Henry Rogers Selden (1805–1885) Henry is best known as the lawyer who defended Susan B Anthony after she voted in the election of 1872. Born in Connecticut, Henry moved to Rochester where he studied law, set up a private practice, and became a community advocate. He served as a trustee to the Industrial School, established to support homeless children. Along with Hiram Sibley and others, he participated in establishing a company that became Western Union. Henry served as the Reporter for the New York State Court of Appeals, and was later appointed an Associate Judge to this court. He also ran for elected positions serving in the New York State Legislature and as Lt Governor. Henry Selden advised Susan B. Anthony to vote after examining her extensive research on the topic. He paid her bail when she was arrested. At Susan B. Anthony's trial in June, 1873, Henry argued his case before a pre-ordained judge and jury. The outcome is well known. Mount Hope Cemetery Section C, Lot 108 1133 Mount Hope Ave, Rochester, NY 14620 Monroe County Learn More

Sarah Elizabeth Birdsall Otis Edey (1872–1940) A woman born into the spotlight to political parents, Sarah was considered a socialite and activist; she used her platform for purpose, serving as an officer in a number of county and state suffrage organizations and was most notably recognized for her lifelong work with the Girl Scouts of America. In June 1916, she served on the reception committee for the annual Suffrage County Suffrage Convention in Riverhead, NY. In January of 1917, she and several other women prominent in the suffrage movement attended the opening of the state legislature in Albany and witnessed the introduction of a resolution favoring the resubmission of the ‘votes for women' proposal to the voters of the state next November. On September 14, 1917, Sarah hosted the Campaign Conference of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party of Suffolk County at her family summer home in Near-the-bay in Bellport, Long Island. The delegates celebrated having enrolled 15,005 women for suffrage in the county. Edey announced that, "We must not fail to bring home to the voters of this county the fact that such a tremendous sentiment for Suffrage exists among their own women. We have enrolled almost as many women as the combined vote for and against Suffrage in 1915. We have the indisputable argument in the fact that they want Suffrage to a number as large as the combined 'yeas' and 'nays' of the men in 1915.” In a 1917 letter to the editor of the East Hampton Star, Sarah chastised the women picketing President Wilson and bemoaned that their “misguided doings” be “laid on the shoulders of all Suffragists.” She spoke at a rally in Mt. Vernon that same month and “emphasized the need for persistent, systematic work on the part of every suffragist, saying that New York state may be won over to exhibit the spectacle of democracy that will inspire the sons of American women in the trenches abroad.” After women acquired the vote in New York State, Sarah was active in the League of Women Voters, serving as chair of the intelligence committee of the NYS League. She is reported as stating that she had learned three things during the successful campaign for women's suffrage in New York: “how to organize groups to do a special piece of work; to speak in public; to get along with people.” Sarah also realized that women for whom she had worked to acquire the vote, “were not ready for their enfranchisement, that people needed to be trained to be citizens early in life.” (Bio courtesy of alexanderstreet.com) Woodland Cemetery ​ 193 Bellport Avenue, Bellport, NY 11713 Suffolk County Learn More

Guelma Penn Anthony McLean Although there is no record that she participated in the women's rights movement or other social reforms, Guelma was in complete sympathy with Susan's activism. In November, 1872, though very ill, she left her sickbed and walked with her sisters Susan, Hannah Anthony Mosher, and Mary Anthony to the voter registration site to register to vote. Four days later, she again walked to the polls to cast her ballot. At the conclusion of Susan's trial for voting, the United States v. Susan B. Anthony, Susan spent the rest of that summer and fall of 1873 at Guelma's bedside, taking complete charge of her nursing care. By all accounts, she was a superb nurse and was determined to make her beloved sister's final days as comfortable as possible. Mount Hope Cemetery Section C, Plot 93 1133 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620 Monroe County Learn More

