XLVII. MINNESOTA
[A.]
In the early days, long before the organization of either State or local societies, there were, besides those mentioned in the main chapter, a few earnest women who were ever ready to subscribe for suffrage papers and circulate tracts and petitions to congress and the State legislature, whose names should be honored with at least a mention on the page of history. Among them were: Mrs. Addie Ballou, Mrs. Ellis White, Mrs. Eliza Dutcher, Mrs. Sarah Clark, Miss Amelia Heebner, Miss Emily A. Emerson, Mrs. Mary F. Mead, Mrs. E. M. O'Brien, Miss Ellen C. Thompson, Miss R. J. Haner, Mrs. Mary Hulett, Mrs. Gorham Powers, Mrs. C. A. Hotchkiss, Mrs. Emma Wilson, Mrs. Mary Wilkins, Mrs. Anna D. Weeks, Mrs. Mary Leland, Mrs. Susan C. Burger, Mrs. A. R. Lovejoy, and others.
[B.]
Of the seventy-six organized counties in Minnesota we give the following partial list of those that have elected women to the office of superintendent of public schools: Mille Lacs County, Olive R. Barker; Pine, Ella Gorton; Lac Qui Parle, Malena P. Kirley; Anoka, Mrs. Catharine J. Pierce, Mrs. Ellen Conforth, Miss Dailey; Benton, Mrs. Belle Graham, Mrs. E. K. Whitney; Cottonwood, Mrs. E. C. Huntington, Mrs. B. J. Banks, Mrs. L. Huntington; Dodge, Mrs. Mary Powell Wheeler, Mrs. P. L. Dart, Mrs. J. W. Willard, Barbara Van Allen; Dakota, Mrs. Martha Wallace, Harriet E. Jones, Mrs. C. H. Day, Mrs. C. Teachout, Nellie Duff, Mary Mather, Anna Manners, Jennie Horton; Freeborn, Mrs. J. B. Foote, Mrs. D. R. Hibbs, Mrs. A. W. Johnson, Mrs. J. H. Pickard; Fillmore, Charlotte Taeor, Margaret Hood, Mrs. M. E. Molstad, Mrs. A. E. Harsh; Fairbault, Jane Harris, Georgia Adams, Mrs. A. B. Thorp, Mrs. Levi Crump, Mrs. R. C. Smith, Mary Rumage, Mrs. L. A. Scott; Goodhue, Mrs. H. A. Hobart; Brown, Mrs. O. B. Ingraham; Douglass, Mrs. M. C. Lewis, Mrs. J. B. Van Hoesen, Mrs. Trask; Houston, Mrs. Annie M. Carpenter; Hennepin, Angelina Dupont, Mrs. M. F. Taylor; Lyon, Louise M. Ferro, M. D., Mrs. W. C. Robinson, Mertie Caley; Mower, Mrs. W. H. Parker, Mrs. V. J. Duffy, Mrs. J. F. Rockwell, Mrs. E. Hoppin, Sarah M. Dean; Marshall, Mrs. L. H. Stone; Meeker, Mrs. A. R. Jackman, Mrs. Orin Whitney, Mary E. Ferguson; Martin, Mrs. J. W. Fuller, Mrs. M. E. St. John, Mary E. Harvey, Mary A. McLean; Olmstead, Adelle Moore, Jane Haggerty, Mrs. R. S. Carver; Polk, Mrs. M. C. Perrin, Mrs. J. A. Barnum; Ramsey, Mrs. B. McGuire, Annie E. Dunn; St. Louis, Sarah Burger Stearns; Winona, Dr. Adaline Williams; Stevens county reports one lady serving as school-district treasurer; Otter Tail county reports six ladies serving in different places; Wright county, four serving as clerks of school-districts; and in Beeker county it is said ladies sometimes serve as deputies during their husbands' absence.
[C.]
