Sherwood, New York, was settled in the late eighteenth century and was shaped, in no small degree, by the many Quakers who made Sherwood a home. One of the early pioneers in the area was Benjamin Howland, and it was his son, Howland, who built the stone store in 1837 to serve local commerce.

The Howland Stone Store Museum is listed the National Register of Historic Places for both its architecture and association with the abolitionist and suffragist movements.

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National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Statement of Significance for Sherwood, NY

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National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form:  Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District

The Howland Stone Store Museum was built in 1837 by entrepreneur, abolitionist, and suffragist Slocum Howland. Its cobblestone construction was popular in New York at the time and is an excellent example of this style. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for both its architecture and association with the abolitionist and suffragist movements. Howland, his daughter, and niece were very active in these movements. The museum features artifacts related to the sale of local products and the importation and exportation of goods, items, and memorabilia related to the abolitionist and suffragist movements, and numerous artifacts the family collected on their travels abroad. A highlight of the collection is an Underground Railroad pass brought by two escaping slaves who sought refuge with Howland. The town itself was recently placed on the National Register (as the Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District) because of its strong support for the abolition and suffrage.

Howland Stone Store Museum & Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District 

On May 12, 1851, the three women attended an antislavery lecture by William Lloyd Garrison in Seneca Falls. After the meeting Bloomer and Anthony meet Stanton in the street, and Bloomer introduced the two women. Amelia Bloomer and Elizabeth Stanton are portrayed in the reform style of dress, named “Bloomers” after Amelia Bloomer, featuring trousers under a shortened skirt. Just a few weeks before this May 1851 meeting Bloomer and Stanton had worn the new style publicly in Seneca Falls. The artist also portrayed Stanton holding a book to represent her as the intellectual force behind the early women’s movement. In her autobiography, Elizabeth Cady Stanton remembered her first meeting with Susan B. Anthony: "At this stage of her development I met my future friend and coadjutor for the first time. How well I remember the day! George Thompson and William Lloyd Garrison having announced an anti-slavery meeting in Seneca Falls, Miss Anthony came to attend it. These gentlemen were my guests. Walking home, after the adjournment, we met Mrs. Bloomer and Miss Anthony on the corner of the street, waiting to greet us. There she stood, with her good, earnest face and genial smile, dressed in gray delaine, hat and all the same color, relieved with pale blue ribbons, the perfection of neatness and sobriety. I liked her thoroughly, and why I did not at once invite her home with me to dinner, I do not know. She accuses me of that neglect, and has never forgiven me, as she wished to see and hear all she could of our noble friends. I suppose my mind was full of what I had heard, or my coming dinner, or the probable behavior of three mischievous boys who had been busily exploring the premises while I was at the meeting.”The meeting began a long friendship and partnership between Elizabeth and Susan, both of whom became leading social and women's rights activists during the 19th century. Among the many causes they supported, women's right to vote was the one they championed the most. Although they did not live to see this dream come to fruition, they, along with fellow activist Lucretia Mott, laid the foundation on which women's rights movement ultimately achieved its goal in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment.The Anthony-Stanton-Bloomer statue was done by professor and sculptor Ted Aub and was dedicated on July 18, 1998, the 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention. The location along Van Cleef Lake is along the route visitors take between the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House.

This statue and historical marker commemorate the historic 1851 meeting between women's rights activists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were introduced to each other by fellow activist Amelia Bloomer. Susan and Elizabeth are depicted at the moment they shook hands for the first time, with Amelia looking on. On the ground next to the statue is the historical marker, which provides information about the meeting.

Depiction of Amelia Bloomer wearing the famous "bloomer" costume which was named after her (mid-length skirts over quasi-harem-pants), September 1851.

"When Anthony Met Stanton"

This statewide digital story map includes landmarks throughout New York that are related to the history of the Women's Suffrage Movement.

New York Women's Suffrage History Trail

Susan B. Anthony was born into a Quaker household in 1820. Like many other Quakers, Anthony's parents&nbsp;advocated&nbsp;liberal reforms such as the end of slavery and greater freedoms for women. After graduation, Anthony taught for fifteen years before she became active in the&nbsp;burgeoning women's&nbsp;movement. From there, she dedicated her life to greater rights for women, something she believed could be best advanced by securing equal&nbsp;suffrage.&nbsp;In 1849,&nbsp;Anthony&nbsp;moved to Rochester and became involved in several reform movements related to greater rights for women and the end of slavery. Like a number of other women in this part of the country, Anthony traveled throughout New York attending and organizing abolitionist meetings.When the 14th and 15th Amendments&nbsp;extended&nbsp;suffrage to&nbsp;African American males but&nbsp;explicitly limited suffrage to men, Anthony and other feminists formed the Equal Rights Association. Anthony teamed up with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and together they formed a powerful partnership. During these years, this house served as&nbsp;the movement's&nbsp;organizational headquarters, with many meetings occurring at the home. Along with her dedication to women's suffrage, she also campaigned for the abolition of slavery. Anthony also supported&nbsp;equal educational opportunities for all regardless of race and gender. In an era when there were few&nbsp;college programs that were open to women, Anthony and others called for the creation and improvement of women's colleges as well as&nbsp;an end to exclusionary policies. In 1859, for example, Anthony spoke before the state teachers' convention at Troy and at the Massachusetts teachers' convention. At both of these meetings,&nbsp;she&nbsp;denied any&nbsp;differences between the intellectual capacities of&nbsp;men and women.Anthony's family was also active in the anti-slavery movement and her church would occasionally meet at her family's Quaker farm with Frederick Douglass.

Located in the former home of the famous women's right's activist the museum is named after, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum offers exhibits that interpret the history of women's suffrage and the life and influence of Susan B. Anthony. One of the most influential Americans of the late 19th century, Anthony challenged the assumption that men and women should occupy different classes of citizenship. She was arrested for voting in 1872 and used the event to publicize the lack of political rights for women. Anthony worked with other suffragists such as close friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton and created the National Woman Suffrage Association. The museum has a variety of artifacts related to this organization, as well as a collection of documents for researchers. 

One of the highlights of the museum is that visitors can stand in the room from which Susan B. Anthony was arrested when a U.S. Marshall came to her home in 1872 and arrested her for voting. 

Susan B. Anthony House

Shortly after he returned from a speaking tour in Europe, Frederick Douglass made the decision to move with his wife and their four children to Rochester in 1847. The house they chose was located on Alexander Street, only half of a block away from Rochester’s Main Street (now known as East Avenue). The property was owned by a jeweler and abolitionist named John Kedzie, and its sale was facilitated by Adventist publisher Joseph Marsh, who would later work in the same building as Douglass. Both residents on either side of the Douglass home were white abolitionists who welcomed the prominent anti-slavery orator with open arms. Other nearby property owners, however, complained to city officials about the Black family’s moving in. The complaints were to no avail and the Douglasses lived happily at the home as Frederick Douglass began publishing his anti-slavery newspaper The North Star from a local AME Church. During these early years of his residence here, Douglass also became heavily involved as a leader of Rochester’s sizable progressive movements- particularly those of Abolitionism and Women’s Suffrage. Anna Murray-Douglass, his first wife, decided while living at their first home that she would dedicate herself to the role of homemaker- a position that she struggled with at times, as her husband left her alone for long stretches as he traveled and worked. The Douglass Home on Alexander Street also served as a stop along the Underground Railroad. As one of the Railroad’s essential members in the Rochester region, Douglass often hosted planning meetings in his study upstairs. Then on September 18, 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, making it illegal to assist escaped slaves in any capacity. Understanding the new risks of operating an Underground Railroad stop in a tight-knit residential area, the Douglasses moved to a secluded farm south of Rochester the following year. Only accessible from a private road, the new residence was perfect for helping escaped slaves on the route to Canada. Today, the site of the Douglass’s second Rochester home is now a public elementary school which was recently named the Anna Murray-Douglass Academy. Frederick Douglass retained the Alexander Street property for many years, however, and only sold it when the Douglass family moved to Washington D.C. in 1872. During the 20th century, the building would be used as headquarters for a community mission, and then as a furniture store. Sadly, the former Douglass Home burned down in 1954 and was shortly thereafter replaced with a parking lot. For years, the location of Frederick Douglass’s first Rochester house was unknown. However, in 2010 the Landmark Society of Western New York determined through the use of archival research that 297 Alexander Street is where the historic home once stood. On November 5, 2018, a historical marker commemorating the site’s significance was placed by the City of Rochester.

