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- Lucretia Dillingham Holbrook
Lucretia Dillingham Holbrook (1847–1929) Lucretia was an active member of the Phelps Equality Club on Executive Committee, and a delegate representing the Phelps Political Club at the county convention. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Resthaven Cemetery (AKA Phelps Village Cemetery) 10 Resthaven Drive, Phelps, NY 14532 Ontario Learn More
- Madame C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove)
Madame C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove) (1867–1919) Madame C. J. Walker was her business name. Her given name was Sarah Breedlove. She was the first African American Women millionaire. Early in the 20th century, she demonstrated political equality because she showed that African-American women could start their own business and be successful. She created her own line of hair care products and founded a school for training women in her hair care products. She was later a political activist, and donated funds to African American Schools. Ultimately, Madame C. J. employed 40,000 African American women and men in the US, Central America, and the Caribbean. She also founded the National Negro Cosmetics Manufacturers Association in 1917. In 1918 she was several times the keynote speaker at fundraisers for the National Association of Colored People. Madame C.J.'s business grew rapidly, with sales exceeding $500,000 in the final year of her life. As her wealth increased, so did her philanthropic and political outreach. She contributed to the YMCA, covered tuition for six African American students at Tuskegee Institute, and became active in the anti-lynching movement, donating $5,000 to the NAACP’s efforts. Just prior to dying of kidney failure, Sarah Breedlove/Madame C. J. revised her will, bequeathing two-thirds of future net profits to charity, as well as thousands of dollars to various individuals and schools. Woodlawn Cemetery Butternut, Section 141 South, S 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10470 Bronx County Learn More
- Alice Teeter Knapp
Alice Teeter Knapp (1870–1918) Alice served as the vice-president of the Woman Suffrage Party of Chemung County during the 1917 campaign. She was the founder of the Women's League for Good Government and served as president of the Elmira Women's Civic League. Both she and her husband, District Attorney Wilmot E. Knapp, were involved in the temperance movement. During the 1918 campaign to turn Elmira dry, Alice's efforts to organize the city's women in favor of the measure proved instrumental in the law's passage. At the time of her unexpected death in 1918, she was being considered for Police Commissioner. Woodlawn Cemetery 1200 Walnut Street, Elmira, NY 14905 Chemung County Learn More
- Nathan James Milliken
Nathan James Milliken (1821–1902) Nathan was a newspaper editor and publisher. Born in New Hampshire, he began learning the newspaper business after limited schooling. The interfacing of news with politics fascinated him. Nathan moved to the Finger Lakes area where he began a few newspapers. His last and best known was the Ontario County Times which was viewed as an anti-slavery publication. Nathan first published this paper in January, 1852. Nathan was also involved in local politics. He served as the postmaster of Canandaigua and was elected Ontario County Clerk. Woodlawn Cemetery Section 5, Lot 237 130 North Pearl Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424 Ontario County Learn More
- Elizabeth Burrill Curtis
Elizabeth Burrill Curtis (1861–1914) The daughter of Anna Shaw and George William Curtis, who was a famed author, orator, abolitionist and suffragist in his own right, Elizabeth proudly carried on the progressive legacy of her family as a vocal advocate for voting rights and civic education for women. Elizabeth was a speaker at the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1894, echoing her father's 1867 speech "Equal Rights for Women." Her pleas went unanswered, but she was undeterred by the loss. Elizabeth founded the Political Equality Club of Staten Island, and Susan B. Anthony visited Staten Island to support Elizabeth's efforts. In 1898, Elizabeth testified before the Senate Select Committee on Woman Suffrage. After her death in 1914, fellow suffragist Mary Otis Willcox said of Elizabeth's contribution to the movement: "By the force of her personality [she] raised the cause from a subject of ridicule to one at least for serious consideration." Moravian Cemetery 2205 Richmond Road, Staten Island, NY 10306 Richmond County Learn More
- Rosalie Loew Whitney
Rosalie Loew Whitney (1873–1939) Rosalie was a lawyer, judge, government official, and suffragist. She was admitted to the New York Bar in 1895. In 1896, she was the first woman lawyer to try a case before the New York Supreme Court. Rosalie and her father were partners in a law firm, Loew and Loew, before she took a position with the Legal Aid Society in 1897. "It is an error to suppose that woman cannot look at things in a large way," she commented in an 1896 newspaper profile. "There is nothing in the mental bias of a woman to prevent her having a comprehensive knowledge of any of the affairs of life, no matter how great." She used her language skills (fluency in Hungarian, Yiddish, and German) to represent and interpret for immigrant workers, in cases involving labor violations, predatory loans, and fraud. In 1903, she was rejected for membership in the Bar Association of the City of New York, on the basis of her gender She