In a volume edited by Harriet N. R. Arnold, entitled, "The Poets and Poetry of Minnesota," published in 1864, are the following names: Mrs. Laura E. Bacon Hunt, Mrs. Emily F. Bugbee Moore, Miss Eleanor C. Donnelly, Miss Jane Gray Fuller, Mrs. E. M. Harris, Miss Ninetta Maine, Mrs. J. R. McMasters, Harriet E. Bishop, Irene Galloway, Mary R. Lyon, Miss M. E. Pierson Smith, Mrs. Helen L. Pandergast, Julia A. A. Wood. Among the later writers possessing true poetic genius are Mrs. Julia Cooley Carruth, Miss Eva J. Stickney, Miss Jennie E. M. Caine, Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller.
Among the authors who sent their books to the New Orleans Exposition in 1885, are Frances A. Shaw, Marion Shaw, Minnie May Lee, Eleanor G. Donnelly, Mrs. M. M. Sanford, Mrs. Julia Wood, Edna A. Barnard, Mrs. Arnold, Miss Franc E. Babbett, Mrs. Henderson, Miss Campbell, Mrs. C. H. Plummer, Mrs. Will E. Haskell, Mrs. Delia Whitney Norton, Maria A. Drew, Mrs. Jennie Lynch, Miss Mary A. Cruikshank.
[D.]
Mrs. Winchell, wife of the president of the Minnesota State University, kindly sent us the names of the fifty-six young women who were graduated from that institution between 1875 and 1885: Class of '75, Helen Mar Ely; '76, Martha Butler; '77, Matilda J. Campbell, Viola Fuller, Charlotte A. Rollet, Mary A. Maes; '78, Mary Robinson, Nettie Getchel; '79, Marian H. Roe, Caroline Rollet, Martha J. West, Evelyn May Champlin, Etta Medora Eliot; '80, Lizzie A. House, Bessie S. Lawrence, Minnie Reynolds, Lillian Todd, Cora Inez Brown; '81, Emily Hough, Diana Burns, Sarah E. Palmer, Lilla Ruth Williams; '82, Carrie Holt, Lydia Holt, Mary Eliza Holt, Alice E. Demmon, Louise Lillian Hilbourn, Emily D. McMillan, Ada Eva Pillsbury, Agnes V. Bonniwell, Grace W. Curtis, Marie Louise Henry, Mary Nancy Hughes, Carrie D. Fletcher; '83, Annie Harriet Jefferson, Kate Louise Kennedy, Sarah Pierrepont McNair, Anna Calista Marston, Janet Nunn, Emma Frances Trussell, Helen Louise Pierce, Martha Sheldon, Louise E. Hollister, Emma J. Ware; '84, Hannah Sewall, Susie Sewall, Anna Bonfoy, Bessie Latho, Addie Kingsbury, Belle Bradford, Emma Twinggi; '85, Mary Benton, Bertha Brown, Ida Mann, Mary Irving, Mabel Smith.
Among the women who have been successful as preceptresses in the State University are: Helen Sutherland, M. A., Mrs. Augusta Norwood Smith, Matilda J. Campbell, B. L., Maria L. Sanford.
Among the teachers in the normal schools of the State are the following:
Winona--Martha Brechbill, Sophia L. Haight, Jennie Ellis, Sarah E. Whittaker, Kate L. Sprague, Vienna Dodge, Ada L. Mitchell, Anna C. Foekens, Rena M. Mead, Mary E. Couse, B. S.
Mankato Normal School--Helen M. Philips, Defransa A. Swan, Anna McCutcheon, Genevieve S. Hawley, Mary E. Hutcheson, Eliza A. Cheney, Charity A. Green, M. Adda Holton.
St. Cloud Normal School--Isabel Lawrence, Ada A. Warner, Minnie F. Wheelock, Rose A. Joclin, Mary L. Wright, Kittie W. Allen. Nearly all of the above-named teachers were graduated from Eastern colleges and universities.