This house was the first home Frederick Douglass bought in Rochester. Douglass likely lived here from 1847 until the purchase of his next home in 1852. Douglass’s relationship with his neighbors is recounted in local newspapers, including the North Star- an abolitionist newspaper that Douglass edited while living here. The Douglass family used this home as a stop on the underground railroad, along with the other homes he owned in the area. This is also the home where Frederick Douglass’s wife, Anna Murray-Douglass, decided she would not receive a formal education since she saw more personal value in tending the home. The home burned down in 1954 and was later turned into a parking lot. A historical marker was installed here on November 5, 2018.

Douglass Home historical marker, placed in 2018

Frederick Douglass's First Rochester Home Historical Marker

Jean Brooks Greenleaf was born October 1, 1831 to John and Mary Bascom Brooks in Bernardston, MA. She attended Melrose Seminary in West Brattleboro, Vermont, but did not complete her studies due to the health of her mother. Jean Brooks married Halbert Stevens Greenleaf in 1862. Halbert Greenleaf was the owner of a lock company and served as a captain in the state’s militia. With the start of the Civil War, Greenleaf enlisted in the Union Army and attained the rank of Colonel, with the couple living for a period of time in New Orleans at the end of the war. In 1867, Jean and Halbert Greenleaf moved to Rochester where Halbert resumed his lock business and entered politics, serving two terms in Congress, and Jean began her work as a suffragist in the same circle as Susan B. and Mary Anthony. She was a member of the Women’s Political Club (later the Political Equality Club) and served as its president in 1888, as well as working with other Rochester-area organizations advancing the lives of women. Between 1890 and 1896 Jean Brooks Greenleaf served as president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. During this time Greenleaf and Susan B. Anthony worked together in the “Second New York Campaign” for the vote as the state of New York revised its constitution in 1894. Greenleaf and Anthony spoke before the Suffrage Committee in May 1894 and Greenleaf was nominated as the only female delegate to the Constitutional Convention in August of that year. She continued to work with the NYSWSA after the turn of the century, but her activism lessened as she cared for Halbert after his 1896 stroke. Greenleaf died on March 2, 1918.

Jean Brooks Greenleaf (1831-1918) was a leader in the suffrage movement and friend of Susan B. Anthony. Greenleaf served as the president of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association between 1890 and 1896 and worked with Anthony on the "Second New York Campaign" for a state constitutional amendment for women's suffrage in 1894. At her death in 1918, her obituary remarked: "With the death yesterday of Mrs. Jean Brooks Greenleaf there passed the last of the little band of devoted suffragists who received their first inspiration from Susan B. and Mary Anthony. Mrs. Greenleaf was the only one of the women who saw their dream come true in the state where they had lived the greater share of their lives."

Jean Brooks Greenleaf Gravesite

In Chapter 7 of History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I, Clarina I. Howard Nichols recounted an incident at at Sinclairville church:“In Sinclairville, Chautauqua County, New York, where I arrived late, in consequence of a railroad accident, I found a crowded church. A gentleman introduced to me as ‘Mr. Bull’ was sitting at a table in the extreme front corner of the spacious platform, recording the names and advance payments of a class in music, which, as I had been told outside, was being organized by a gentleman who had arrived with news of my probable detention.During the next half hour gentlemen rose at three several times and requested Mr. B— to ‘postpone the class business till the close of the lecture: that people had come from a distance to hear the lecture, and were anxious to return home, the night being dark and rainy.’ ‘I will be through soon. I like to finish a thing when I begin.’ ‘There’ll be time enough,” were the several replies, given in a tone and with an emphasis that suggested to my mind a doubt of the speaker’s sympathy with my subject. When the clock pointed to eight, I quietly took my seat in the desk, and was smoothing my page of notes when there fell on my astonished ear—‘I was about to introduce the lady speaker, but she has suddenly disappeared.’ Stepping forward, I said, ‘Excuse me, sir; as the hour is very late I took my pace to be in readiness when you should be through with your class.’ ‘Madam, you will speak on this platform.’ ‘I noticed, sir, that I could not see my audience from the platform, also that the desk was lighted for me.’ ‘Madam, you can’t speak in that pulpit!’ ‘This is very strange. Will you give me your reasons?’ ‘It’s none of your business!’ ‘Indeed, sir, I do not understand it. Will you give me your authority?’ ‘It’s my pulpit, and if you speak in this house to-night you speak from this platform!’ ‘Excuse me, sir; I mistook you for the music-teacher, who, as I was told, was organizing a class in music.’ And stepping quickly to the platform to restore the equanimity of the house, I remarked, as indicating my position, that my self-respect admonished me to be the lady always, no matter how ungentlemanly the treatment I might receive; that the cause of humanity, the cause of suffering Kansas was above all personal considerations, and proceeded with my lecture.At the close, Mr. B— arose and said: ‘I owe this audience an apology for my ungentlemanly language to Mrs. Nichols. I am aware that I shall get into the public prints, and I wish to set myself right.’ A gentleman in the audience rose and moved, ‘that we excuse the Rev. R. B— for his ungentlemanly language to Mrs. Nichols to-night, on the score of his ignorance.’ The motion was seconded with emphasis by a man of venerable presence. ‘Friends,’ I appealed, ‘this is a personal matter; it gives me no concern. It will affect neither me nor my work. Please name suitable women for the committee of relief which I am here to ask.’ Business being concluded, I turned to Mr. B—, who was shut in with men by a press of sympathizing friends, and expressed my regret, that he should have said anything to place him under the necessity of apologizing, adding, ‘but I hope in the future you will remember the words of Solomon: ‘Greater is he that controlleth his own spirit, than he that taketh a city.’ Good night, sir.’ I learned that a few months before he had prevented his people from inviting Antoinette Brown to speak to them on Temperence, by declaring that ‘he would never set his foot in a pulpit that had been occupied by a woman.’ When three week later I heard of his dismissal from his charge in S—, I could appreciate the remark of his brother clergyman in a neighboring town, to whom I related the incident, that “Brother B— is rather given to hooking with those horns of his, but he’s in hot water now.”Clarina Howard Nichols (1810-1885) was a journalist and newspaper editor who advocated for women’s marital and economic rights starting in the 1830s and 1840s. Nichols was born in Vermont and lived for a couple of years in New York with her first husband. After divorcing her husband, Nichols returned to Vermont and worked as a newspaper columnist until she married George Nichols, the editor and publisher of the Democrat. She continued writing columns on women’s rights and took over the editorial duties of the newspaper during her husband’s illness.Nichols was frequent orator on women’s rights and involved in coordinating women’s rights associations and conventions. However, her Sinclairville speech in 1856 was more specifically about events in Kansas, commonly known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Like many women’s rights advocates, Nichols was also an abolitionist. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in 1854, many abolitionists feared that proslavery forces would flood the new state and expand the institution of slavery. To counter this, anti-slavery advocates encouraged free-soilers to move to Kansas so that the state would become a free state with no slavery. Nichols and her family moved to Kansas with the New England Emigrant Aid Company in 1854. After the violence in Kansas escalated in 1856, the National Relief Committee (or National Kansas Committee) was formed in the north to aid and support free-state settlers in Kansas. Clarina Nichols undertook a speaking campaign in New York to raise support and organize relief committees to send money and supplies to Kansas. Nichols’ stop at Sinclairville was part of her efforts to organize these relief committees and speak about Kansas.After her New York tour, Nichols continued to be an active writer and campaigner for abolition and women’s rights.The reverend in this story, “Mr. B,” was likely Richard Brockway Bull, a Congregational pastor ordained in Sinclairville in 1855 and who served as acting pastor there between 1854 and 1857. Bull was originally from Connecticut and after his time at Sinclairville he served congregations in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Missouri, and Dakota between 1857 and his death in 1888. During the Civil War he served as a chaplain in the 6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.