was active in the women's suffrage movement in New York City, as a member of the Brooklyn Woman’s Suffrage Party and as New York congressional chair of the Woman’s Federal Equality Association. Rosalie represented Brooklyn at the National Suffrage Convention in Washington in 1917; and she spoke on behalf of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in a Congressional hearing in 1918. Additionally, she helped to found the National Women's Republican Club. In 1918 she attended the Republican National Committee meeting in St. Louis, working for the party's public support for the 19th Amendment. Rosalie was in the first group of twelve women admitted to the Bar Association of the City of New York, in 1937; by that time, she had a long career in the law, and had already served two years as Justice on the Court of Domestic Relations in New York. Green-Wood Cemetery Section 129, Lot 37356 500 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11232-1317 Kings County Learn More
- Addie Waites Hunton
Addie Waites Hunton (1875–1943) Addie was a leading African-American reformer -- a powerful force in the YWCA/YMCA movement and a founder of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). As the first African-American employee of the Young Women's Christian Association, a segregated institution at that time, Addie leveraged the power of its national network to support civil rights. Her husband William Alphaeus Hunton was the first African-American employee of the Young Men's Christian Association. They both traveled extensively for their jobs and moved several times. She was a leader in every community in which they settled: first in Richmond, VA, then in Atlanta, and finally in Brooklyn. Addie Hunton was a well-known speaker and writer from 1900 onward, publishing in popular periodicals like Voice of the Negro, Colored American Magazine, and later the NAACP's The Crisis. As a leader in the very white world of the YWCA, she pushed that organization to be more engaged in fighting lynching and discrimination. At the same time, she urged African-Americans to appreciate the power of working with the YWCA/YMCA despite its segregated structure. Her experiences during World War I bitterly informed her activism. After her husband died in 1916, Addie accepted the YMCA's request to go to Europe to support African-American troops. Historian Adrienne Lash-Jones describes her experience: "Upon reaching France for this assignment, she found that she was one of only three Black women permitted to work among two hundred thousand racially segregated Black troops." Work in the war effort exposed Addie to the most blatant racial discrimination that she had ever experienced, as she witnessed the many ways that Black troops had to endure officially sanctioned racial prejudice and segregation while they served in the United States armed forces. Her book, Two Colored Women with the American Expeditionary Forces (1920) co-written with Kathryn M. Johnson, is most revealing of the bitterness and indignation that she felt as a result of the entire experience. Her book also revealed the smoldering anger within the Black community as they fought to participate in the war effort, and their disappointment with the lack of progress that their participation made. Upon returning, Addie joined the women's peace movement. Due to racism in the white-led peace groups, Addie Hunton and Mary Margaret (Mrs. Booker T.) Washington created a new peace group, the International Council of Women of the Darker Races. She traveled the world for that group and for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, a more deliberately integrated organization. In addition to leading both of those peace groups, Addie remained an active board member - often president or executive committee - of NACW, NAACP, YWCA, and the Empire State Federation of Women's Clubs. Bio by Rachel B. Tiven. Cypress Hills Cemetery 833 Jamaica Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11208 Kings County Learn More
- Mathilde Friederike Neymann Wendt
Mathilde Friederike Neymann Wendt (1828–1923) Mathilde was born in Germany and arrived in New York with her family in 1848. She was very active in social reform issues within the German-American community, and from 1869-1872 she was co-owner and editor-in-chief of the German language newspaper, Die Neue Zeit. As a leading voice in the German-American women’s reform network, Mathilde helped found Deutscher Frauenstimmrechtsverein in 1872, which was often critical of the national women’s movement, particularly when issues of nativism arose. Despite any conflict, Mathilde served on the executive committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association and was elected as a delegate for the 1873 International Congress in Paris. Notably, she was an honorary vice president of NAWSA for New York between 1898 and 1919. Woodlawn Cemetery 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10470 Bronx County Learn More
- Ella Smith Hammond
Ella Smith Hammond (1857–1929) As an active member of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, Ella S. Hammond served as a delegate to the national convention held in Minnesota in 1900. While chairman of the School Suffrage Committee, Hammond encouraged women to become active in their local school districts. On June 28, 1902, she published a circular that prompted women throughout the state to exercise their right to vote for school district trustees, and to aid in securing a woman trustee wherever possible. Rural Cemetery Almond Road, Hornell, NY 14843 Steuben County Learn More