Women occupy the same positions as men and receive corresponding salaries. A recent report of Minneapolis schools names fifteen women in the High School receiving from $650 to $900 per year; twelve principals of ward schools, receiving from $750 to $1,000; and eleven primary principals receiving from $650 to $800. At St. Paul there were reported two principals getting $1,200 each, two getting $900, and twelve others getting $600 each; of the five lady assistants in the High School, one received $900, one $800, and three received $700 each. The principal of the High School at Duluth receives $750 per annum, and some of the assistants and principals of ward schools, $600.
Miss Sarah E. Sprague, a graduate of St. Lawrence University, and of the Normal and Training School at Oswego, N. Y., has been employed since August, 1884, by the State Department of Public Instruction, for institute work, at a salary of $1,260 per year and expenses. Miss Sprague is a lady of rare ability and an honor to her profession.
Prominent among private schools for young ladies is the Bennett Seminary at Minneapolis, Mrs. B. B. Bennett, principal; also the Wasioja Seminary, Mrs. C. B. P. Lang, preceptress, and Miss M. V. Paine, instructor in music. The services of Miss Mary E. Hutcheson have been highly valued as instructor in vocal music and elocution in the Mankato Normal School. Miss Florence Barton at Minneapolis, Mrs. Emily Moore of Duluth, are excellent teachers of music, and Miss Zella D'Unger, of elocution.
Prominent among the kindergarten schools is that of Mrs. D. V. S. Brown at St. Paul; Mrs. Mary Dowse, Duluth; Miss Endora Hailman, Winona. The latter is director of the kindergarten connected with the Winona State Normal School. Miss Fannie Wood, Miss Kate E. Barry, Miss Ella P. McWhorter and Miss Abby E. Axtell, are reported as having rendered very efficient service as teachers in the State Deaf and Dumb Asylum; Miss Mary Kirk, Miss Alice Mott and Miss Emma L. Rohow are spoken of as having been earnest and devoted teachers in the State Institution for the Blind.
Mrs. Viola Fuller Miner of Minneapolis, graduated from the State University, has long been known as a teacher and writer of much ability. Her pen never touches the suffrage question except to its advantage. Miss Eloise Butler, teaching in the High School of the same city, would gladly have lent her personal aid to suffrage work had time and strength permitted. We have at least the blessing of her membership and influence. Mrs. Sadie Martin, likewise a teacher of advanced classes and an easy writer, will be remembered as the first president of the local suffrage society of Minneapolis, and one much devoted to its interests. Mrs. Maggie McDonald, formerly a teacher at Rochester and long a resident of St. Paul, has ever been a devoted friend of the suffrage cause--commenced work as long ago as '69, and is to-day unflagging in hope and zeal. Mrs. Caroline Nolte of the same city, though much occupied as a teacher in the High School, still found time to aid in forming the St. Paul Suffrage Society. Miss Helen M. McGowan, a teacher at Owatonna, is spoken of as "a grand woman who believes in the ballot as a means to higher ends." Miss S. A. Mayo, a lady of fine culture and a successful teacher of elocution, was also an active member of this society while in the city. Miss Clara M. Coleman, a classical scholar from Michigan University, for one year principal of the Duluth High School, was a believer in equal rights for all and did not hesitate to say so. Miss Louise Hollister, a graduate of the Minnesota University, is Miss Coleman's successor and a friend of suffrage for women, with an educational qualification; she is vice-president of the Equal Rights League of Duluth. Miss Jenny Lind Gowdy, graduated from the Winona Normal School, is an excellent primary principal who teaches her pupils that girls should have the same rights and privileges as boys--no more, no less.
[E.]
The names of the women who have been admitted to the Minnesota State Medical Society are: Clara E. Atkinson, Ida Clark, Mary G. Hood, A. M. Hunt, Harriet E. Preston, Belle M. Walrath, Annes F. Wass, Lizzie R. Wass, Mary Twoddy Whetsone.
