New Hampshire Suffragist, Performer, Composer, Poet, Human Rights Advocate: Abby J. (Hutchinson) Patton of Milford (1829-1892)

Posted on 26 June, 2019 by Janice Brown

From Appletons Cyclopedia of American Biography 1600-1889, Vol III Grinnell-Lockwood. Ancestry.com

“She was interested in the education of women and was an earnest believer in women’s suffrage, which movement she has aided by tongue and pen,” is how she was described in the book, “A Woman of the Century; Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life,” by Mary A. Livermore and Frances E. Willard, 1892.

By her tongue it is hinted that it was through song with a lovely alto/contralto singing voice that she promoted women’s rights. She was internationally renown and also used letter writing and poetry to promote causes dear to her. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Suffragist, Clubwoman, Publicist, Civic Leader: Mary Inez (Stevens) Wood of Portsmouth (1866-1945)

Posted on 24 June, 2019 by Janice Brown

Mary Inez (Stevens) Wood. From book, 1000 New Hampshire Notables.

Mary Inez Stevens was born 18 January 1866 in Woodstock/Ludlow VT. She was the daughter of  John L. and Jean Ainsworth (Brand) Stevens. She was a remarkable, active woman who served her community, state, and country through active participation in countless organizations, many to the benefit of women.

She died 24 April 1945 in Portsmouth, NH. She is buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Portsmouth NH. She married 14 October 1884 in Rockingham VT to George Albert Wood, son of James A. & Mary E. (Bowers) Wood. He was born in Acworth NH.  In 1900 she was married and living in Portsmouth, at 12 Highland Street. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Men Were Suffragists

Posted on 21 June, 2019 by Janice Brown

Metal political pin button, “Equal Suffrage” circa 1912. Donated to NH Historical Society by Stanley Hamel in 2007. Used with permission.

When we think of the events leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment, we picture women in white parading in orderly fashion down wide avenues, or wearing large hats carrying placards in front of the White House. In fact there were many men who supported woman suffrage in New Hampshire, but they are rarely written about. For every man mentioned here there were probably many more unsung heroes of the suffrage movement. If you know of more, please mention them in a comment to this post. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Suffragist, Physician, Teacher and Civic Leader: Dr. Jennie Sarah Barney of Grafton and Franklin (1861-1956)

Posted on 19 June, 2019 by Janice Brown

Dr. Jennie Sarah Barney. Photograph courtesy of the Grafton (NH) Historical Society.

Jennie Sarah Barney‘s birth certificate does not list a first name. But the 1880 U.S. Census calls her Jennie S. Barney, and her college graduation listing shows: “Jennie Sarah Barney.”

Most of her professional life she went by Dr. J. Sarah Barney.”  She was born on 8 June 1861 in the town of Grafton in Grafton County, New Hampshire, the daughter of Jesse & Elvira (Hale) Barney.

She died 24 Feb 1956 at Merrill Manor in Franklin NH. Services were held at the Unitarian Church in Franklin with burial in Franklin Cemetery. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Suffragist, Deputy Commissioner, Public Educator, Club-woman: Harriet Lane Huntress of Center Harbor and Concord (1860-1922)

Posted on 17 June, 2019 by Janice Brown

Harriet Lane Huntress from the Granite State Monthly of 1914.

Harriet Lane Huntress was born on 30 November 1860 in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, daughter of James Lewis & Harriet (Paige) Huntress. Her father was a hotel keeper, owner of the famed Senter House in Center Harbor New Hampshire.

Harriet was a member of the New Hampshire Equal Suffrage Association, working and contributing on their behalf, and serving on that group’s advisory board. Her life’s work was on public education with a strong focus on the Keene and Plymouth New Hampshire Normal Schools (now called Keene State College and Plymouth State College).

She died 31 July 1922 in Concord NH at her home on 93 Pleasant Street. Harriet Lane Huntress is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge MA. [Her obituary can be found below the genealogy entry for her father, below].

Continue reading →

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