Lucretia A. Freeman (1866–1946) Lucretia was consistently involved in civic and community affairs, primarily supporting black women. In 1913 she was a delegate to the Empire State Federation of Women's Clubs. 1921 found her as the director of the Red Cross Women's Auxiliary for Harlem Hospital, a hospital she had been employed by. A few years later, she was named a deaconess of her church, Nazarene Congregationalist. In 1931, she was elected vice president of the Northeast Federation of Women's Clubs. Ten years later, she represented the Brooklyn's Mother's Club at the annual convention of the New York Federation of Colored Women's Club. Examples of their work include caring for Harriet Tubman until the time of her death in 1913. This group corresponded with presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman on civil rights topics such as unequal treatment of black Americans in the Armed Forces and housing discrimination. Lucretia did her part to have her community be a place where children could thrive. Saint Michael's Cemetery Section 13, Plot 20, Grave 11 7202 Astoria Boulevard, East Elmhurst, NY 11370 Queens County Learn More

Dora Gannet Sedgwick Hazard (1864–1935) From her obituary; “Word of the death of Mrs. Dora G. Sedgwick Hazard, 'the First Lady of Syracuse,' which occurred at her summer home in Narragansett Pier, R. I., Tuesday night, was received in sorrow by thousands of men and women in this city—friends who had known her for her social charm and friends in lowly walks of life who knew her only as a benefactress and lover of humankind.” In 1887, Dora established with four friends the Solvay Guild, a social service group and served as its president for 42 years. She aided the late Rev. Dr. F. W. Betts in the Moral Survey crusade that “monitored vice in the city." When America entered World War I, she organized the Hazard Hospital Unit, a group of twenty young women who went to London and assisted in the hospital problem. The Huntington Club and Syracuse Memorial Hospital were nearest to her heart. The daughter of an abolitionist, Dora was a suffragist who helped establish the National Woman's Party in the Central NY area. Oakwood Cemetery Section 15, Plot 39 940 Comstock Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13210 Onondaga County Learn More

Maria Coles Perkins Lawton (1864–1946) Maria was an African-American woman who was active in the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. She was one of the most active African American women of her day in the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) at the local, state, and national levels. Maria was a brilliant organizer. In 1912, she was appointed state organizer for the NACWC. She served as the president of the Empire State Federation, the umbrella organization of New York State African-American women's groups, from 1916 to 1929, and as national chairperson of the NACW Program and Literature Committee from 1926 to 1929. As a testament to her leadership, the affiliate of the Empire State Federation in the Albany region, the M.C. Lawton Club, was founded in her honor in 1919. In 1914, Maria was designated by Governor Martin H. Glynn of New York to represent the state at the National Negro Educational Congress meetings in Oklahoma City and St. Louis. After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, Maria became an active member of the New York Republican Party, hosting teas and luncheons at her home on Willoughby Street for local and state leaders in the Republican Party. In 1924, she was appointed director of the eastern division of the Republican National Convention and endorsed the nomination and election of Calvin Coolidge. Additionally, Maria became active in the labor movement in the 1920s, representing the women of New York State at the Labor Conference of Women in Washington, D.C. in 1924. *courtesy alexanderstreet.com The Evergreens Cemetery Grave #5630 1629 Bushwick Avenue Brooklyn, N.Y. 11207-1849 Kings County Learn More

Helen Christian (1879–1930) Helen was not only a member of the Colored Women’s Suffrage Club of New York (affiliated with the New York City Woman’s Suffrage Party), but traveled with the group to attend a women’s suffrage conference in Saratoga, New York. The New York Age noted Helen's attendance in an article from September 6, 1917 saying, “Among the women who accompanied Mrs. Lewis to the convention were Mrs. M. M. Young, Mrs. Helen Christian, Miss LeRue Sand, Mrs. Ella.” It was during this convention that a few of the members of the Colored Women's Suffrage Club felt they had been treated differently and unfairly, in comparison to the white women in attendance. On September 13, 1917, the club held a meeting to address these issues. The New York Age reported that in response to the racist allegations made, "Mrs. Helen Christian, another colored delegate, stated that she had attended every session of the convention and had not seen the slighting indication on the part of anyone to snub the colored women who were made welcome as the white women to all privileges and courtesies." In 1929, Helen Christian was listed as living at what was once the headquarters of the Colored Women's Suffrage Club of New York City, at 2285 Seventh Avenue. Bio courtesy of alexanderstreet.com Flushing Cemetery Grave 2084, Section R. I 163-6 46th Avenue, Queens, NY 11358 Queens County Learn More