Among the women who have practiced medicine in Minnesota are: Catharine Underwood Jewell, Lake City; E. M. Roys, Rochester; Harriet E. Preston, M. Mason, Mary E. Emery, Jennie Fuller, Clara E. Atkinson, St. Paul; Mary G. Hood, Mary J. Twoddy Whetsone, R. C. Henderson, A. M. Hunt, Adele S. Hutchinson, Mary L. Swain, D. A. Coombe, Minneapolis; E. M. Roys, Mary Whitney, Ida S. Clark, Rochester; Augusta L. Rosenthal, Winona; Fannie E. Holden, Anna Brockway Gray, Duluth.
The board of officers of the Sisters of Bethany has for many years consisted of: President, Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve; Vice-President, Mrs. Euphemia N. Overlock; Secretary, Mrs. Harriet G. Walker; Treasurer, Mrs. Abbie G. Mendenhall.
The city of Minneapolis takes the lead of all others in the State in the number of its benevolent institutions. It has its Woman's Industrial Exchange, as an aid to business women; its Woman's Home, or pleasant boarding-house; for the care of sick women, its Northwestern Woman's Hospital and training-school for nurses; also a homeopathic hospital for women; for the care of homeless infants, its Foundlings' Home; for unfortunate girls, its Bethany Home. All of these institutions are in the hands of the best of women. Among the most active are: Mrs. M. B. Lewis, Miss Abby Adair, Mrs. O. A. Pray, Mrs. J. M. Robinson, Mrs. John Edwards, Mrs. L. Christian, Mrs. S. W. Farnham, Mrs. Wm. Harrison, Mrs. H. M. Carpenter, Mrs. D. Morrison, Mrs. John Crosby, Mrs. George B. Wright, Mrs. Moses Marston, Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve, Mrs. T. B. Walker, Dr. Mary S. Whetsone, Mrs. C. S. Winchell, Dr. Mary G. Hood, Mrs. R. W. Jordan, Miss A. M. Henderson.
In the city of Duluth there is a woman's home unlike any other in the State. It is managed by a corporate body of ladies known as home missionaries. The charter members are: Sarah B. Stearns, Laura Coppernell, Jennie C. Swanstrom, Fanny H. Anthony, Olive Murphy, Flora Davey, Jennie S. Lloyd, Fannie E. Holden, M. D. The work of this corporation is to seek out all poor women needing temporary shelter and employment. The classes chiefly cared for are poor widows and deserted wives, and such small children as may belong to them; also over-worked young women who may need a temporary resting-place; also young girls thrown suddenly upon their own resources without knowledge of how to care for themselves. These ladies care also for the unfortunate of another class, but in a retired place, unmarked by any sign. They prefer that to the usual plan of caring for the victims of men.
[F.]
Portrait and landscape-painters in oil and water-colors, who give promise of success: Minneapolis, Miss Clara V. Shaw, Miss Mary E. Neagle, Mrs. Frank Painter, Miss Mary Dunn, Mrs. Irene W. Clark, Miss C. M. Lenora, Mrs. Arthur Clark, Mrs. A. M. West, Miss Myra H. Twitchell, Mrs. A. L. Loring, Miss Luella Gurney, Mrs. Charles Fairfield, Mrs. A. T. Rand, Miss E. Robeson, Miss Helen Goodwin, Mrs. Sarah E. Corbett, Mrs. Lucille Hunkle, Miss Mary Kennedy, Mrs. Frances A. Pray. Mrs. W. B. Mead, Miss Flora Edwards, Mrs. Knight, Mrs. I. W. Mauley, Mrs. M. P. Hawkins; St. Paul, Miss Florence M. Cole, Miss Mary Hollingshead, Miss A. M. Shavre, Miss Alice Chandler, Mrs. Martha Griggs, Miss L. B. West, Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Theodosia Rose Cleveland, Mrs. Genevieve Jefferson, Mrs. C. B. Grant, Jennie Lynch, Miss Wilson, Miss Lilla Inness, Mrs. George Eastman, Mrs. Paine, Mrs. Fannie Smith, Miss Alice Page, Mrs. Hunter; Winona, Mrs. W. Ely, Mrs. Ella Newell, Miss D. E. Barr; Lake City, Mrs. H. B. Sargent, Mrs. J. G. Richardson, Bessie Milliken; Stillwater, Sadie S. Clark, Miss Field, Sarah Murdock; Albert Lea, Birdie Slocum; Fairbault, Grace McKinster, Miss S. E. Cook; Litchfield, Mrs. Carter; Alexandria, Mamie Lewis; St. Cloud, Mary Clarke; Fergus Falls, Mrs. Wurtle; Owatonna, Mrs. D. O. Searles; Duluth, Emma F. Shaw Newcome, Anna E. Gilbert, Mrs. A. D. Frost, De Etta Evans, Mrs. Persis Norton, Addie W. L. Barrow, Gertrude Olmstead, Addie Hunter, Fanny Woodbridge. Doubtless there are many others of worth in other localities improving their talents and finding real enjoyment and pecuniary recompense in the pursuit of their loved art.