Clarina I. Howard Nichols was a journalist, women's rights suffragist, abolitionist, and reformer who wrote and spoke for many years on issues of women's rights. During the 1850s Nichols was active in campaigning for a free Kansas during the conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas" and she traveled through New York to organize relief efforts for free-state settlers in that state. Her stop at Sinclairville was delayed both by a railroad accident and by the Congregationalist pastor before she spoke about organizing a relief committee here.

Speech by Clarina H. Nichols, c. 1856-1857

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 Thirty-First Annual Convention occurred November 1-4, 1899 in Dunkirk, NY. Daytime meetings occurred at the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union building on Central Ave and evening events at the Dunkirk Academy on Eagle Street. The hotel for the convention was the Hotel Gratiot on the corner of Central Ave and 4th Street. The convention included addresses by Susan B. Anthony, Mariana Chapman, and Rev. Anna H. Shaw.All three buildings used for the NYS Woman Suffrage Association Annual Convention no longer stand. The Women’s Education and Industrial Union was founded by 65 Dunkirk women in 1888 and they raised funds to construct the Union building in 1891. The Union sold their building in 1932 and the following decade it was demolished to make room for new construction. The Dunkirk Academy was constructed in 1881 on a block labeled “Academy Square.” In 1896 a larger addition was constructed on the Eagle Street side of the original buildings. This structure was what was used by the attendees of the NYSWSA conference in 1899. Later in 1908 a Junior High School was constructed on the Swan Street side of the Academy building and then the current Middle School building was built in 1926. The Academy buildings were demolished in 1966, leaving only the 1926 building as the Middle School. The Hotel Gratiot was constructed between 1886 and 1892 and was demolished in 1971.

The 31st Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Dunkirk, NY November 1-4, 1899. Events were held at the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union building and Academy Hall with the Hotel Gratiot serving as the conference hotel. Participants attended lectures and meetings about advancing the cause of women's suffrage.

Suffrage Ribbon from the Dunkirk NYWSA Annual Convention

31st Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, November 1-4, 1899

Gerrit Smith purchased the mansion in 1865 for his son Greene after Greene returned from the Civil War. Smith served in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery in 1864 and was wounded at Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg. Greene Smith named the property Lochland, Scottish for “savoring the beauties of nature,” but abandoned the house in 1868 due to worsening health. Gerrit Smith then transferred the estate to Elizabeth Miller and the Millers settled at Lochland in 1869.Elizabeth Smith Miller was born in 1822 to abolitionists Gerrit and Ann Carroll Fitzhugh Smith. Miller was introduced to abolition and social reform very early in life and was highly educated. Her cousin, Elizabeth Cady [Stanton] visited the Smith family frequently during the girls’ childhood at their house in Peterboro. Elizabeth Smith married Charles Dudley Miller in 1843 and the couple had four children, their only daughter being Ann Fitzhugh Miller.Elizabeth Smith Miller designed the outfit that was later known as the Bloomer costume popularized by Amelia Bloomer. Miller put together her outfit, that she described as “Turkish trousers to the ankle with a skirt reaching some four inches below the knee,” to work in her garden. The ensemble became popular in the 1850s after Miller wore it on a visit to Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls and Stanton started wearing it. Angela Bloomer then also adopted the dress and published about it in the temperance journal, the Lily.Elizabeth Smith Miller was an advocate for women’s rights as early as 1850, but was particularly central to the suffrage movement in Geneva. After the death of Charles Miller in 1897, Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller became a dynamic team in the suffrage movement. Both women were instrumental in organizing the 1897 and 1907 annual conventions of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) held in Geneva. Smith Miller always kept Lochland open to host suffragists and reformers and supported women’s rights and education financially. She donated considerable funds to establish William Smith College.After helping coordinate the 1897 NYSWSA convention Anne F. Miller organized the Geneva Political Equality Club on November 30, 1897. The GPEC was open to both men and women who would meet to discuss women’s rights and other political questions, as well as hold events, fundraisers, and speakers. Elizabeth Smith Miller was considered the honorary president of the club and many GPEC events occurred at Lochland, in addition to many suffragist activists and speakers staying as guests with the Millers. Anne Miller accepted the presidency of the GPEC in 1899 after trying to convince others to take on that role. The Geneva Political Equality Club was one of the most successful such organizations in the state. Both Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne F. Miller were active in local, state, and national movements for women’s rights.The Miller women retreated from suffrage work in 1910 as Elizabeth Miller’s health worsened. Elizabeth Smith Miller died in May 1911 and Ann F. Miller quickly returned to her work in the suffrage movement. Early the next year Miller traveled to New York and Boston, and she died March 1, 1912 in Boston.From 1912 to 1933 Lochland was owned by Edward M. Mills, a mining executive. In 1933 the property transferred to the Lochland School, originally a school for disabled children and now a residence for adults with developmental disabilities.

Between 1869 and 1912, Lochland was the home of Elizabeth Smith Miller and her daughter, Anne Fitzhugh Miller. The Millers were active reformers for women’s rights and education. They organized both conventions of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association held in Geneva and founded the Geneva Political Equality Club.

Lochland (Former home of Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller)