- Ida Augusta Craft (The Colonel)
Ida Augusta Craft (The Colonel) (1860–1947) Ida was born in Brooklyn, NY where she spent most of her life devoted to helping women obtain equal rights. The work she did for the women's movement mostly took place in New York City or New Jersey. She was well known for her participation in suffrage hikes, led by "General" Rosalie Jones. These events involved a group of women marching throughout the country advertising for women to have the right to vote and were seen as somewhat militant. Beginning in New York City, the first march went to Albany; a second, longer hike went through New Jersey to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., arriving just before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration in March 1913. Ida Craft was second in charge of these walks, earning the nickname "Colonel Craft." Almost everyone referred to her by this name. Sometimes when Craft marched, she was tired and in pain; however, she persevered and led the group to where they needed to go. Craft led her women to the Capitol in Washington to protest the exclusion of women from political rights. When she arrived in Washington, she would often be the guest of honor at luncheons. She was given a gold medal in 1913 for her "devotion and courage to her cause." (Bio courtesy of alexanderstreet.com) Green-Wood Cemetery Section 73 Lot 1173 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Kings County Learn More
- Eveline Ballintine, MD
Eveline Ballintine, MD (1852–1921) Dr. Eveline was one of a number of prominent early female physicians mentioned in the History of Women’s Suffrage.In January 1887 the Provident Dispensary was opened for business. It provided free medical care for women and children and was operated solely by women physicians. The clinic was located on Front Street in the city of Rochester by the Genesee River. Rochester City Council supplied Provident Dispensary with three rent free rooms and a $100 budget. The rest of their funds came from private donors. During this time, dispensaries were founded to meet the needs of urban, working poor families. Dispensaries held clinic hours and made home visits. Beyond medical needs, they met the social needs of their patients, helping them find employment, providing food and clothing, and teaching about hygiene and sanitation. Unlike other dispensaries, Provident Dispensary was founded specifically to serve women and children. Provident Dispensary was established in conjunction with the Practitioner’s Society, a medical society for women in Rochester. Women physicians during this time period were largely excluded from practicing in hospitals. Provident Dispensary gave women the chance to practice medicine, maintain their skills, and care for poor women and children, a core value of their mission. The founders of Provident Dispensary were: Drs. Sarah Dolley, Mary Stark, Anna Searing, Harriet Turner, Eveline Ballintine, Frances Hamilton, Lettie Woodruff, Sarah Perry, Mary Brownell, Marion Craig, Mary Slaight, and Minerva Palmer. Mount Hope Cemetery Section E Lot 9 W½ 1133 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620 Monroe County Learn More
- Eva S. Jacobs
Eva S. Jacobs (1879–1919) Eva was a member of the Empire State Federation of Womens Clubs, lead and supported by Black women. Few records exist of her life as a clubwoman. She served as a delegate in 1913 when the club endorsed suffrage, and a 1914 newspaper notice reveals that “Miss Eva Jacobs, Mrs. W.H. Williams, Miss Beatrice Jackson, Mrs. Addie Jackson left Friday to attend the Federation of Women’s Clubs.”. Eva was an acquaintance of Mrs. Addie Jackson, financial secretary of the Federation, who also resided in her town. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery 540 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591 Westchester County Learn More
- Anna May Kelly Boughton Brown
Anna May Kelly Boughton Brown (1859–1949) Anna May was active in her Universalist Church as well as the Victor Equal Suffrage Association. Her second husband, Brown, worked for Frank Cobb, owner of Cobb Drug Store, who was an active suffrage participant as well. If you know more about Anna May, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Macedon Village Cemetery Unknown Erie Street Road, Macedon, NY Wayne County Learn More
- May Cooper Stewart
May Cooper Stewart (1864–1929) May was a lifelong resident of the Finger Lakes region. Little is known of her contributions to suffrage but she is mentioned in a publication by the Ontario County Historical Society. We do know that by the year 1900, May was a single parent raising two daughters. She taught in local schools and owned a home. It is easy to believe that she was a supporter of women's rights. If you know more about May, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Woodlawn Cemetery 130 North Pearl Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424 Ontario County Learn More
- Lucy Read Anthony
Lucy Read Anthony (1793–1880) Lucy attended the Rochester Woman's Rights convention in August 1848 and signed the Declaration of Sentiments. She supported her husband's temperance and abolitionist activism, as well as Susan's reform work and decision not to marry. Miss Anthony eulogized her mother. "My mother always said, Go and do all the good you can." Mount Hope Cemetery Section C, Lot 93 1133 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620 Monroe County Learn More
- Inez Trowbridge Brand