It is one of the imperfections of this chapter that the names cannot be given of the many gifted young ladies who have gone from Minnesota for a musical education to the New York and Boston Conservatories of Music. Of those who have gone from Duluth, and returned as proficients, may be named Mary Willis, Mary Ensign Hunter, Mary Munger, Florence Moore and Jessie Hopkins. With this beautiful thought in mind, "noblesse oblige," the christian workers of Duluth call upon these talented young ladies for aid in furnishing many entertainments for charity's sake, and are seldom disappointed.
[G.]
Among the occasional speakers and writers not mentioned in the main chapter are: Abbie J. Spaulding, Mrs. M. M. Elliot, Miss A. M. Henderson, Mrs. M. J. Warner, Lizzie Manson, Rebecca S. Smith, Viola Fuller Miner, Harriet G. Walker, Eliza Burt Gamble, Emma Harriman, Eva McIntyre, Mary Hall Dubois, Minnie Reed, Mrs. G. H. Miller, Dr. Mary Whetsone, Mrs. M. C. Ladd, Mrs. M. A. Seely, Mrs. E. S. Wright, Mrs. M. H. Drew, Mrs. E. J. Holly, Mrs. David Sanford, Mrs. F. E. Russell, Lily Long. Zoe McClary, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Thomas McClary, gives promise of distinction.
Since the formation of the State and local societies there are many women in their quiet homes who are ever ready to encourage any effort toward making all women more free, helpful and happy. Let this paragraph record the names of a few of these: Mary E. Chute, Isabelle L. Blaisdell, Mary Partridge, Mrs. C. C. Curtis, Frances A. Shaw, Lucy E. Prescott, Mrs. S. J. Squires, Minnie Reed, Mrs. E. S. Wright, Nellie H. Hazeltine, Adelle J. Grow, Mrs. A. B. Cole, Mrs. A. F. Bliss, Mrs. E. J. Holley, Frances P. Sawyer, Frances L. James, Mrs. M. C. Clark, Lucy Gibbs, Prudence Lusk, Lizzie P. Hawkins, M. Hammond, Mrs. E. Southworth, Josephine Strait, Kittie Manson, Mrs. R. C. Watson, Alice B. Cash, Emma Drew, Helen M. Olds, Mrs. W. W. Bilson, Adaline Smith, Mrs. L. A. Watts, Emily Moore, Olive Murphy, Mrs. L. A. Wentworth, Gertrude L. Gow, Della W. Norton, Mrs. V. A. Wright, Mrs. M. H. Wells, Aurelia Bassett, Kate C. Stevens, Mary Vrouman, Belle Hazen, Mrs. D. C. Hunt, Mrs. L. H. Young, Louisa Stevens, Esther Hayes, Sarah J. Crawford, Lucinda Roberts, Carrie Rawson, Sarah Herrick, Kate Tabor, Charlotte Herbert, Belle McClelland, Jane E. Knott, Margaret Bryson, Mary McKnight, Emma Coleman, Sarah Ricker, Mary M. Pomeroy, Sarah Pribble, Mary A. Grinnell, Eliza Van Ambden.