Maria Louisa deBernabeu Steuart Haughton (1869–1963) Maria Louisa was born in Maryland, but came to Ilion with her husband who was a Vice-President at the Remington Arms Company, Inc. She became involved in the Women’s Political Union, founded in 1907 by Harriot Standon Blatch (daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton). Its purpose was to educate women on how suffrage could change their lives. Blatch focused her recruiting efforts on wealthy women, who had the time and resources to work for the suffrage movement. In 1912, Ilion hosted its first meeting of the Women’s Political Union. In 1913 Maria hosted a Women’s Political Union meeting at her home. In 1915, she was the Chairwomen on Speakers and Meetings. She was also a suffrage activist for various organizations including the Ilion Suffrage Study Club and the Herkimer County Suffrage Convention. Equally important, Maria Louisa was a principal participant in the 1915 Suffrage Torch relay. She carried the Suffrage Torch (patterned after the Statue of Liberty torch) from Little Falls to Utica. She was one of only twelve New York State women who were Suffrage Torch carriers. The Suffrage torch relay was a central component in the strategy to win support for the 1915 referendum to add a suffrage amendment to New York State’s constitution. It was the public relations brainchild of Harriot Stanton Blatch, National President of the Women’s Political Union. The Suffrage Torch car relay began on June 8 in Montauk, Long Island and finished on July 31 in Buffalo. The route included major cities and small towns including New York City, Amsterdam, Little Falls, Utica, Canastota, Cazenovia, Syracuse, Cortland, Ithaca, Olean, Salamanca, Jamestown and Buffalo. The automobile that carried the torch was decorated with banners of white, purple, and green and the words “Votes for Women and Victory on November 2,1915.” Suffrage receptions, meetings and conventions were held enroute. The Haughton family moved from Ilion to Schenectady, New York. While there she continued her leadership role in civic activities, including board member of the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), the county child welfare board, and the Humane Society. Maria Louisa died at the age of 93. She is featured in Part 1 of Herkimer County's documentary on Women's Suffrage. Click on Learn More below to see for yourself. Vale Cemetery Plot M-3 85 907 State Street, Schenectady County, NY 12307 Schenectady County Learn More

Maude Skinner Humphrey (1856–1897) Maude served as the President of Warsaw's Monday Club and Chairman of the legislative committee of the NYS Woman Suffrage Association. Proceedings of the Thirtieth Annual Convention of the National American, published in 1898, mention Maude as an officer in the NYSWSA and include her in a roll of the immortals in the movement, the occasion being the 50th anniversary of the 1848 convention. Warsaw Cemetery ​ S. Main Street, Warsaw, NY 14569 Wyoming County Learn More

Margaret Livingston Chanler Aldrich (1870–1963) Margaret became president of the Woman's Municipal League. She founded the Churchwoman's Club, a suffrage club; headed the Law Enforcement League, and was treasurer for the Woman's Suffrage Party in New York. In 1917, she was elected president of the Protestant Episcopal Women's Suffrage Association. When she met Susan B. Anthony, she asked her advice for a suffrage speaking engagement in Albany. Anthony told her, "Always address the farthest man on the farthest bench. Some of those in between are agreeing with you." She is noted as one of Carrie Chapman Catt's capable officials in the campaign for suffrage in New York State. Trinity Church Cemetery ​ 770 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032 New York County Learn More

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947) Carrie began working for woman suffrage in Iowa in 1887. In 1900 she succeeded Susan B. Anthony as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and held that position until 1904. In 1902 she founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) and served as president until 1923, with affiliates eventually being founded in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Norway, Sweden and the United States. After accepting another term as president of NAWSA in 1915, Carrie worked for the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would grant suffrage to women. At a convention marking NAWSAs 50th anniversary Carrie announced the founding of the League of Women Voters (LWV), which would succeed the NAWSA and enable women to become informed voters. The 19th Amendment was eventually ratified on August 26, 1920. In 1915 she helped establish the Woman's Peace Party, and helped to organize the Committee on the Cause and Cure of War in 1925, serving as chair until 1932. Following World War I she campaigned for American participation in the League of Nations and later the United Nations. (Bio by: Diane Carmichael Blank) Woodlawn Cemetery Primrose Plot, Laurel Avenue 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10470 Bronx County Learn More