Agnes Bevan Slosson was born in Geneva, NY on May 27, 1878 to Henry Lawrence and Agnes Stacy Slosson. She attended school in Geneva and Buffalo and studied voice in New York City before marrying Alfred George Lewis in September 1903. The couple settled in Geneva and had four children. Both Agnes Slosson Lewis and her husband supported women’s suffrage and were active in the Geneva Political Equality Club led by Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller. Agnes Lewis served as the president of the Ontario County Woman’s Suffrage Association. After the Geneva Political Equality Club ended in 1917, Lewis helped found the Geneva Women’s Club and served as its first president. When the League of Women Voters was founded after suffrage was granted to women, Lewis was director of New York State’s Seventh Region. The League of Women Voters, Geneva awards the Agnes Slosson Lewis Award annually “to a woman exemplifying outstanding contributions to a participation in civic affairs.”Agnes Bevan Slosson Lewis’ social activism went far beyond just working for women’s suffrage and political equality. Her other social reform activities included: member of the Board of Trustees of the Woman’s Free Rest Room, committee member of the Geneva Free Library, member of the Board of Trustees of the Geneva General Hospital, trustee for District School No. 8 in Geneva, she was on the Labor Committee of the NY Woman’s Committee for Law Enforcement, and was on the Mental Hygiene and After Care Committee for Willard State Hospital. She was a member of the Needlework Guild of America, the Consumer’s League, the Federal Council of Churches, the Ontario County Home Bureau, and the America Association for Labor Legislation.When Alfred G. and Agnes Slosson Lewis settled at White Springs Farm, the farm had been largely abandoned for several years. Until 1779 the White Springs area was used by the Seneca people. A 1779 campaign by Maj. Gen. John Sullivan and Brig. Gen. James Clinton against Native allies of the British effectively destroyed Seneca power in the area. In 1788 the Phelps &amp; Gorham Company struck a controversial deal to purchase the land from the Seneca, and while there was dispute over who owned the land, native claims to the area largely ceased.The first period of the farm’s history began in the early 1800s when John Nicholas retired from his career as a lawyer and decided to go into agriculture. He purchased 900 acres at Rose Hill and 367 acres at White Springs Farm in 1801. Nicholas wanted to transfer plantation-style agriculture to this part of New York and brought 60-75 enslaved people to Geneva in addition to his extended family. John and Anne Nichols constructed the original manor house around 1806, expanded their estate to 1600 acres, and specialized in raising sheep. Their herd of 1,200 sheep was used to promote improvements in sheep-husbandry and Nicholas also built a woolen mill on his property. John Nicholas died in 1819, but Anne continued to live at the manor until her death in 1839. It is likely that the Nicholas family continued to use enslaved labor on the estate up until 1839, despite gradual emancipation progressing in New York.Gideon Lee purchased 467 acres White Springs Farm in 1839 after serving a term in the U.S. Congress. He also had a joint stock company in tanning leather in Catskill, NY. Gideon Lee died shortly after purchasing and starting improvements on the farm, but his wife, Isabella Lee, held the property until 1857. James O. and Jane Sheldon purchased the farm from the Lee family in 1857, using it as an exhibition farm with a world-renowned herd of Short Horn Durham. In addition to his cattle, Sheldon raised wheat, oats, corn, and potatoes, particularly during the Civil War. After 1871, however, the shift of agricultural markets to the west and an economic recession, combined with the failing health of Jane Sheldon, caused James Sheldon to sell the property and move back to New York City. He sold the estate to George W. Nicholas, grandson of the original Nicholas family. After the original mansion burned in 1876, a portion of the property was sold again to William and Thomas Smith who used it as a general farm and nursery.The Lewis family revitalized White Spring Farm. Katherine Bell Lewis purchased 260 acres of the property for her son, Alfred G. Lewis, in 1898. Alfred and Agnes Lewis increased the acreage to 900 acres, reuniting much of the original Nicholas estate, and constructed a Georgian colonial mansion on the same foundation of the original. For about fifteen years Alfred Lewis imported and raised Guernsey cattle, developing the largest herd in the world, and he opened the White Springs Dairy Company in 1905. A cyclone on September 1, 1912 heavily damaged the farm and Lewis ended up selling off the cattle herd because all the dairy barns were destroyed. Around 1920, Lewis transitioned from the cattle business to growing fruit on the property. White Springs Farm produced cherries, peaches, apples, and pears as one of the largest orchards in the state until 1946. After 1946 the family began selling off some acreage for development. The Manor was sold in 1948 to Sarah Mandigo who established the Margaret Ayre Home for adults. The home continued as a proprietary home for adults until 1997 under the Young family. After the home closed, Duane and Deb Reeder purchased White Springs Manor in 1998 as a sister property to Belhurst.

White Springs Farm was first established in 1801, and over its agricultural history has been used to grow grain crops, to raise sheep, to raise cattle, and as one of the largest orchards in the state. Between 1898 and at least the 1940s, White Springs was the home of Agnes Bevan Slosson Lewis, a suffragist and social activist.

White Springs Farm--Home of Agnes Bevan Slosson Lewis

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.

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.

29th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, November 3-6, 1897

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 39th Annual Convention was held October 15-18, 1907 in Geneva, NY, ten years after the 29th Convention was also held in Geneva. The 1907 program was greatly expanded from the earlier conference. In addition to the typical meetings and committee reports, there were additional reports from Young People’s Clubs, the presentation of two prize essays, and discussions about increasing membership prior to the 1908 National Convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.All of the convention sessions were held in the First Baptist Church. The Romanesque Revival brick church was constructed in 1893-1984 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Attendees were also treated to a reception at Lochland, the home of Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller.Like the 1897 Convention, the Hotel Nestor served as the convention headquarters and lodging. 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.

The 39th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Geneva, NY on October 15-18, 1907. Convention sessions and meetings were held at the First Baptist Church with a reception held October 17 at Lochland, the home of Elizabeth Smith and Anne Fitzhugh Miller.

Pamphlet, 39th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association

39th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, October 15-18, 1907

Susan B. Anthony had been planning the strategy of attempting to vote and then pursuing legal action after she was refused some time before 1872. Anthony argued that the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, allowed her to vote. The first section of the amendment reads:“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”While the Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution to address the situation of freed slaves in the aftermath of the Civil War, Anthony argued that since women were citizens, they should have the protected privilege of voting.Anthony took her opportunity with the presidential election of 1872. On November 1, 1872 Anthony and 2-3 other women attempted to register as voters. Initially the registers did not want to let them, which is what the women expected, but when Anthony presented her arguments about her legal right to vote the registers allowed the women to register. In total, 14 women in Rochester, NY registered to vote on November 1.On Election Day, November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony cast her ballot in Rochester, NY’s Eighth Ward, at the West End News Depot. Anthony voted for a Republican ticket, casting her ballot in support of Ulysses S. Grant for president. Immediately after Anthony and the other women registered, and again after they voted, the local press covered the story and the debates over the legality of their actions.After casting her vote, Anthony wrote to her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton:Rochester Nov 5th 1872Dear Mrs StantonWell I have been &amp; gone &amp; done it!!--positively voted the Republican ticket--strait this a.m. at 7 Oclock--&amp; swore my vote in at that--was registered on Friday &amp; 15 other women followed suit in this ward--then on Sunday others some 20 or thirty other women tried to register, but all save two were refused--all my three sisters voted--Roda De Garmo too--Amy Post was rejected &amp; she will immediately bring action for that--similar to the Washington action--&amp; Hon Henry R. Selden will be our Counsel--he has read up the law &amp; all of our arguments &amp; is satisfied that we our right &amp; ditto the Old Judge Selden--his elder brother. so we are in for a fine agitation in Rochester on the question--I hope the morning's telegrams will tell of many women all over the country trying to vote--It is splendid that without any concert of action so many should have moved here so impromptu-- ....Haven't we wedged ourselves into the work pretty fairly &amp; fully--&amp; now that the Repubs have taken our votes--for it is the Republican members of the Board--The Democratic paper is out against us strong &amp; that scared the Dem's on the registry board--How I wish you were here to write up the funny things said &amp; done--Rhoda De Garmo told them that she wouldn't swear of affirm--"but would tell the truth"--&amp; they accepted that When the Democrat said my vote should not go in the box--one Republican said to the other--What do you say Marsh!--I say put it in!--So do I said Jones--and "we'll fight it out on this line if it takes all winter"....If only now--all the women suffrage women would work to this end of enforcing the existing constitution--supremacy of national law over state law--what strides we might make this winter--But I'm awful tired--for five days I have been on the constant run--but to splendid purpose--So all right--I hope you voted too.Affectionately,Susan B. AnthonyDemocratic poll watcher, Sylvester Lewis, filed a complaint after the election challenging both Anthony’s vote and her voter registration. As a result, United States Commissioner William C. Storrs issued a warrant for Anthony’s arrest on November 14. He did not immediately act on the warrant because he wanted to discuss the case with the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, but on November 18 a U.S. deputy marshal was sent to Anthony’s home. She was charged with voting in violation of the Enforcement Act of 1870. The marshal tried to be genteel about the arrest because Anthony was a woman, but Anthony demanded to be arrested in the same manner as a man. When Anthony was brought before Storrs after her arrest she found that the other 14 female voters and the ballot inspectors who had authorized the votes had also been arrested.Susan B. Anthony was represented by Henry Selden and John Van Voorhis. Storrs held a preliminary examination on November 29, with a second examination on December 23, after which he determined that Anthony had likely broken the law. With a trial in the future, Susan B. Anthony undertook a speaking tour through Monroe County, presenting her speech “Is It a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?” at 29 locations in the county. She also dedicated time to sending out numerous letters to people to garner support for her case. Because of the publicity and Anthony’s efforts to gain support for her position, the U.S. Attorney Richard Crowley requested that the trial be moved to a new location for fear that they would not be able to get an impartial jury. Crowley requested that the trial be moved to the federal circuit court for the Northern New York District which would meet next in Canandaigua, Ontario County. In response Anthony continued her speaking tour in Ontario County leading up to the trial date.Anthony’s trial was on June 17-18, 1873 with Justice Ward Hunt presiding. Hunt had recently been appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and in both the trial and sentencing he did not allow Anthony to speak on her own behalf. Justice Hunt wrote his decision in the case prior to the trial and did not allow the jury to deliberate (this tactic was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895). Instead, Hunt ordered the jury to find Anthony guilty and fined her $100. He specifically did not put Anthony in jail because he wanted to avoid an appeal process.Susan B. Anthony and her 14 fellow Rochester women were not the only ones who attempted to vote in the 1872 election. In total, about 150 women attempted to register or vote that year. Virginia Minor of St. Louis attempted to register as a voter and was turned away. Minor followed the tactic that Anthony had intended to use, after her registration was rejected Minor sued the register in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Minor v Happersett the Supreme Court ruled that citizenship means “membership in a nation and nothing more.” This decision refuted Anthony’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment and remained in place until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.Susan B. Anthony never paid the $100 fine and she never sought a pardon for her conviction. She viewed the conviction as a matter of pride in the fight for women’s suffrage. However, President Donald J. Trump pardoned Anthony on August 18, 2020 as part of the centennial of women’s suffrage.The original Ontario County Courthouse is now City Hall, across the street. The current courthouse was constructed in 1858 for about $57,000. The structure was enlarged in 1908 with the addition of a third floor and extensions to the north and south. The courthouse was preserved through extensive renovations in 1987-1988 and 2016. A bust of Susan B. Anthony is outside the courtroom entrance and a portrait of her hangs inside the courtroom.

