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Anne M. Manley Southern was a West Virginia suffragist and served as president of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association in 1905. She was also a member of the Fairmont Political Equality Club alongside her sister-in-law Jessie G. Manley. She died not long after her presidential term and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. 


The Fairmont West Virginian, October 7, 1905

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The Bluefield Evening Leader, October 20, 1906.

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The Fairmont West Virginian, April 5, 1907

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The Fairmont West Virginian, April 8, 1907

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Fairmont City Directory, 1907

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Anne M. Manley was born to Harrison and Sarah Manley on May 19, 1857 and she married James Rymer on March 9, 1883. The couple had one daughter, Virginia Manley Southern Saunders, in October 1894. She was a member of the Fairmont Political Equality Club and the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association. She served as president of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association in 1905.

Anne Manley Southern died April 5, 1907 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Fairmont. 

Fairmont, West Virginia, City Directory, 1904. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed June 30, 2022.

Fairmont, West Virginia, City Directory, 1907. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed June 30, 2022. 

Stanley, Daphne Lavonia. “Biography of Anne M. Manley Southern, 1857-1907.” Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1009932356.

“Virginia Manley Southern Saunders.” Find A Grave. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54064142/virginia-manley-saunders.

“Women in the West Virginia Woman Suffrage Movement.” Fighting the Long Fight: West Virginia Women and the Right to Vote. A West Virginia Archives and History Online Exhibit. Accessed June 30, 2022. http://archive.wvculture.org/history/exhibitsonline/suffrage/suffragewomen.html.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

The Fairmont West Virginian., October 07, 1905, Image 1. Chronicling America. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092557/1905-10-07/ed-1/seq-1/.

Bluefield evening leader. [volume], October 20, 1906, Image 5. Chronicling America. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092066/1906-10-20/ed-1/seq-5/.

The Fairmont West Virginian., April 05, 1907, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 4. Chronicling America. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092557/1907-04-05/ed-1/seq-4/.

The Fairmont West Virginian., April 08, 1907, Image 1. Chronicling America. Accessed June 30, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092557/1907-04-08/ed-1/seq-1/.

Fairmont, West Virginia, City Directory, 1907. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed June 30, 2022.