Helen M. Freeborn Thornton (1862–1922) Though originally from Alleghany County, Helen Freeborn Thornton settled in Victor with her husband Charles, and was an active member of the community. She was a member of the Unity Club and the Victor Equal Suffrage Association. In February 1914, she hosted a “suffrage school” at her home that was attended by several local suffragists. The meeting focused on methods to “promote and knowledgeably answer questions about a woman’s right to vote.” Boughton Hill Cemetery Old Ground, Section C, Row 12, Lot 6, Grave 5 County Road 3 and County Road 41, Victor, NY 14564 Ontario County Learn More

Clara L. Payne (1892–1958) Clara was an active member of a small African American Buffalo community. During World War I Clara served at Marin Hospital as a nurse volunteer during the influenza epidemic of 1917 and 1918. She was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Urban League and remained involved from 1927 until 1958. Clara helped initiate the first integrated YWCA in the Buffalo area. In 1926 she was elected to the Board of Directors and served as a member of the Y's Business Girls' Council and the Inter-racial Committee. Clara was also involved in Republican party politics. In April 1920 she was reported as one of two organizers of a Leonard Wood Club among African American women in Buffalo. The newspaper account in the Buffalo Evening News of April 16, 1920 noted, "it is hoped to enroll every colored woman in Buffalo in the league." General Leonard Wood was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination that year. *Courtesy AlexanderStreet.com Forest Lawn Cemetery Section 9, Lot 99, Lot SUBS 1 & 2, Space 3 1411 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209 Erie County Learn More

Mary Helen Shepard Light (1833–1902) Mary Helen lived on a farmstead near where Oak Hill Country Club is today. The mother of six children, she managed to be the first President of the Pittsford Political Equality Club, which was organized September 6, 1902 in Pittsford, NY. Notes from the Club’s meeting on November 4, 1902, paint a picture of her energy and enthusiasm for suffrage: “The president, Mrs. Light, presided. She was in her brightest mood. Eager to be doing something. Very desirous of arranging for a course of lectures. Mrs. Light and Mr. and Mrs. Charles True attended the state convention at Buffalo. Both ladies were extremely enthusiastic over the exercises, addresses, & c.” Mrs. Light’s leadership was cut short by her death only a few days later. She was found dead in the buggy in front of her son’s home in Brighton. The obituary described her as “one of the most known and highly respected women in Monroe County; a woman of unusual mental ability and of a most social nature.” (*from http://www.townofpittsford.org ) Pittsford Cemetery K 153 38 Washington Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 Monroe County Learn More

Martha Coffin Pelham Wright (1806–1875) Martha was an important suffragist during the early years of the woman suffrage movement, yet she has been overshadowed by her more well-known sister, Lucretia Mott. Martha played a vital role as behind-the-scenes organizer and confidant to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Before she became active in women's rights, Martha balanced a busy family life with anti-slavery work, organizing abolition meetings and hosting freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad in her home in Auburn, New York. In fact, she was six months pregnant when she attended the famous tea at which she, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jane Hunt and Mary Ann McClintock planned the 1848 Seneca Falls convention. Despite being crippled by a fear of public speaking, Martha consented to be the president or secretary of several state and national women's rights conventions during the 1850s and 60s. Outside of conventions, she held several offices. Martha was chosen in 1869 as the first president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, served on several executive committees, was vice president three times for the American Equal Rights Association, and then was elected president of the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1874. *courtesy alexanderstreet.com Fort Hill Cemetery Section: Morning Side Lot: 21-22 Grave: 3 19 Fort Street, Auburn, NY 13021 Cayuga County Learn More