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was tried in June 1873 and convicted of the crime of illegally voting at the Ontario County Courthouse. Anthony had registered to vote and then voted in Rochester, NY during the 1872 presidential election. She had intended to attempt to register and when turned away, sue the register to push a legal case. However, she managed to actually vote and was then prosecuted for violating the Enforcement Act of 1870.

Susan B. Anthony in 1870 (Nebraska State Historical Society)

Trial of Susan B. Anthony for the crime of voting, June 17-18, 1873

Western New York

Wesleyan Methodist ChurchAs stated above, the first women's rights convention was held in the Wesleyan Methodist Church in July 1848. About 300 men and women attended the two-day event. Although the first day was intended for women only, about 40 men were allowed inside but were asked not to speak. Men were invited and allowed to participate on the second day. The building itself was originally built in 1843. Only some parts of the original exterior walls remain; the rest was entirely reconstructed.Elizabeth Cady Stanton House   Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her family lived in this house from 1847 to 1862 when they moved to New York City. It is a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Elizabeth was born in Johnstown, New York in 1815 and attended an all-boys school where she excelled, especially in math and languages. She then enrolled at Troy Female Seminary and graduated in 1832. She met her husband, Henry Stanton, in 1840 and they soon got married in May of that year. True to her beliefs, Elizabeth asked the minister who married them to remove the words "to obey" from the wedding vows. Henry began practicing law, first in Albany, New York and then in Boston. They also started a family at this time. In 1847, Elizabeth's father invited them to move to Seneca Falls to live in a house he owned. Henry was also ill and thought that moving away from Boston would enable him to recover. Elizabeth assumed ownership of the house in June of that year. Seneca Falls ConventionThe idea for the women's rights convention originated in 1840. In June of that year, right after they got married, Elizabeth and Henry traveled to London to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention. A journalist and lawyer by trade, Henry was also a staunch abolitionist (as was Elizabeth) and was a delegate representing the American Anti-Slavery Society at the convention. Elizabeth and other women were initially not allowed to attend. However, after some debate, they were given permission to sit at the back of the hall but were barred from participating. It was here that Elizabeth met and befriended activist Lucretia Mott. Both were, understandably, very angry at the treatment they and the other women experienced. As a result, they agreed that someday a women's rights convention would be held in America.After returning to America, Elizabeth settled into her domestic life. However, her experience in raising children and maintaining the household strengthened her women's rights convictions even further. She deplored the fact that women were expected to be housewives and longed for intellectual stimulation. On July 9, 1848, she vented her frustrations to a group of women friends (Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann M’Clintock, Martha Wright, and Jane Hunt) at the Richard Hunt House. They all agreed that it was finally time to call for the convention. They placed ads in newspapers, including in the North Star, which was published by former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who attended the convention. As a result, news of the gathering spread quickly. On July 16, Mary Ann M’Clintock invited Elizabeth and other organizers to her house to draft a document called the Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined the resolutions of the convention. The convention consisted of several sessions that touched on a different topics including women's role in society, law, and, importantly, the right to vote. There was disagreement whether to keep the right to vote in the Declaration of Sentiments but in the end it was not removed. Frederick Douglass, who was the only African American to attend, argued forcefully for its inclusion. This decision would prove to be critical because the right to vote quickly became a core principle of the women's rights movement nationally.

The Women's National Historic Park commemorates the first Women’s Rights Convention, which was held here in Seneca Falls on July 19-20, 1848. The convention was organized by a group of women's rights activists led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), who was a Quaker and known for her excellent oratorical skills. The convention marked the beginning of the women's rights and suffrage movements in the country. Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for these issues for the majority of her adult life and was one of the foremost political figures of the 19th century. Just over six acres in size, the park consists of two properties associated with the convention and the women's suffrage movement—Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House—and a Visitor Center, which is located next to the church. Other landmarks related to the convention are on the Votes for Women History Trail, including the M'Clintock House and the Richard Hunt House, both of which are located just to the west in the town of Waterloo. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The Seneca Falls Convention was held here at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in July 1848.

Women's Rights National Historical Park 

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its architecture and association with Amelia Bloomer. There is evidence that suggests it was a terminus of the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately, more information about this isn't readily available.&nbsp; Amelia Bloomer grew up in Homer, New York. Although her education was limited to a few years, she was able to become a teacher at the age of 17. In 1840, she met and married a man named Dexter Bloomer, who ran a newspaper called the Seneca Falls County Courier. They moved to Seneca Falls where she became involved in local activism. Dexter suggested she begin to write columns in the paper, which earned her notoriety among the activist community.&nbsp; After she started writing for the paper, Dexter was elected postmaster. He appointed her as his assistant. This enabled her to make her office the unofficial headquarters of the town's women's rights movement. Her adoption and promotion of bloomers, which came to symbolize the movement, garnered criticism from both conservative men and women.&nbsp;&nbsp; She supported women's rights in general, but the primary thrust of her activism was temperance (she also strongly supported suffrage). She did attend the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention (the first women's rights convention in the country) but did not sign the Declaration of Sentiments, which was the document stating the convention's resolutions. Her unwavering commitment to temperance was not shared by other women activists, who thought other causes of the women's rights movement were more important. In 1851, she introduced Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Susan B. Anthony, which started the decades-long partnership between the two women. Amelia and Dexter moved to Iowa in 1854. A year earlier she sold The Lilly, as it was too difficult to manage. In Iowa, she was president of the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association between 1871-1873. She continued to advocate for women's rights until she died in 1894 at the age of 76. She is buried in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Dexter published a compilation of Amelia's writings in 1895 (see link below).

This historic home is significant for being the home of Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894), one of the leading women's rights advocates of the 19th century. She was also a supporter of the temperance movement, which was the movement against consuming alcohol, and the first woman to own and operate a newspaper, which was called The Lily. Bloomer was also known for her association with lower body garments called pantaloons worn by women in the 1850s. They were less cumbersome than traditional women's clothing of the day. She did not invent them but promoted them in her newspaper so as a result, they were called "bloomers." The house itself was originally built in 1830 in the Greek Revival style and was later enlarged and converted to the Italianate style in the 1850s. Apparently, Bloomer only lived in the house for just six months in 1840 after she got married. The home appears to be a private residence but can be viewed from the street.

The historic Amelia Bloomer House was built in 1830 then expanded in the 1850s.

