Margaret Van Voorhis Smith (1877–1965) School teacher and librarian, Margaret was an active member of the The Victor Equal Suffrage Association founded October 4, 1913 at the home of Miss Mary L. Draper. Members held monthly meetings, had bake sales, marched in parades in Rochester and New York City, and went to county and state suffrage conventions. All of the known members were also members of the Victor Unity Club, nearly half went to the Universalist Church, and most were in their 40s and 50s when most active. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Boughton Hill Cemetery Old Ground, Section D, Row 5, lot 18, gr. 1 1518 NY-444, (County Road 3 and County Road 41) Victor, NY 14564 Ontario County Learn More

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

Margaret (Maggie) Cline Hill (1867–1932) Margaret (Maggie) Cline Hill attended the Women Right's Convention and was member of the Universalist Church and the vice president of the Ladies Aid group. Boughton Hill Cemetery Old Ground, Section B, Row 10, Lot 13, Grave 2 1518 NY-444, Victor, NY 14564 Ontario County Learn More

Maud Malone (1873–1951) Maud was an ardent believer in equal rights and is best known for her aggressive campaign tactics. In 1905, she organized the Harlem Equal Rights League. She believed in interrupting speakers by yelling “what about votes for women?” At one point, Maud was arrested and spent a night in jail for heckling President Woodrow Wilson during one of his speeches. She also advocated for provocative street corner speeches, which others rejected as inappropriate. Maud was a member of the Progressive Woman Suffrage Union, but resigned over their unwillingness to embrace members from all races, colors, or creeds. Maud Malone worked for the New York Public Library and was a founding member and spokesperson of the Library Employees' Union. Her ongoing advocacy for “equal pay for equal work” irritated the public library management, so they dismissed her from her job. Later in life she worked as librarian for the newspaper The Daily Worker. Calvary Cemetery ​ 49-02 Laurel Hill Boulevard, Woodside, NY 11377-7396 Queens County Learn More

Marion I. (Dot) Parkhurst (1885–1975) Born in Plattsburgh, NY, Marian Inman Parkhurst, always known as “Dot,” appears in the Clinton County Suffrage History in early 1914 as corresponding secretary of the Clinton County Equal Suffrage Club. Her role in the movement was, among other things, to provide articles for the Plattsburgh Daily Press. These articles attacked the anti-suffragists and drew attention to the writings of the famous Alice Duer Miller and included Miller’s piece on "Why women should not travel on trains." In October of the 1915, Dot marched as a star in the “living flag” during the suffragist parade in New York City. In December of 1915, she and longtime County suffrage supporter Helen Boomhower attended the annual convention of the New York State Women’s Suffrage Association. Dot went on to become the first female head of the Balance of Supply Division for the War Department in Washington. In 1918 she was involved with the Women’s Division of the Republican National Committee. In 1920 she toured abroad studying economic conditions of women and returned to become a Washington lobbyist for the Bill for Education and Child Labor. In 1924 she was President of the New York State Women’s Federated Clubs, Congressional secretary for the National Committee for a Department of Education, and Congressional secretary for the League of Women Voters. An admirer of Carrie Chapman Catt, Dot was known to quote one of Catt’s favorite slogans, “And I wouldn’t subscribe to that." Later Dot’s niece Bea remembered that shortly after World War I, she and Aunt Dot attended a Thanksgiving dinner at Catt’s New Rochelle home where many of the leading feminists were present. Catt later came to Plattsburgh to appoint her Marian ("Dot") as President of the Clinton County League of Women Voters. Riverside Cemetery ​ 30 Steltzer Road, Plattsburgh, NY 12901 Clinton County Learn More