Inez Trowbridge Brand (1875–1964) Inez became well known throughout the Ilion community for her efforts in presiding over meetings of the Ilion Suffrage Study Club in the early 1900s. She was elected treasurer at the Herkimer County Suffrage Convention in 1917 and delivered the town report for Ilion at that meeting. Aside from her role as President in the SSC, not much is known. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Armory Hill Cemetery (AKA German Flatts Cemetery, Ilion Cemetery) Section 2, Lot 96 Benedict Avenue, Ilion, NY 13357 Herkimer County Learn More
- Pauline Kirley
Pauline Kirley (1858–1944) Born in Rome, NY, Pauline was an active member of Trinity Church and a charter member of the church's Women’s Auxiliary. Pauline was a charter member and the first President of the Lewis County Historical Society. She was an active member of the Lewis County League for Women’s Suffrage and served as treasurer in 1914. In 1923, Pauline was Lowville’s delegate to the annual convention of the Northern New York Federation of Women’s Clubs. Pauline's daughter Mary followed in her mother's footsteps working alongside her and becoming an active member of the suffrage movement in her own right. Lowville Rural Cemetery B58 Rural Avenue, Lowville, NY 13367 Lewis County Learn More
- George Francis Train
George Francis Train (1829–1904) George was a rather eccentric wealthy man of many endeavors. Among other ventures, he financed a newspaper published by Susan B and Elizabeth C, The Revolution, dedicated to women's rights. Described by one historian as "one of the strangest and most colorful characters of the era—“a combination of Liberace and Billy Graham." George was always dapper, polished, freshly shaved and scented with cologne; he carried a cane for effect rather than need. He ran for President against Lincoln in 1864, but no votes in his favor were recorded. While running again for President in 1868, he made a trip around the world in 80 days and was apparently the inspiration for the character of Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. George claimed to have invented perforated stamps, erasers attached to pencils and canned salmon, but he was also a devoted and effective supporter of women's suffrage and the temperance movement to ban alcohol. Anthony and Stanton found common cause with him (though he believed that African-Americans should not be given the vote until they had been taught to read) and he became the principal funder of their newspaper, mentioned above. While traveling together on a speaking tour in Kansas the three became great friends and Anthony found his limitless energy a source of personal strength and inspiration. She credited him with the 9,000 votes in support of a women's suffrage amendment (that was a lot of votes in the sparsely-populated new state). The first issue of their newspaper was distributed on January 8, 1868. In its pages, Anthony, Stanton, Train and a few other writers imagined and advocated for a world entirely different from the cruel one outside of their New York City office door. They all shared frustration over the apparent limits of what had been accomplished in the wake of the Civil War. “Men talk of reconstruction on the basis of 'negro suffrage,'” wrote Stanton, “while multitudes of facts on all sides. . . show that we need to reconstruct the very foundations of society and teach the nation the sacredness of all human rights.” Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232 Kings County Learn More
- Florence Gibb Pratt
Florence Gibb Pratt (1872–1935) Florence graduated from the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn in 1894. Florence Gibb Pratt and Helen Sherman Pratt were sisters-in-law and well-known members of the Glen Cove community. In addition to other philanthropic causes, they used their considerable wealth and political influence to work for women’s suffrage and help secure political equality for women. Florence and husband Herbert’s summer estate was called Braes. (It is now the home of Webb Institute of Naval Architecture). Helen and husband George’s summer estate was Killenworth. Their homes were right around the corner from each other and were often sites of parties, dances, and fundraisers – all to benefit suffrage. In December of 1917 Florence held the post of Treasurer of the Woman Suffrage Party of New York City, as well as Third Vice-Chairman of the Manhattan Borough. That same month she joined a group of delegates from New York State and traveled to Washington DC for the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Pratt Cemetery (also known as Dosoris Cemetery) Old Tappan Road, Lattingtown, NY 11560 Nassau County Learn More
- Grace Edna Lewis Cornwall
Grace Edna Lewis Cornwall (1877–1957) Born in Beaver Falls, NY, Grace was the daughter of Julia Slocum and James Polk Lewis, founder of J. P. Lewis Paper Company. She was actively involved in the paper industry for years, inheriting shares of her father’s company. Grace married Harold D. Cornwall in 1911, and devoted her time to several community organizations throughout Lewis County. As an advocate for women’s suffrage, Grace served as the district leader of the Lewis County Woman’s Suffrage League from 1914–1916. During her chairmanship, the number of suffrage clubs throughout the county increased from only two to sixteen. Once she was able to vote, Grace continued her civic involvement by becoming a member of the Lewis County Women’s Republican Club. Riverside Cemetery (AKA Beaver Falls Old Cemetery, Salem Cemetery) 9586 Beaver Falls Road, Beaver Falls, NY 13305 Lewis County Learn More