Amelia Bloomer House

Martha Coffin was born into a Quaker family on December 25, 1806. She was the youngest of eight and Lucretia Coffin Mott was her older sister. Martha Coffin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but her family moved to Philadelphia early in her life. Coffin attended school in Philadelphia and attended a Quaker boarding school. After her father’s death in 1815 her mother, Anna Folger Coffin, opened a boarding house in Philadelphia. This is where Martha Coffin met her first husband. In 1822, Peter Pelham boarded with the Coffins. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and was in Philadelphia for medical care. Martha and Peter fell in love, but Mrs. Coffin refused to consent to the marriage because Peter was not a Quaker. After a few years, Martha’s mother did consent to their relationship, but Martha was expelled from the Quaker community for marrying a non-Quaker. Martha and Peter Pelham had one child, Marianna. Sadly, Peter Pelham died only about two years into their marriage and Martha moved to live again with her mother, who at this point had moved to Aurora, New York. She worked for a few years at a Quaker girls’ school until 1829 when she met and married David Wright. Wright was a Quaker and was building a law practice, and the family moved to Auburn, NY to be close to the county seat for his work. In addition to Mariana, Martha had six children with Wright (three of which died). Martha Wright was an ardent abolitionist and was involved in the women’s rights movement. She attended the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 and attended and presided over many anti-slavery conventions. The Wright home in Auburn, NY was a station on the Underground Railroad and Martha worked with Harriet Tubman to house slaves in her kitchen. Like many women, the abolitionist movement brought Martha C. Wright into the women’s rights movement. In 1840, her sister Lucretia Mott met Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London where the female delegates were turned away and not allowed to participate. Mott and Stanton agreed that they needed to organize an event to consider the inequalities in women’s rights. In the summer of 1848 Lucretia and James Mott stayed with Martha Wright and Martha participated in the meeting with her sister, Elizabeth Stanton, Jane Hunt, and Mary Ann M’Clintock to plan the First Women’s Rights Convention. A visibly pregnant Martha Wright attended the Seneca Falls convention in July 1848 and Lucretia Mott read one of her articles on the first day of the meeting. In addition to continuing her abolitionist work, Wright served in the leadership organizing national women’s conventions through the 1850s and 1860s. After the Civil War Martha Wright worked with the National Woman Suffrage Association and served as the organization’s president in 1874. Martha Coffin Pelham Wright died on January 4, 1875 and is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery. The Wright home in Auburn, NY was razed in 1880.

The home of Martha and David Wright stood here until it was razed in 1880. Martha Coffin Pelham Wright was an abolitionist and suffragette who was a leader in both movements. The Wright home was a stop on the Underground Railroad and Martha Wright presided over anti-slavery meetings through the Civil War. Martha C. Wright, along with her sister Lucretia Mott, helped organize the First Women's Right Convention in Seneca Falls, organized national conventions after that, and served as the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association.

Martha Coffin Wright House

Matilda Joslyn was born on March 24, 1826 in Cicero, New York. She was raised in a household dedicated to antislavery. Her father was a nationally known abolitionist. The house she grew up in was a station on the Underground Railroad. Matilda described her early life as, “I think I was born with a hatred of oppression, and, too, in my father's house, I was trained in the anti-slavery ranks, for it was one of the stations on the underground railway, and a home of anti-slavery speakers.” As a child, she circulated anti-slavery petitions.In 1845 she married Henry Hill Gage, and together they had four children. They eventually settled in Fayetteville, New York and their home became a station in the Underground Railroad, just like her parent's home. In 1850, Gage signed a petition stating that she would rather face six months in prison with a $2,000 fine rather than obey the newly enacted Fugitive Slave Law, which made criminals our of anyone assisting slaves to freedom. It wasn't until her children were grown and her family responsibilities lessened that she focused on women's rights. In 1852, Gage first spoke out about women's rights at the National Woman's Rights Convention. Gage worked closely with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who were frequent visitors to her home. She joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton's National Women's Suffrage Association in 1869 and contributed to its newspaper, the Revolution. Gage was a talented writer and contributed by writing several articles and pamphlets to advance women's right to vote. In 1871 Gage was one of the many women nationwide who unsuccessfully tried to test the law by attempting to vote. When Susan B Anthony was arrested in 1872 for successfully voting, Gage went to her aid and supported her during the trial. She joined Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in producing the multivolume work History of Woman Suffrage. The first volume was published in 1881.During the 1870s, Gage spoke out against the brutal treatment of Native Americans. She was adopted into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk nation and given the name Ka-ron-ien-ha-wi, which means Sky Carrier.In 1890, Gage turned her attention to maintaining the separation of church and state in government. She left the National Woman's Rights Suffrage Association and created the Woman's National Liberal Union to advance this cause. She expressed her position on the issue in her 1893 work, Woman, Church, and State.Gage's daughter Maud married L. Frank Baum, author of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Gage became one of his intellectual mentors, urging him to write down his stories. Matilda Joslyn Gage died on March 18, 1898. As a tribute to her life's work, her gravestone reads: "There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home, or Heaven; that word is Liberty."

Built in the 1850s, the stately Greek Revival was the center for abolitionist and suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage. She fought for human rights for more than forty years, between 1854 and 1898. Gage and her husband Henry and their four children lived in that home and were all abolitionists and offered that house as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The house is being restored as a house museum. The museum is open to the public and provides a look into the past. The Gage home was where people came together to discuss issues such as human trafficking, reproductive rights, religious freedom and native sovereignty. At this house, the Underground Railroad, women's rights, treaty rights and separation of church and state were pieced together.

Matilda Joslyn Gage Home

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 an 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 36th annual NYSWSA convention was held October 17-20, 1904 in Auburn, NY. About 500 people attended lectures and sessions at the Music Hall while business meetings were held at the Osborne Annex. The Osborne Hotel was the convention headquarters. Eliza Wright Osborne, local suffragist leader, played a big part in organizing the convention and her son, then mayor of Auburn, addressed the convention. In addition to business meetings and reports on the yearly activities of the state’s suffrage organizations, the convention was addressed by Susan B. Anthony, Rev. Anna H. Shaw, and NYSWSA leadership. The three buildings used during the 1904 convention no longer stand. The Auburn Music Hall was on the second floor of the Flint Block. It was constructed as a live performance hall in the mid-1800s and switched to being a motion picture house in 1909. The theater moved to another building in 1922 and the Music Hall space as divided into offices. The Osborne Annex was in 1904 additional guest space for the Osborne Hotel. Originally it was the home of businessman Cary S. Burtis. After his death, his son leased the property to the owner of the Osborne House hotel (Thomas F. Dignum) and the house was repurposed into an annex to the hotel. The Burtis House/Osborne Annex was demolished in the 1920s and replaced with other buildings. Both the Flint Block (with the Music Hall) and the buildings on the Osborne Annex site were razed in 1975 for the construction of the Edward T. Boyle Center. The Osborne Hotel was located about two blocks north from the Osborne Annex and Music Hall. This is now the location of the Empower Federal Credit Union.

The 36th annual convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Auburn, New York October 17-20, 1904. Events were held at the Auburn Music Hall and Osborne Annex. The Osborne House Hotel was the convention headquarters. Participants attended lectures and meetings about advancing the cause of women's suffrage.

The Flint Building in 1975 before it was demolished. The Music Hall was on the second floor of the building. 

36th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, October 17-20, 1904

1916-1917 headquarters for Broome County Women's Suffrage Party. 1st Assembly District Director: Margaret C. Topliff, 2nd Assembly District Director: Catherine R. Bartoo. (Original building demolished.)

This parking ramp is site of the Broome County Women's Suffrage Party headquarters, 1916-1917. Formerly Jos. Feinbloom Milinery, building later demolished.