Emily DuBois Butterworth (1859–1937) Emily was an active member of the suffrage movement. She won a first prize for the best parade hat from the Women's Political Union in 1913 and served as the treasurer of the Co-operative Service League for Woman Suffrage in New York City. She was arrested with two dozen other suffragists of the National Woman's Party on November 10, 1917 during a picketing of the White House. Charged with obstructing traffic, the women were tried and convicted. When Emily, like the others, refused to pay the fine, she was sentenced to thirty days in the Occoquan Workhouse. The arrival of this group of prisoners on November 14 precipitated the infamous Night of Terror. According to Inez Haynes Irwin's account, Emily, for some capricious reason, was taken away from the rest, and placed in a part of the jail where there were only men. They told her that she was alone with the men, and that they could do what they pleased with her. Her Night of Terror was doubly terrifying with this menace hanging over her. No doubt in part due to this harassment as well as the poor conditions, Emily, along with two others in poor health, was released early. Emily was involved in civic work in addition to suffrage work. She was a member of the Woman's Municipal League, which was an organization involved in improving the city of New York as well as providing charity for the poor and less fortunate. Married to an Englishman, Henry Butterworth, the couple lived in Manhattan with her companion, Cora Weeks, who was also a member in the suffrage movement. (Courtesy alexanderstreet.com) Woodlawn Cemetery Elm Plot, Section 38 4199 Webster Avenue, Bronx, NY 10470 Bronx County Learn More

Florence Mills Sheffer (1870–1929) Florence was Canadian born but took an active role in obtaining the vote for women during her years in New York State. In 1915, Florence was the first President of the Shortsville Equal Suffrage Club. In following years, she was a second vice leader of the Ontario County Woman Suffrage Association. Florence is noted as being naturalized in the 1920 US Census indicating that she was prepared to vote. If you know more about Florence, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Brookside Cemetery Section A, Lot 90 18 Hebron Ave Shortsville, NY 14548 Ontario County Learn More

Eva Gillam Emmons (1853–1939) Born in Port Byron, NY, Eva was the mother of two biological children and one foster child. A founding member of the Pittsford Political Equality Club, she lived at 10 North Main Street where she and her husband ran a thriving greenhouse business. Eva exemplified the civic engagement that was a part of many suffragists’ lives. In addition to working to win women the right to vote, among other interests, Eva was also an active member of the Cheerful Workers of the King’s Daughters, an organization that supported homes for aging women and was founded on the principle of service to others. Its motto was “Look up, not down; Look forward, not back; Look out, not in; Lend a hand.” In addition Eva was a member of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, one of the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that “linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity.” Eva served as Treasurer. And she was involved in Pittsford Grange, which focused on the economic and political well-being of agricultural communities. In 1902 the Pittsford Grange No. 424 installed new officers, which included five women. The Grange was an unusual fraternal organization because it allowed women to be members and to hold office. (courtesy of www.townofpittsford.org/19thAcentennial) Pittsford Cemetery A 107 38 Washington Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 Monroe County Learn More

Anna Mowry Holmes (1809–1875) Anna and her husband, Henry Holmes, were abolitionists who allowed their house in Washington County, NY to be used as part of the route along the Underground Railroad. She was elected to the Advisory Counsel for the Fourth Judicial District from Greenwich, NY, serving alongside Susan B. Anthony. If you know more about her, you can help us tell her story. Please use our Add a Suffragist form to submit your information. Greenwich Cemetery Plot D104 16 County Road 52, Greenwich, NY 12834 Washington County Learn More

Susan Brandeis Gilbert (1893–1975) Susan was educated at Boston’s Winsor School, Bryn Mawr College (B.A., 1915), and the University of Chicago Law School (LL.B., 1919). In 1916, Susan worked for woman suffrage in Boston. New York City became her home in 1921. Admitted to the New York bar in 1921, no law firm would hire her because she was a woman, an event Susan Gilbert remembered all her life. Susan was the second woman member of the New York State Board of Regents appointed by Governor Herbert Lehman, serving in that post from 1935 to 1949. She was also an active member of the Bar Association of New York City, Hadassah, the Women’s City Club and the Democratic Party. When Brandeis University was founded in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1949, Susan and Jacob Gilbert were deeply involved in its development. She became the honorary national president of its National Women’s Committee, was made fellow of the university in 1952, and was awarded a doctor of humane letters in 1963. Union Field Cemetery ​ 82–11 Cypress Avenue, Ridgewood, NY 11385 Queens County Learn More

