29th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, November 3-6, 1897
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The 29th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Geneva, NY November 3-6, 1897. Events on November 3 were held at Collins Music Hall on South Main Street and events on November 4-5 occurred at the Smith Opera House. Executive meetings and conference lodgings were at the Hotel Nester on Exchange Street.
Images
Poster promoting the 1897 NYSWSA
Ribbon from the 29th Convention in Geneva
Pamphlet for the Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association
Pamphlet for the Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, page 2
Pamphlet for the Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, page 3
Pamphlet for the Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, page 4
Mariana W. Chapman, President of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association
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Lillie Devereaux Blake, President of the New York City League, offered an address on the opening night of the convention
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Alice Stone Blackwell, Editor of the Woman's Journal, offered an address on the opening night of the convention
It was tradition that Susan B. Anthony address the NYSWSA convention each year that she was able to attend. She offered her address on the evening of November 3 at Collins Hall.
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Mary Thayer Sanford (left) with Susan B. Anthony and Mary S. Anthony.
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Isabel Howland, Corresponding Secretary for the NYSWSA
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Harriet May Mills, Chairman of the Organization Committee
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Mary Seymour Howell addressed the convention on November 4.
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Harriette A. Keyser, Chairman of the Industrial Committee
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Rev. Annis Ford Eastman addressed the convention on the evening of November 4.
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Mary Hillard Loines, Chairman of the Legislative Committee
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Elnora M. Babcock, Chairman of the Press Committee
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Mary E. Craigie offered an address on November 5
Ida A. Harper, who was in NY writing Susan B. Anthony's biography, addressed the convention
Rev. Anna Howard Shaw gave the final public address of the 29th Annual Convention
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Ann Fitzhugh Miller (left) and Elizabeth Smith Miller (right) organized the 1897 convention (photo c. 1908)
The Smith Opera House, restored to its 1894 appearance
Original Lempert interior of the Smith Opera House
Geneva Woman's Club play performed April 1, 1921 at the Smith Opera House (Geneva Historical Society)
The Smith restored to its 1931 appearance
Historic photo of Collins Hall
Collins Music Hall
Postcard of the Hotel Nester, c. 1900-1910 (Geneva Historical Society)
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Hotel Nester, c. 1908
After the NYSWSA convention, suffrage supporters in Geneva organized the Geneva Political Equality Club
Newspaper article reporting on the convention, November 10, 1897
Newspaper article reporting on the convention, November 10, 1897
Newspaper article reporting on the convention, November 10, 1897
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was organized in 1869 after the Fifteenth Amendment only granted the vote to men. Matilda Joslyn Gage organized the first state convention at Saratoga Springs, July 13-14, 1869 and the association held a convention annually after that. The annual convention was a strategy used by NYSWSA to bring together all the smaller societies throughout the state to work together to advance women’s suffrage in New York.
The 29th Annual Convention was held November 3-6, 1897 in Geneva, NY. Executive meetings were held at The Nester Hotel, considered the conference headquarters. The opening evening session was held November 3 at Collins Music Hall and the remaining sessions (November 4-5) were at the Smith Opera House. Speakers included Mariana W. Chapman, Lillie Devereaux Blake, Alice Stone Blackwell, Susan B. Anthony, and Rev. Anna Howard Shaw.
The owner of Smith Opera House, William Smith, was a supporter of women’s rights and close friend to suffragist Elizabeth Smith Miller. Elizabeth Smith Miller and her daughter, Anne Fitzhugh Miller, organized the 29th Annual Convention at the request of Harriet May Mills (Chairman of the Organization Committee of the NYSWSA). William Smith donated the use of his venue for the convention, and did so again for several other suffrage-related events.
William Smith constructed the Smith Opera House in 1894 as a live theatre venue seating about 1,200 people. Architects Pierce and Bickford of Elmira, NY designed the exterior of the theatre and the office building in front. The original interior of the theater was designed in a Louis XVI style by Leon H. Lempert of Rochester, NY. The original coloring of the interior was salmon and terracotta. The original interior was completely demolished and redesigned in 1931 into an art-deco style movie theater. The Smith was almost demolished twice, but in 1994, at its centennial, a full restoration was done of both the exterior (back to the 1894 appearance) and the interior (to the 1931 appearance).
The Collins Music Hall (459 South Main Street) was built by Captain and Mrs. Louis Dell Collins in 1893 and operated until 1908. After 1908 it housed Lodge #1054 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The building has now been repurposed into apartments.
The Hotel Nester (529-533 Exchange Street) was erected and opened in 1896 as the only first-class hotel in Geneva. The hotel was owned by Samuel K. Nester. In 1912 the hotel was expanded and renamed the Hotel Seneca. The hotel was a center of the social life in Geneva through World War II and the hotel then declined. For a period of time local clubs and events were held in the building until the hotel and the adjacent Jacobs building were demolished in 1981 to make way for a new senior housing complex.
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Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. November 3-6, 1897. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001316/. Accessed November 3, 2021.
Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. November 3-6, 1897. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001316/. Accessed November 3, 2021.
Twenty Ninth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. November 3-6, 1897. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001316/. Accessed November 3, 2021.
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Miller, Elizabeth Smith, Anne Fitzhugh Miller, and National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection. Scrapbooks of Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller. to 1911, 1897. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/93838336/. Accessed November 4, 2021.
Miller, Elizabeth Smith, Anne Fitzhugh Miller, and National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection. Scrapbooks of Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller. to 1911, 1897. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/93838336/. Accessed November 4, 2021.