Women's Suffrage Party, Broome County District Headquarters

The house now called Opendore was originally a smaller structure constructed in 1837 by James Davis, a Blacksmith who owned nine acres here. The house was purchased in 1851 by William Howland. William Howland was the son of Slocum and Hannah Howland whose home and store was just down the street. Howland expanded the house and renamed the growing estate Shade Lawn. William Howard was a businessman, reformer, and state assemblyman, but the most famous resident of the home was his daughter, Isabel Howland.Isabel Howland was born in the house on May 21, 1859. Howland attended Cornell University, graduating in 1881. She met Harriet May Mills there and the two women worked together in many suffrage and reform projects during their lives. She was an officer for the Association for the Advancement of Women and New York State Woman Suffrage Association and appeared at several NYSWSA conventions. In her hometown of Sherwood, NY she and her parents helped establish the town’s library and museum in the 1880s and founded the Sherwood Equal Rights Association in 1891 (a chapter of the American Equal Rights Association). Isabel Howland also helped found the Sherwood Political Equality Club which held their meetings at Shade Lawn.In 1905, Isabel and her brother Herbert inherited Shade Lawn. Isabel again expanded the home in the 1910s into a small mansion and renamed it Opendore. For several years Opendore remained a center of community and reform activities until the 1930s when Isabel moved to Paris to care for her brother who was in ill health. She died of a heart attack on December 4, 1942 at which time Opendore was repurposed into apartments for local teachers. Unfortunately, in the 1970s the house went into absentee ownership and was abandoned. The Howland Stone Store Museum acquired Opendore in 2008 from Cayuga County. The house had been neglected for a significant period of time and was deteriorating. Restoration began in 2013. Due to the condition of the home, the southern half of the building was dismantled and the restoration efforts focused on the northern part of the house.

Starting in 1851 this was the home of William and Hannah Howland, called Shady Lawn. Isabel Howland was born here in 1859 and owned the home until her death in 1942, renaming the estate Opendore. Isabel Howland was involved in the women's suffrage movement, serving as an officer for the Association for the Advancement of Women and the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. Howland was the niece of Emily Howland, a prominent leaders in the women's suffrage movement. Opendore is now owned and is being restored by the Howland Stone Store Museum.

Restoration of the north end of Opendore. 

Opendore: The Isabel Howland House

Emily Howland was born November 29, 1827 at the Slocum and Hannah Howland House nearby. The Howlands were a Quaker family that was heavily involved in the anti-slavery movement. The family home was used as a station on the Underground Railroad to help runaway slaves escape to Canada. The reform and abolitionist activities of Slocum and Hannah Howland certainly influenced the trajectory of Emily Howland’s activism. Howland was educated largely in Quaker schools. As a child she was enrolled in Friends’ Boarding School in Venice, NY then she transferred to Susanna Marriott’s Orthodox Quaker boarding school in Aurora, NY. As a teenager in the 1840s she attended Poplar Ridge Seminary and then Mary Grew’s School for Young Women in Philadelphia before returning home to help her family for several years. In the early 1850s Howland continued her education at Mary Robinson’s School in Philadelphia while also tutoring other students. In the late 1850s Emily Howland began working more closely with the abolitionist movement in her own right. Between 1857 and 1859 she taught at the Normal School for Colored Girls in Washington, D.C. She returned to Sherwood to care for her mother in 1859, but soon met Harriet Tubman who purchased a nearby farm that year. Through Tubman and the Quaker network that already existed in Cayuga County, runaway slaves continued to move through New York towards Canada. During the Civil War Howland worked in contraband camps in the Washington D.C. area, educating freedman and help them build lives after slavery. After the Civil War, Howland remained committed to issues of equality, education, and women’s rights. One of her other reform activities involved purchasing plantation land in Virginia to resettle Freedman families and set up two schools (in Heathsville and Lottsville, VA) to educate African American children. Over the course of her life, Howland was involved in supporting fifty schools for African American children in the south. She spent more time in Sherwood, NY after the death of her mother; she owned her home there, assisted her father, and tutored her niece, Isabel. To support local education, Howland donated land near her home in 1882 to construct the Sherwood Select School. The school was a private high school that educated approximately 60 students to prepare them for college. She continued to finance the school until 1926 when it transferred to the public school system. The original building stood just south of the Emily Howland Elementary School and was demolished in 1995. Emily Howland Elementary was closed in 2013. For her work in education, Emily Howland was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the State of New York Regents in 1926.In addition to her work in education, Emily Howland was involved in the women’s suffrage movement. She and her niece, Isabel Howland, were actively involved with the New York State Woman Suffrage Association and in 1891 Howland founded the Cayuga County Political Equality Club. She financed the National American Woman Suffrage Association and worked with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to organize suffrage events. In addition to appearing at state and national suffrage events, including addressing Congress in 1904 and New York City parades in 1912 and 1913, she also attended an international suffrage convention in 1903. Unlike her friends Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Howland lived to see the ratification of the 19th Amendment and cast her first vote at age 92. Emily Howland died on June 29, 1929. Her Sherwood, NY home is now under private ownership.

Emily Howland (1827-1929) was a prominent leader in abolition, women's suffrage, and education. She dedicated many years to the advancement of African American education during and after the Civil War and founded/funded fifty schools for African Americans in the south. Locally, Howland was influential in the Sherwood Select School. She was also a leader in the women's suffrage movement, working with the New York State Woman Suffrage Association and National American Woman Suffrage Association. Howland was the daughter of Slocum and Hannah Howland (of the Howland Stone Store) and aunt to Isabel Howland, another prominent New York suffragist whose house was Opendore.

Emily Howland House

The three men depicted in "The Passage" were prominent supporters of the women's suffrage movement: Max Eastman, James Mott, and Frederick Douglas.Monument Timeline: [Use links below to learn more about these events]1776: Abigail Adams entreats her husband to "remember the ladies".1777: Women lose the right to vote in New York.1780: Women lose the right to vote in Massachusetts.1784: Women lose the right to vote in New Hampshire.1787: The US Constitutional Convention gives voting rights to all states. Women in all states, except New Jersey lose the right to vote.1807: Women lose the right to vote in New Jersey.1840: Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton barred from the World Anti-Slavery Convention in England because of their sex.1848: The first Women's Rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, James Mott presiding as chair.1850: National women's rights conventions begin to be held annually.1866: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the American Equal Rights Association to support universal suffrage.1867: Fourteenth amendment passes Congress, defining citizens as "male".1869: Wyoming Territory grants women the right to vote.1870: Utah Territory grants women the right to vote. 15th Amendment ratified, granting Black men the right to vote.1878: A federal amendment to grant women the right to vote is introduced by Senator A.A. Sargeant of California.1887: Women in Utah lose the right to vote.1895: Utah grants full franchise for women.1896: Idaho grants full franchise for women.1910: Washington State grants full franchise. Max Eastman becomes a founder of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage.1911: California grants women the right to vote.1912: Oregon, Arizona and Kansas become full franchise states.1913: Alaska Territory grants full right to vote, Illinois grants rights for municipal and presidential elections, but not state.1914: Montana and Nevada enfranchise women.1916: Jeanette Rankin is elected to the House of Representatives from the state of Montana.November 6, 1917: New York approves women's right to vote.1917: 500 suffragists arrested for picketing the White House, charged with obstructing traffic. 168 of them served jail time.1918: President Wilson lends support. Suffrage amendment passes the House but loses by 2 votes in the Senate.1919: Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma grant women the right to vote.1920: 19th Amendment Ratified.

Erected in 2015, this monument commemorates the struggle women fought for their right to vote. It consists of three statues depicting men and a timeline that wraps around them. The first date is 1776 with a quote from Abigail Adams stating "remember the ladies." The last date is 1920, the year the 19th Amendment was ratified, which prevents the federal government and states from denying women the right to vote.