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

Julie Regula Jenney (1866–1947) While working as a lawyer, Julie was involved with multiple women's and suffrage organizations in Syracuse, most of which bore the stamp of her mother's tireless activism. Marie R. Jenney was founder of the Ka-na-te-nah Woman's Club, composed of 350 members, and president of the Syracuse Council of Women's Clubs, a 3,000-member organization. She also served as a state or local leader in at least a half dozen other organizations dedicated to advancing the welfare of women, including the Political Equality Club. Following in these footsteps, Julie took on a similar role as a leader in the New York women's movement. She served as director of the Professional Women's League and held membership in the Political Equality Club and the Woman's Suffrage Association. In 1896, Julie delivered a lecture on "Law and the Ballot" before the National Woman Suffrage Association's annual convention, in which she argued that women's legal rights were inextricably bound to the legislatures that approved them. She contended that only the vote would provide women the assurance that any rights they gain would be duly protected in the future. Julie went on to serve the New York State Woman Suffrage Association and spoke at the annual convention in Oswego in 1901. *courtesy alexanderstreet.com Oakwood Cemetery Section 27, Plot 55 940 Comstock Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13210 Onondaga County Learn More

Naomi Sewell Richardson (1892–1993) Naomi was the first African American to graduate from Washingtonville High School, before attending Howard University in 1910. While there, she helped found the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority with 22 other women who "wanted to do more for our community into which we would be going after we graduated...not only a social group, but a working group." Their first public act as a sorority occurred in March of 1913 with the Women's Suffrage March in Washington D.C. Even later in life, Naomi Sewell Richardson was very active in her community and sorority. Although Richardson was known for living quietly, she was admired for her work with extreme activism and civic service. She was the last living founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Over 100 of her sorority sisters attended her funeral. A book titled "A Life of Quiet Dignity" was written about her life and legacy. Washingtonville Cemetery ​ Cemetery Road, Washingtonville, NY 10992 Orange County Learn More

Irene Corwin Davison (1871–1948) Irene never married, instead devoting her personal and financial freedom to suffrage. She joined her good friend Rosalie Gardiner Jones on her famous marches to Albany and Washington, DC. In 1915, Irene joined fellow suffragist Edna Buckman Kearns in her work as a poll watcher. The two canvassed voters at the polls in Sayville, asking them to sign a slip of paper stating, “I believe that the vote should be granted to the women of New York in 1915.” Irene’s sisters, Amelia and Susan were active suffragists as well. Always seeking unique and innovative activities to garner publicity, Irene and her friends staged an all-night “Aerial Party” on the Hempstead Plains aviation field (which later became Roosevelt Field) in September of 1913. The New York Times reported: “About 200 women and eight men were marshaled for the parade down Hanger Row.” Present were other well-known suffragists including Harriet Burton Laidlaw and Mrs. Rhoda Glover, said to be the oldest suffragist in Nassau County. Once suffrage was won, Irene devoted herself to philanthropic causes and worked with the League of Women Voters to educate women on the importance of the vote. The League named her “the outstanding suffragette in Nassau County” and, in 1931, listed her name on a bronze plaque in Albany honoring the “great women of the State of New York who courageously led the long struggle for the enfranchisement of the women of this nation.” Irene Corwin Davison broke many barriers for women in her life, but her greatest achievement was helping them to enjoy political equality and have their voices heard through the vote. Born in East Rockaway, Irene was the youngest of three sisters whose family had settled there in the early 19th century. She attended the Packer Institute in Brooklyn, graduated from Pratt Institute and taught art in the Jericho schools. Later she became one of the first women to open her own insurance agency. When her father died, she took over his farm and sold the property to create one of the first housing developments on Long Island. Rockville Cemetery 454 45 Merrick Road, Lynbrook, NY 11563 Nassau County Learn More