* * * * *
LIII. CALIFORNIA
We give not only the names of the delegates present at the convention of 1870, but also of a few of the most earnest friends of the cause in the several counties of the State, not heretofore mentioned in connection with the early conventions.
In San Francisco we must not omit the venerable Eliza Taylor, a sweet-faced Quaker, eighty years of age, nor Fanny Green McDougall--"Aunt" Fanny, as we loved to call her--nor Mrs. C. C. Calhoun, Mary F. Snow, Minnie Edwards, Mrs. O. Fuller, Mrs. C. M. Parker, Wm. R. Ryder, Mrs. M. J. Hendee, Kate Collins, Mary Kellogg, Louise Fowler, M. J. Hemsley and Mrs. H. T. Perry. In October, 1883, Elizabeth McComb, Mary Coggins, Mrs. J. V. Drinkhouse, Dr. and Mrs. E. D. Smith, Mrs. E. Sloan, Mrs. C. J. Furman, Elizabeth D. Layres, Miss Prince, Kate Kennedy, Carrie Parker, Marion Hill,[587] Mrs. Olmstead, Mrs. Dr. White, Dr. Laura P. Williams and Mrs. Olive Washburn were all members of the city and State associations. There was the brilliant Sallie Hart, who took such an active part in the "local option" contest in 1871, and who as a newspaper reporter and correspondent in the State legislature for two or three sessions was very active in urging the claims of woman upon the consideration of our law-makers.
Hon. Philip A. Roach, often a prominent official of the State, and for many years editor of the Daily Examiner, is an advocate of woman's rights and was instrumental in getting an act, known as "Senator Roach's bill to Punish Wife-whippers," passed. It provided that such offenders should be punished by flogging upon the bare back at the whipping-post. A wise and just law, but it was afterward declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Hon. James G. Maguire, a brilliant and rising young lawyer, a member of the legislature in 1875, now a judge of the Superior Court of San Francisco, is a most reliable and talented advocate of equality for women. Among the members of the bar and other prominent men of the State are to be found a number who are either pronounced in their views of woman's right to vote, or are inclined to favor all measures tending to ameliorate woman's condition in life; of whom are Judge G. M. Clough, Judge Darwin, D. J. Murphy, Judge L. Quint, Col. J. P. Jackson of the Daily Post, Hon. Charles Gildea of the Board of Equalization, Judge Toohey, the late Judge Charles Wolff, Rev. Dr. F. F. Jewell, Dr. R. H. McDonald, the prominent temperance advocate; Hon. J. T. Wharton, P. S. Dorney, esq., Judge J. B. Lamar, Rev. Dr. Robert McKenzie, Capt. Walker of the City Argus, Hon. Frank Pixley of the Argonaut, ex-Gov. James A. Johnson of the Daily Alta, Alfred Cridge, esq., Dr. R. B. Murphy, N. Hawks, W. H. Barnes of The Call, O. Dearing, Hon. W. W. Marrow, Hon. Charles A. Sumner, representative in congress; Hon. J. B. Webster of the California Patron, in San Francisco. In other parts of the State are; Senator Cross of Nevada county, Assemblyman Cominette of Amador, Judge G. G. Clough, and Senator Kellogg of Plumas county, Hon. H. M. Larue, Speaker of the House, and Assemblyman Doty of Sacramento county, Senator Del Valle of Los Angeles, Hon. O. B. Hitchcock of Tulare county, Judge McCannaughy and Judge E. Steele of Siskyon county, Hon. T. B. Wigginton, Judge Charles Marks, R. J. Steele, esq., of Merced county; John Mitchell, John T. Davis and Capt. Gray of Stanislaus; Hon. J. McM. Shafter of Marin county; Senator Brooks and Judge J. D. Hinds of Ventura county.
