. Greenridge Cemetery Plot D-006 17 Greenridge Place, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Saratoga County Learn More
- Portia Willis Fitzgerald
Portia Willis Fitzgerald (1886–1970) Portia was said to be educated, beautiful, well connected and daring--making her participation in suffrage publicity events fodder for press coverage. Her father was distinguished for his Civil War record and later became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Her mother was a prominent socialite. The press dubbed her "The Prettiest Suffragette in New York State.” Portia was deeply involved in the New York State suffrage involvement from 1911 to 1917. In 1911, she and five other suffragists (including Harriet May Mills of Syracuse, President of the New York State Women’s Suffrage League) conducted a fourteen county tour of the state to organize local suffrage clubs as branches of the state’s organization. Portia was the youngest of the group. In the following years she extended her lecture tour to New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Massachusetts. In addition to her lectures, she participated in other highly visible events. She worked with the New York State Suffrage Association to organize an aviation rally and parade in Hempstead, New York. Nearly 200 women and eight men participated. She encouraged the young participants to demonstrate their courage by taking a ride in a bi-plane piloted by a female suffrage aviator, Ruth Law. In 1914, she drove an elephant carrying a Suffrage Plank at the head of a parade leading up to the Republican Convention in Chicago, IL. That same year, she was the Grand Marshal of the Women’s Peace Parade, which was a World War I anti-war protest. After the passage of the 19th Amendment, Portia continued to demonstrate her commitment to civic engagement. She was an advocate for the League of Nations as a member of the Women's Pro-League Council. She helped to found and manage the Greater New York branch of the League of Nations Association. She chaired the United Nations Round Table from 1950-53, where she served with Eleanor Roosevelt. Portia's name was entered into New York State's suffrage honor roll in 1931. Woodlawn Cemetery Lot W 5162, Section 65 (Poplar) 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10470 Bronx County Learn More
- Fannie Ella Daisy Allen Story
Fannie Ella Daisy Allen Story (1858–1932) Fannie served in many women's organizations: President of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs, President of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs, Vice President of the Washington Headquarters Association, a member of the Society of Colonial Dames of the State of New York, President of the Woman's Republican Club, and served as the Daughters of the American Revolution's (DAR) Ninth President General from 1913–1917. During her DAR presidency Fannie inaugurated a movement to organize members of the DAR for war work, advocating for universal military training and other progressive warm measures. As President of the State Federation of Women's Clubs in 1910, she sat on the Cooperating Suffrage Committee with suffrage supporters from many other organizations. Additionally, while Fannie presided over the Woman's Republican Club, the club declared for women's suffrage. *courtesy alexanderstreet.com Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum Section M01, Sub Section NO, Site 28 280-284 Secor Road, Hartsdale, NY 10530-1201 Westchester County Learn More
- Anna Bancroft Sayre
Anna Bancroft Sayre (1855–1924) Anna spent her life in West Bloomfield, New York. She was the wife of a local physician who served for the Union Army during the Civil War. Anna was a member of the Home Missionary and the Honeoye Aid Societies. While Anna's exact roles are unknown, it is well documented that the Richmond area was actively supporting the causes of abolition, temperance and women's rights. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Woodlawn Cemetery Section 5, Lot 118 130 North Pearl Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424 Ontario County Learn More
- Susan Fiske Rumsey
Susan Fiske Rumsey (1857–1941) Susan's close friend, Carrie Chapman Catt, was a frequent guest at Susan's house on Buffalo's "Millionaire Row." Susan presided over many women's suffrage meetings at her house. In 1908 the National American Woman Suffrage Association held it's annual convention in Buffalo, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first Woman's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls. She was an active member of the local suffrage group that organized that meeting. In 1909 Susan spoke on behalf of the Western New York Federation of Women's Clubs at a hearing on woman suffrage before the New York state legislature in Albany. In 1913 Susan was elected a Director of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. In November 1915 she was elected an officer of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party, which organized the 1917 referendum campaign that eventually led to New York women gaining the vote. Forest Lawn Cemetery Section X, Lot 1, Space 19 1411 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209 Erie County Learn More
- Eunice Newton Foote
Eunice Newton Foote (1819–1888) Seneca Falls residents Eunice Newton Foote and her husband (Elisha) were close friends of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and were both signed the declaration of sentiments (she was #5 on the list). Eunice was on the editorial committee that prepared the published proceedings. Eunice was a scientist who published an early experiment on greenhouse gasses, now being recognized as pre-dating the famous experiment by John Tyndall. Source, Wikipedia. Green-Wood Cemetery Sec 34, Lot 8379 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Kings County Learn More
- Anna Babbitt Sidman