Violet Westcott Morawetz (1878–1918) From 1911-1918, Violet worked on organizing and fundraising for suffrage. Violet attended the Empire State Campaign Committee for suffrage at the annual convention held from November 30 - December 2, 1916. The New York State Campaign was consolidated under the State Woman Suffrage Party and Violet was on the Executive Committee. She also served on the Entertainment and Education Committee for the National Woman's Suffrage Party. At the State Departmental Work for the National American Convention of 1917, Violet was appointed a Speaker in War Time and Chairman of the speaker's bureau. In February of 1917, Violet held a suffrage experience meeting at the Cosmopolitan Club in New York City with educational lectures that was attended by both supporters and anti-suffragists. After the United States entered World War I, the suffrage movement worked to support the war effort. Violet was on the special committee appointed by the New York City Chairman through the New York State Senate for those enlistment efforts. As a result, in March 1917 the headquarters of the Woman's Suffrage Party on Livingston Street, Brooklyn, New York became an enlistment station, which she helped organize. Oakwood Cemetery Section 13, Plot 55 940 Comstock Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13210 Onondaga County Learn More

Anne Burneer Merritt (1843–1903) Anne is noted in several news articles as having attended the National Women's Suffrage convention in Buffalo in October 1902. It notes that Mrs. Anne E. Merritt was from Brooklyn and in charge of railroad rates. She died in 1903 and the last article mentioning her in FultonHistory.com is 1902. Hillside Cemetery Section 5, Lot 1258 Mulberry Street, Middletown, NY 10940 Orange County Learn More

Sara McPike (1870–1943) Sara was a member of the Womens Trade Union League and was an early suffragist. Her obituary stated she was reported to have carried the first suffrage banner up Fifth Avenue in a parade in 1907. In 1909 she organized the Catholic Committee of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party and was chair of the propaganda work among Catholics. Sara carried the leading banner with Inez Mulholland in the 1911 New York City suffrage parade. In 1911 she founded the St. Catherines Welfare Association, which affiliated with the New York State Womans Suffrage Association. The organization devoted itself exclusively to the passage of woman suffrage as a means to obtain remedial legislation for the social benefit of women workers and their children. Under Sara's leadership the Association held public suffrage meetings before Catholic organizations, wrote articles for the Catholic Press and mailed articles written by pro-suffrage priests to every clergyman in the United States. In February 1917 Sara was chair of the Committee of Arrangements for a delegation of Eastern Catholic women who met with Cardinal Gibbons, the chief prelate of the Catholic Church in the United States, in an attempt to persuade him to cease his opposition to woman suffrage. *courtesty alexanderstreet.com St Joseph's Cemetery ​ 209 Truman Ave, Yonkers, NY 10703 Westchester County Learn More

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

Edith Mary Ainge (1873–1948) Edith was an American suffragist and a Silent Sentinel, the title given to the women because of their silent protesting. She joined the National Woman's Party (NWP) led by Alice Paul, aiming to get the 19th Amendment ratified. From September 1917 to January 1919, she was arrested approximately five times for unlawful assembly at NWP protests. Edith worked for the movement to gain suffrage in New York state in 1915. She spearheaded participation in The Torch of Liberty event where suffragists from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, organized events to gather more participation and awareness about the cause, and to raise funding for the suffragist movement and for the political rallies. With suffrage in New York secured, Edith rallied for national voting rights for women. On November 10, 1917, she and Eleanor Calnan were two of 33 suffragists arrested after stationing themselves in peaceful protest in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. They carried a sign that read, "How Long Must Woman Be Denied a Voice in a Government Which is Conscripting Their Sons?" Edith and other suffragists were sentenced to 60 days in jail at the Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia, for Unlawful Assembly. She was given solitary confinement while others endured torture. The event has been named the Night of Terror. On August 15, 1918 at the Watch Fire Demonstrations in Lafayette Square, members of the NWP burned copies of President Woodrow Wilsons speeches in urns. Edith was the first to light her urn. Lake View Cemetery Sect LLA, Lot 9, Row SP, Grave 4NE 907 Lakeview Avenue, Jamestown, NY 14701 Chautauqua County Learn More

Helen Leavitt (1876–1947) Helen was the legislative chairwoman of the New York State Suffrage Party. Due to her brilliant legislative work, she was key to the 1917 passage of the New York State women's suffrage law. She was also director of the Women's Land Army of New York State and Onondaga County, whose goal was to establish labor and living standards for women farm workers (known as farmerettes). Later in life, Helen became the New York Tribune's Assistant Advertising Director. White Plains Rural Cemetery ​ 167 N Broadway, White Plains, NY 10603 Westchester County Learn More