New Hampshire Civic Leader, Woman’s Club Promoter, Suffragist: Nellie Fostina (Tupper) Woodward of Nashua

Photograph of Mrs. Nellie F. Woodward from Granite State Monthly, Vol 43-44, 1911. Colorized by the blog editor.

Nellie Fostina Tupper was born on 20 October 1854 in Nashua NH, daughter of Freeman Eastman & Susan E. (Howe) Tupper.  She was educated in the local Nashua schools.  During the 1870s-80s there were several private high schools in addition to lower level grammar schools in that city.  Her father, Freeman was a trader and goods seller.

On her paternal side, she is descended from Thomas Tupper of Sandwich England who was an early settler of Sandwich MA and of the Ladds of Haverhill.  On her maternal side, she was a descendant of John Spofford and Elizabeth Scott, first settlers of Georgetown MA, and of the Howes of Peterborough NH.  Nellie was also a close cousin to  Earl Silas Tupper (who I wrote about previously), the inventor of “tupperware.”

Photo of Mrs. Nellie F. (Tupper) Woodward from One Thousand New Hampshire Notables 1919. Colorized by the blog editor.

She married on 6 January 1881 to Dr. Josiah Nichols Woodward, “a successful and distinguished medical practitioner of Nashua. ” He was born 6 Sep 1856 in Groton MA, son of Alonzo S. & Harriet (Nichols) Woodward, and he died 28 November 1910 in Nashua New Hampshire. They are both buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Nashua NH.

During their married life, they lived on Park Street in  the “downtown” area of Nashua.  Nellie and her husband had no children.  After her husband’s death, Nellie moved to Abbott street where her niece Carrie and husband lived with her. Dr. & Mrs. Woodward had a summer house at the head of Newfound Lake in Hebron NH.

Nellie Woodward’s name shows up on a NY Passenger List sailing from Southampton England 20 June 1930 arriving 25June 1930 in NYC on ship Bremen.  She died a month later on 30 July 1930 in Nashua NH.

Obituary notice in the Portsmouth (NH) Herald.

Mrs. Nellie F. (Tupper) Woodward had many civil interests.  She was an active member of the Nashaway Woman’s Club of Nashua, serving 2 years as treasurer, 1 yr as 1st VP and 2 years as president. This groups was interested in the introduction of manual training as a feature of the public school system.

She was a member of Matthew Thornton Chapter, DAR (#74300).  She was also a member of the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Nashua, of the Woman’s Auxiliary of the YMCA, and of the King’s Daughters Benevolent Association. In 1911 she was president of the New Hampshire Federation of Women’s Clubs

Mrs. Nellie Woodward had recently returned from a six week trip abroad when she died in Nashua NH. Pictured here is an old colorized postcard of the SS Bremen, that returned her to the United States.

Nellie Woodward was a notable and active member of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. .  In November of 1918 she was part of a letter writing campaign promoting suffrage and urging votes to elect a pro-suffrage candidates [Brattleboro Daily Reformer newspaper 2 Nov 1918 page 4. Headline: Women Join Fight].

 

 

——–PARTIAL GENEALOGY of Nellie F. (Tupper) Woodward——–

*FIRST THROUGH SIXTH GENERATIONS*
Thomas Tupper (1578-1676 England & Barnstable MA) & Anne Hodgson
Thomas Tupper (1638-1706 Barnstable MA) & Martha Mayhew
Israel Tupper (1666-1745 Barnstable MA) & Elizabeth Gifford
Samuel Tupper (1692-1772 Barnstable MA) & Hannah Fish
Silas Tupper (1727-1801 Barnstable MA) & Hannah Freeman
Silas Tupper (1768-1844 Barnstable MA) & Hannah Ladd

Freeman Eastman Tupper, son of Silas and Hannah (Ladd) Tupper was b 13 Sep 1821 Parishville, St. Lawrence NY, d. 18 Feb 1906 in Nashua NH. Buried Woodlawn Cemetery. He married 7 Nov 1845 in Hancock Co. IL to Susan Elvira Howe, dau of Ashel & Fannie (Spofford) Howe. She was b. 18 Dec 1828 and d. 12 July 1899 in Hebron, NH. She is buried beside her husband in Woodlawn Cemetery. His occupation was trader and goods merchant. In 1887 he lived at 10 Park Street.
—–
1860 US Census > NH > Hillsborough > Nashua
Freeman E Tupper 28
Susan E Tupper 31
George A Tupper 12
Nellie F Tupper 5
Ezra L Tupper 40
—–
Children of Freeman E. & Susan E. (Howe) Tupper:
1. George A. Tupper, b 10 Apr 1849 Parisville NY; d. 23 Feb 1918 in Bristol MA. He married 19 Sep 1869 in Nashua NH to Susan A. Brown, dau of William H. & Susan (?) Brown. She was b in 1850 in Nova Scotia, and died in 1881. In 1880 they were living in Nashua NH with children Fred E., Charles, Carrie M., Flora G., and Nellie R.
2. +Nellie Fostina Tupper, b. 20 Oct 1854 in Nashua NH and d. 30 July 1930 in Nashua NH. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Nashua NH.   This story is about her.  See above.

*****ADDITIONAL READING***

Biography of Mrs. Nellie F. (Tupper) Woodward in One Thousand New Hampshire Notables, H H Metcalf & F M. Abbott, 1919. Google Books.

Was your New Hampshire Ancestor A Suffragist? – This story provides you with an additional list of known suffrage proponents, female and male, connected with the State of New Hampshire.

 

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3 Responses to New Hampshire Civic Leader, Woman’s Club Promoter, Suffragist: Nellie Fostina (Tupper) Woodward of Nashua

  1. Janet Barter says:

    This wordpress is too difficult to navigate. I can enjoy the stories but cannot make comments or acknowledge.
    I do enjoy, but cannot reply back to Janice. Nor can I share with NH friends.

    • Janice Brown says:

      Janet, you just DID comment. The reason you did not see it right away is that I moderate all comments, i.e. they are put “on hold” until I approve them. It keeps out spam. To navigate there is a great search engine, type in what you want to know, it works! Or look at the categories on the right such as missing places, NH Women, etc.

  2. Pingback: Was Your New Hampshire Ancestor a Suffragist? | Cow Hampshire

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