Anna Babbitt Sidman (1877–1956) Anna was an educator and an active member of the Gorham Presbyterian Church. Along with her mother, Hannah and sister-in-law, Maud, she became involved in local and county efforts to support women. Anna was a member of the Ontario County Political Equity Club. This organization of men and women discussed local issues as well as women's rights. From 1919-1920, Anna is listed as a member of the Ontario County League of Women Voters. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Gorham Cemetery Route 245, Gorham, NY 14561 Ontario County Learn More
- Harriet Pratt
Harriet Pratt (1853–1938) Harriet was an educator and active in civic affairs in Manchester and the surrounding area. She was a member of the Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, and a lead member of the Shortsville Political Equity Club (established in 1915). They hosted the well-attended Ontario County Political Association Convention. While her exact contributions were not documented, it appears that Harriet dedicated herself to suffrage and serving her community. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Manchester Village Cemetery 64 South Main Street, Manchester, NY 14504 Ontario County Learn More
- Margaret Maude Fish
Margaret Maude Fish (1887–1953) Maude was a member of the Ontario County Political Equity Club. She addressed the need for women to be enfranchised at local meetings of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Grange and others. In 1917, she was named a captain in the push for votes for women in the town of Seneca. During World War I, Maude signed on with the YMCA and was stationed in France and the British Isles working in canteens for the troops. In later years, she resided in Manhattan and was an executive secretary at the Museum of Natural History. Maude's life included a wide variety of experiences. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Little Church Cemetery 4948 Little Church Road, Stanley, NY 14561 Ontario County Learn More
- Katharine Parker Howard Notman
Katharine Parker Howard Notman (1859–1946) Katharine was appointed 11th campaign district chairman in 1913, working under the direction of Carrie Chapman Catt. The counties in her district included Rensselaer, Saratoga, Washington, Warren, and Essex. At a Saratoga County Woman Suffrage Party convention in May 1917, held in Saratoga Spring, Mrs. Notman spoke at the luncheon. She stated that every high-profile accomplishment by a woman helped the suffrage cause. She also stated "there are plenty of things men aren't doing for us to do; ordinary womanly things which are just as important to the nation as imitating what men are doing." *courtesy alexanderstreet.com Green-Wood Cemetery Section 93, Lot 6217 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Kings County Learn More
- Caroline A. Bassett
Caroline A. Bassett (1882–1926) Caroline attended several of the National Women's Rights Conventions in the 1850s. She signed a petition to urge voting against Leslie Russell, a New York State Attorney General—who opposed women's rights and whose recommendation was blocking women’s rights legislation in New York State. He was defeated. Caroline served as Michigan's state superintendent of the Women's Temperance Union for three years. Frances Willard, later president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, spoke of the problem in a 1874 speech known as “Everybody’s War:” “There is a war about this in America, a war of mothers and daughters, sisters, and wives.” Frances described how a man goes to a bar and “loiters away his time” and “fritters away his earnings” and then goes home, “to the house where he is best loved…he inflicts atrocities which imagination cannot picture and no tongue dare describe.” As Anthony put it in 1899, “the only hope” for Prohibition was, “putting the ballot into the hands of women.” In that way, Prohibition and women’s suffrage went hand in hand, with the latter actually happening when the 19th Amendment was ratified seven months after Prohibition went into effect on August 18, 1920. In addition to her Temperance work, Caroline trained as a teacher at Albany Normal School. Later she became the second woman to be an ordained minister in the Free Baptist Church and ministered in West Fall, NY, near East Aurora. Bio by Mary Ellen Capineri. Pine Hill Cemetery Plot C-29 Cemetery Hill Road, Gowanda, NY 14070 Erie County Learn More
- Alonzo Barton Cornell
Alonzo Barton Cornell (1832–1904) Alonzo was elected governor of New York State in 1879. In his first message to the legislature, he spoke on the value of women as school officers, and on February 12, 1880, he signed a bill that secured women's right to vote in all school matters, and also made women eligible to serve as school officers. The following day, Lucy Brand of Rochester became a registered voter. While women still could not vote in all elections, Alonzo was a key figure in guaranteeing women local voting rights. Sage Chapel at Cornell University 147 Ho Plaza, Ithaca, NY 14850 Tompkins County Learn More
- Mary Thayer Sanford Crossett
Mary Thayer Sanford Crossett (1853–1941) Mary lived much of her life in Rochester, NY where he was an active member of several community and political organizations, often taking on a leadership role. In 1893, she was elected as first vice president of the Political Equality Club of Rochester, working alongside her friend Mary Stafford Anthony who was the organization's secretary. She later took the position of recording secretary for the New York State Suffrage Association, continuing her service for several years. Riverside Cemetery Section L Block 1 Lot 148 2650 Lake Avenue, Rochester, NY 14612 Monroe County Learn More
- Frank E. Cobb