Elizabeth Radcliff Canough (1869–1944) Elizabeth was a suffrage leader in Syracuse in the 1910s. She held two key roles in 1915-1917, the final years of New York’s long crusade for the vote: she was president of the Syracuse Political Equality Club, and district leader for the New York State Woman Suffrage Party, responsible for Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, Jefferson, and Madison counties. The districts were defined by Carrie Chapman Catt, who had created a highly organized structure to lobby the men who would vote on a suffrage amendment in New York. This three-part process required passing a bill through both houses of the legislature, passing the same bill in the subsequent legislature, and then going to the voters for a popular referendum. In 1915, despite three years of ceaseless effort, they lost at the last step. The men of New York defeated the suffrage bill by a wide margin. Two nights after the defeat, the women of New York gathered at the Cooper Union in the East Village and immediately vowed to try again. They raised $100,000 that night to fund a do-over—about $2.5 million in 2020 terms. A few months after that, as the movement sought to shore up its leaders for the next round, Elizabeth spoke at a dinner in Syracuse honoring “suffrage pioneers.” In November 1916, at the state suffrage convention in Albany, she was elected leader of her district, known as District 5. We don’t know a lot about Elizabeth's work over the following year, but it must have been substantial: the referendum passed in 1917, and New York women finally became full citizens. Elizabeth and her husband William, a lawyer, had three children, but none of them lived to adulthood. After suffrage, Elizabeth continued to contribute to her community, serving as a member of the Syracuse Housing Authority during the Great Depression. She focused on establishing minimum housing standards for Syracuse. Bio by Rachel B. Tiven. Woodlawn Cemetery Plot Q Lake Street, Sandy Creek, NY 13145 Oswego County Learn More

Glendolen T. Bens (1878–1928) Glendolen was a press secretary for the New York State Woman Suffrage Party, representing Oneida and Herkimer counties. The records she compiled from party meetings and activities between 1915–1919, archived by the New York State Library, document the party's efforts in securing women's voting rights. Glendolen worked to raise funds in support of Alice Paul and other members of the National Woman's Party who were serving jail sentences for protesting in front the White House in Washington, DC. She was also a founding member of the New York State League of Women Voters. Forest Hill Cemetery Section 34A, Lot 5406 2201 Oneida Street, Utica, NY 13501 Oneida County Learn More

Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt Belmont (1853–1933) Alva was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the American women's suffrage movement. Known for having a haughty manner that antagonized some people, she was also noted for her energy, intelligence, strong opinions, and willingness to challenge convention. In 1909, Alva founded the Political Equality League to get votes for suffrage-supporting New York State politicians, wrote articles for newspapers, and joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She later formed her own Political Equality League to seek broad support for suffrage in neighborhoods throughout New York City, and, as its president, led its division of New York City's 1912 Women's Votes Parade. In 1916, she was one of the founders of the National Woman's Party and organized the first picketing ever to take place before the White House, in January 1917. She was elected president of the National Woman's Party, an office she held until her death. On "Equal Pay Day," April 12, 2016, Alva was honored as President Barack Obama established the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C. Woodlawn Cemetery Whitewood Plot, Sections 133, 134. 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10470 Bronx County Learn More

Hannah Marble Angel (1819–1888) Hannah signed a petition to urge voting against Leslie Russell, NYS Attorney General, who opposed women's rights and whose recommendation was blocking women's rights legislation in New York State. Until the Day Dawn Cemetery Near lot 697 NY Rt-16 East Main Street, Angelica, NY 14709 Allegany County Learn More

May Groot Manson (1859–1917) The wife of a stockbroker, May was a socialite in New York City and Eastern Long Island. She and her husband, Thomas Manson, supported the suffrage movement. May chaired the Executive Committee Women’s Suffrage League of East Hampton and later on led the Suffolk County organization. She organized a 1913 march in her town with Harriet Stanton Blatch as the keynote speaker. In 1915, May kicked off the Torch Relay Crusade, an auto rally from Montuak to Buffalo. She drove from Montauk to Nassau County, stopping along the route to give speeches to waiting crowds. Although May died before passage of the 19th Amendment, today a historical marker at her former East Hampton home honors of her contributions. Cedar Lawn Cemetery D 42 57–83 Cooper Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937 Suffolk County Learn More