Sacramento county contains a large number of progressive men and women, though the good work has consisted mainly in the efforts made by committees appointed by the State society to attend the biennial sessions of the legislature, most of whom were not residents of the county. But among those who have done good service in Sacramento, the first and most active for many years has been Mrs. L. G. Waterhouse, now of Monterey. She espoused the cause in early life, and when many added years compelled her to retire from active service, her efforts in behalf of women were still continued. Miss Dr. Kellogg is not only a successful practitioner of medicine, but is gifted with eloquent speech, and has on several occasions addressed the legislature of the State; Dr. Jennie Bearby, for some years a resident of Sacramento, now of Idaho, is worthy of mention; Mrs. M. J. Young, attorney-at-law since June, 1879; Annie G. Cummings and daughter, have been among the earliest and most faithful adherents to our cause. Mrs. E. B. Crocker has, through her social position, exerted great influence in a quiet way, and has contributed liberally from her vast wealth to aid the cause; she founded the Marguerite Home for aged women. Dr. and Mrs. Bowman, now of Oakland, were pioneers in this work; while Mesdames Jackson, Hontoon, Perley Watson, and Miss Hattie Moore are among the recent converts. Hon. Grove L. Johnson has been one of the most eloquent of all the fearless champions of women who have occupied a seat in the legislature; Hon. Creed Haymond deserves to rank with the foremost, as an able advocate of woman's political rights; Hon. S. J. Finney of Santa Cruz, Talbot Wallis, State Librarian, Judge Taylor, a prominent lawyer, and his brilliant wife, are also among our friends. Sarah A. Montgomery, Mattie A. Shaw, Mrs. A. Wilcox, Mary B. Lewis, Judge and Mrs. McFarland, Judge J. W. Armstrong, encouraged by his devoted and talented wife, and a large number of others, favor in a quiet way the ballot for women.
San Joaquin county has been the home of Laura De Force Gordon since 1870, and much of her practice as a lawyer has been in the courts at Stockton. Among the earliest advocates of suffrage were Mr. and Mrs. William Condy, Mr. and Mrs. Harry, Judge Brush, Hattie Brush, Judge Roysdon, William Hickman and wife, Mrs. E. Emery, William Israel, Hannah Israel, Miss E. Clifford, Dr. Holden, Richard Condy and his noble wife Elizabeth, who was the first president of the San Joaquin county society. Among a host of others are Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Freeman and their bright young daughter Sophronia, who gives promise of future usefulness in the lecture-field; Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Gage, whose daughter Hattie possesses marked artistic ability, and though still in her teens has produced oil paintings of rare beauty; Dr. Brown, physician in charge of the State Insane Asylum; Dr. Phoebe Tabor, for many years a successful medical practitioner; Mrs. N. G. Cary, Mrs. M. S. Webb, Mrs. Zignago, a successful business woman; Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Loomis, R. B. Lane, Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Bond, and Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Overhiser, both of whom are active members of that liberal woman's rights order, the Patrons of Husbandry. Hon. R. C. Sargent, a member of the legislature for several terms, has always aided the woman's cause by his vote and influence. Dr. J. L. Sargent and his intelligent wife are also friends to every measure tending to benefit woman. Hon. S. L. Terry, Senator F. T. Baldwin, James A. Lontitt, esq., Judge J. H. Budd, Judge A. Van R. Patterson, George B. McStay, Judge Buckley and a number of other prominent officials and members of the legal profession, are all in favor of equal rights.