Frank E. Cobb (1858–1941) Married to suffrage activist Francis Gertrude Goodnow, Frank himself became active in women's suffrage. His sister-in-law is also active in women's suffrage, Alice E. Goodnow. Frank owned Cobb Drug Store and was probably influential within the community. All three are buried next to each other in Boughton Hill Cemetery, Victor. If you know more about Frank, you can help us tell his story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Boughton Hill Cemetery Old Ground, Section D, Row 13, Lot 12, Grave 3 1518 NY-444, Victor, NY 14554 Ontario County Learn More
- Lousie Hartshorne Leeds
Lousie Hartshorne Leeds (1867–1923) Louise was a supporter of woman suffrage in N.Y. State. In February 1910, Louise attended a mass meeting in Albany put on by the New York Suffrage Association and the Equal Franchise Society. Lawmakers and prominent officials were invited to the meeting to hear arguments for woman suffrage. Louise was noted as having gone to Albany to call on lawmakers and to speak to representatives from her district regarding supporting woman suffrage. Louise was listed as serving as chairman of finance for the Empire State Committee, a suffrage campaign committee organized in November 1913 and composed of representatives from several active N.Y. societies, including the State Suffrage Association, Woman Suffrage Party of New York City, and the Equal Franchise Society. Louise was in attendance at a March 1916 ball of the New York State Suffrage Party, having taken a box for the ball at Madison Square Garden. She was also a member of the League for Political Education, founded in November 1894 with the purpose of promoting good citizenship, social justice, and general intelligence. In 1919, it is noted that the league had 4,000 members, including 700 public school teachers, and that lectures were attended mainly by women. *courtesy alexanderstreet.com Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Section 85 540 N Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591 Westchester County Learn More
- Rhoda J. Palmer
Rhoda J. Palmer (1816–1919) The only person who signed the Declaration of Sentiments who lived long enough to vote in 1918, Rhoda lived in a progressive household. Her father was an anti-slavery activist. She remembered “slaves coming to our home and then they would be sent on to another abolitionist, and so on, until they reached Lake Ontario.” She also recalled hearing a speech by the famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth. Rhoda, along with her father, was in attendance at the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls in July of 1848. She was one of the signers of the Declaration of Sentiments. New York State enacted a women’s suffrage law before passage of the Federal Amendment which granted women the vote. Because of the New York law, Rhoda Palmer realized a long-held dream and voted in November, 1918, at the age of 102. Quaker Cemetery Nine Foot Road, Waterloo, NY 13165 Seneca County Learn More
- Grace Campbell
Grace Campbell (1883–1943) As part of her advocacy for women's suffrage, Grace held membership in the Northeastern Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, an umbrella organization for fifty-five black women's clubs across the region. The federation supported anti-lynching advocacy, the work of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), child welfare, and sent $20 per month to help support Harriet Tubman and her old folks' home in Auburn, NY. The Federation formally adopted a woman suffrage resolution and sought membership in the National American Woman Suffrage Association. NAWSA denied the request for fear of losing the support of southern women. Grace often spoke at these kinds of meetings and at other political gatherings. Grace, a socialist, is most well-known for her campaigns for the New York State Assembly in 1919 and 1920, as she became the first woman of color to run for a New York state-level public office. Grace cofounded the 21st Assembly branch of the Socialist Party, and became one of the three first African American members. Fresh Pond Crematory 61-40 Mount Olivet Crescent, Middle Village, NY 11379 Queens County Learn More
- Mary Catherine Seymour Howell
Mary Catherine Seymour Howell (1844–1913) Mary was a brilliant orator that traveled with Susan B. Anthony and wrote the bill that later became the 19th Amendment. She was appointed in 1891, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, to represent that body in the National Council of Women of the United States in Washington, D.C. Mary Catherine Howell and Anthony made a tour of New York state in 1894 and presented the state constitutional convention with a massive suffrage petition. Mount Morris (City) Cemetery Sand Hill Road, Mount Morris, NY 14510 Livingston County Learn More
- Reverend Samuel J. May
Reverend Samuel J. May (1797–1871) Due to his close friendship with William Lloyd Garrison, Rev. Samuel became an active member of the abolitionist movement, helping to establish the New England Anti-Slavery Society, the American Anti-Slavery Society, and the New England Non-Resistance Society. In 1845, Samuel became the pastor of the Unitarian Church of the Messiah in Syracuse, NY, continuing to fight against the Fugitive Slave Act while aiding escaped enslaved people along the Underground Railroad. Samuel was also an advocate for women's rights and suffrage. Two years before the first womans rights convention, the Reverend preached a sermon entitled, "The Rights and Condition of Women," which supported equality for women in all aspects of life, including the right to vote. His sermon was later published as the Woman's Rights Tract number one in Syracuse by Lathrop's Print in 1845. In 1869, Samuel attended the founding meeting of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, held in Saratoga, NY. When asked to assume a role as an officer of the new organization he declined, believing that those positions should be held only by women. Oakwood Cemetery Section 17, Plot 1 940 Comstock Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13210 Onondaga County Learn More
