Sonoma county has a few fearless friends of woman suffrage. Mary Jewett, Mrs. Prince, Fannie M. Wertz and Miss E. Merrill were officers in the first organization formed at Healdsburg in that county in 1870, and together with J. G. Howell and wife, who were proprietors of the Russian River Flag, kept up the society for years. At Petaluma, Mrs. A. A. Haskell, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Hatch, Kate Lovejoy and Mrs. Judge Latimer organized a society in 1869. In Solano county are Mr. and Mrs. Denio and Mrs. E. L. Hale of Vallejo; Mrs. Elizabeth Ober and Mrs. Celia Geddes of Fairfield. Napa county soon became an objective point for lecturers; a society was organized at St. Helena in 1871, with Mr. and Mrs. John Lewellyn, Charles King, Mrs. Potter and Dr. and Mrs. Allyn as officers; at Napa were Joseph Eggleton and wife and Mrs. Ellis. In San Mateo county was Mrs. Dr. Kilpatrick. Contra Costa county was organized in 1870, and Mrs. Phebe Benedict, Mrs. Abbott, Mary O'Brien, Sarah Sellers, Dr. and Mrs. Howard, Hannah Israel, an able writer and lecturer, and Capt. Kimball of Antioch, took an active part therein. Mrs. J. H. Chase of Martinez, E. H. Cox and wife of Danville, were pioneers in the cause, and Henry and Abigail Bush of Martinez, were most prominent in the first meetings held there. Mrs. Bush had the honor to preside over the second woman suffrage convention ever held in the United States, that at Rochester, N. Y., in 1848. O. Alley and wife, also of Martinez, extended their hospitality to lecturers who visited that place, and fully sympathized in the cause.
In Marin county a society was formed in 1870, with Isabella Irwin, Mrs. Barney, Flora Whitney, Mrs. M. Dubois and Mary Battey Smith, as officers; Mrs. McM. Shafter, a gifted and influential lady, was also an active worker in the good cause. Alameda county--Rev. John Benton and wife, Professor E. Carr and wife, Mrs. C. C. Calhoun, Mrs. M. L. S. Duncan, Mrs. S. S. Allen, Dr. and Mrs. Powers, Mr. and Mrs. Ingersoll, Angie Eager, Mary Kenny, George and Martha Parry and Mr. and Mrs. William Stevens, were interested in the earlier agitation of the question; Mrs. Sanford, Mrs. A. M. Stoddard and Mrs. M. Johnson are among the later converts. Merced county the home of Rowena Granice Steele, the author, and publisher of the San Joaquin Valley Argus, has furnished the State with a worthy and capable advocate of woman suffrage, both as a speaker and writer. In her cozy, rose-embowered cottage at Merced, she generously entertains her numerous guests, who always seek out this distinguished and warm-hearted friend of woman. Stanislaus county is the present home of Jennie Phelps Purvis, a talented and brilliant woman, well known in literary circles in an early day and for some years a prominent officer and member of the State society. At Modesto are Mrs. Lapham and daughter Amel, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown, good friends to suffrage. In San Diego are Mrs. F. P. Kingsbury, Mrs. Tallant. In Santa Cruz county, Georgiana Bruce Kirby, Mrs. H. M. Blackburn, Mrs. M. E. Heacock, Rev. D. G. Ingraham, Ellen Van Valkenburg. In Los Angeles county, Mrs. Eliza J. Hall, M. D. Ingo county, J. A. Jennings. Santa Clara county, J. J. Owen, the able editor of the San Jose Mercury; Laura J. Watkins, Hon. O. H. Smith and wife, Mrs. G. B. McKee, Mrs. McFarland, Mrs. Herman, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. J. J. Crawford, Mrs. R. B. Hall, Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Wallis, Mrs. C. M. Putney, Mrs. Damon, Miss Walsh, and many others, have all helped the good cause in San Jose; while Louisa Smith of Santa Clara, a lady of advancing years, was ever a faithful friend of the cause, as was also Miss Emma S. Sleeper of Mountain View, formerly of Mt. Morris, N. Y. In Nevada county, originally the home of Senator A. A. Sargent, the question of woman suffrage was agitated at an early day. The most active friends were: Ellen Clark Sargent, Emily Rolfe, Mrs. Leavett, Mrs. E. P. Keeney, Mrs. E. Loyed, Elmira Eddy, Mr. and Mrs. William Stevens, Mrs. Hanson, Judge Palmer and Mrs. Cynthia Palmer.
* * * * *