"Passage" Monument

Since 2020, the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York, has been located in the former Seneca Knitting Mill. The mill building was constructed in 1844, just four years before the Seneca Falls Convention was held nearby. The building is a fitting choice for the Hall of Fame, as many of the people employed at the mill were women, a common practice in the textile industry.Multiple generations of Seneca Falls residents made their living at the mill, which primarily made high-quality socks. Former employees of the mill recall a family-like environment and the mill’s owner for much of the twentieth century, George Souhan, is remembered with genuine fondness. In the mid-1990s, however, the mill was purchased by North Carolina-based Ridgeview, Inc., and the new owners made a series of misguided business decisions that ultimately led to the mill’s closure in 1999. Seneca was the last of New York’s hosiery mills to shut down.But the closure of Seneca Knitting Mill was not just another sad denouement for a once-thriving American factory. The mill had long roots in Seneca Falls, but it also had deep connections to the 1848 gathering of feminists in the city. A number of the young women who were employed there in 1848 attended the Seneca Falls Convention and two of the mill’s trustees were among the 32 men who signed the convention’s Declaration of Sentiments. Additionally, because many of the town’s residents were also abolitionists, they refused to process Southern cotton and only milled wool. The building’s floors still shine from having absorbed decades’ worth of lanolin from the wool that was milled there.The National Women’s Hall of Fame was originally located in the Helen Mosher Barben Building, but it moved to the renovated Seneca Knitting Mill building in 2020. The building is a part of the Seneca Falls Historic District and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Located in a community that is widely regarded as the birthplace of the women's rights movement, the National Women's Hall of Fame offers exhibits that share the stories of women who have made significant contributions in a wide range of areas including science, sports, education, arts, business, government, and philanthropy. The organization was established in 1969 and is currently housed in the Helen Mosher Barben Building in downtown Seneca Falls. The Hall is the oldest membership organization in the country devoted to showcasing the achievements of women. In 2020, the Hall relocated to the newly renovated Seneca Knitting Mill. It is contributing property of the Seneca Falls Village Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The former Seneca Knitting Mills building, now the National Women's Hall of Fame 

National Women's Hall of Fame (Seneca Knitting Mill)

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 Thirty-Third Annual Convention was held October 29-November 1, 1901 at Oswego, NY. The Hamilton House Hotel was the convention headquarters and lodging, and a couple business and executive meetings were also held at the hotel. The public sessions were all held at the Presbyterian Church with the opening reception held in the Council Chamber of City Hall. The convention program included addresses by Mariana W. Chapman, Mayor Albert M. Hall, Alice Stone-Blackwell, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet May Mills, and Rev. Anna Howard Shaw.The First Presbyterian Church building was constructed in 1843, a replacement of their first church which was burned down (possibly by arson) in 1841. The chapel on the back was added in 1859. The First Presbyterian congregation reunited with Grace Presbyterian Church in 1936 and they decided to use the Grace church building. The First Presbyterian building is now the home of American Legion Post #268. The post was chartered in 1919 and they moved into the church building in 1946. The murals over the church’s original windows were painted by Jennifer Hall and installed in 2004. Each mural panel represents a different branch of the armed forces.The Hamilton House was constructed in 1892 by Max B. Richardson, as a replacement of a previous hotel by the same name. After the hotel served as the convention headquarters in 1901 it changed ownership and name several times. Between 1909 and 1921 it was the Danio Hotel owned by Joseph E. Danio, afterwards it was named the Lannon and owned by Martin F. Lannon, and after 1958 it was the Oswego Hotel owned by Robert J. and Estelle McGann. The hotel building was demolished in 1965 as part of an urban renewal project.A gala reception was held in the Common Council Chamber at City Hall on the evening of October 29. This was Oswego’s second City Hall, designed by Syracuse architect Horatio Nelson White and opened in 1871. The building was almost demolished during urban renewal planning (like the Hamilton House Hotel) but was fortunately saved and preserved in the 1960s. City Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and further preservation was completed in the 1980s.

The 33rd Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Oswego, NY October 29-November 1, 1901. Sessions were held at the First Presbyterian Church (now the American Legion) with an opening reception in the Council Chamber at the City Hall. The Hamilton House Hotel was the convention headquarters and lodging.

Program, Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the NYSWSA, Oswego

33rd Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, October 29-November 1, 1901

Central New York

In 1854 Elizabeth Cady Stanton presided over the New York State Woman’s Rights Convention at Albany, NY. Also known as the “Justice to Women” Convention, reform leaders met at Association Hall to discuss the women’s rights movement and present a series of resolutions. During the evening session of the convention, Elizabeth C. Stanton read an address she prepared for the state legislature. This address was then distributed in print form to each state legislator along with 6,000 petitions gathered in support of advancing women’s rights. Stanton’s “Address to the Legislature of New York” is considered her first landmark speech. Her remarks were part of an effort to lobby the New York State Legislature to change the Married Women’s Property Law to allow women more financial and legal freedom and the ability to conduct business and be joint guardians of their children. This change was passed in 1860.Officers of the Convention:President: Elizabeth Cady StantonVice-Presidents: Rev. S. J. May, Ernestine L. Rose, Hon. William Hay, William H. Topp, Lydia A. Jenkins, Lydia Mott, Mary F. LoveBusiness Committee: Rev. Antoinette L. Brown, W. H. Channing, Catherine A. F. Stebbins, Phebe H. JonesSecretaries: Susan B. Anthony, Anna W. AnthonyConvention presenters: William Henry Channing, Samuel J. May, Mrs. Nichols, Mrs. Rose, Mrs. Love, Miss Brown, Miss Anthony, Mrs. Jenkins, Hon. William Hay. And Giles B. Stebbins.

The First Albany Convention was held at Association Hall by the state's Woman's Rights Convention. Reform leaders met on February 14 and 15, 1854 to discuss the movement for women's rights and prepare resolutions to present to the New York State Legislature. During this convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered her first major speech.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1856 with daughter Harriot

"Justice to Women" Convention, 1854

Nancy Putnam Andrews owned the block in the 1800s and constructed the entertainment hall known as St. Nicholas Hall likely in the area of 368 Broadway. The Saratogian notes that St. Nicholas Hall was constructed on the corner of Broadway and Phila Streets, although in the 1850s Phila Street stopped at Putnam Street and did not go through to Broadway. In 1865 there was a fire that burned a number of buildings between Broadway and Putnam Streets. It is not clear whether the fire affected St. Nicholas Hall, but after the fire Phila Street was extended to Broadway. It appears that Abel Putnam purchased St. Nicholas Hall in 1878, after which it was renamed Putnam Music Hall in the early 1880s. In 1884, Putnam Music Hall was listed as a 600-seat theater with a 26 x 17 stage. Putnam Music Hall was destroyed by a fire in April 1896 according to a report in The Cultivator &amp; Country Gentleman of April 9, 1896. The theater was rebuilt and renamed the Saratoga Theater, but the whole section of the block burned in 1902 in the famous Arcade Fire. The Citizens National Bank building was reconstructed after the 1902 fire, and was later renamed the Saratoga National Bank. Account of the 1854 &amp; 1855 women's rights conventions, from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I, pages 620-626:“Saratoga ConventionsAugust, 1854-‘55           Seeing calls for two national conventions, by the friends of Temperance, and the Anti-Nebraska movement, to be held in Saratoga the third week of August, the State Woman Suffrage Committee decided to embrace that opportunity to hold a convention there at the same time.1 As it was at the height of the fashionable season it was thought much good might be accomplished by getting the ear of a new class of hearers.           But after the arrangements were all made, and Miss Anthony on the ground, she received messages from one after another of the speakers on whom she depended, that none of them could be present. Accordingly, encouraged by the Hon. William Hay, she decided to go through alone. Happily, Matilda Joslyn George and Sarah Pellet being in Saratoga, came forward and volunteered their services, and thus was the Convention carried successfully through.2 The meeting was held in St. Nicholas Hall, which was well filled throughout, three hundred dollars being taken at the door. The following resume of this occasion is from the pen of Judge Willian Hay, in a letter to The North Star of Rochester (Frederick Douglas, editor):           The Saratoga ConventionMiss Sarah Pellet addressed an audience of six hundred persons in the afternoon, most of whom returned with others to St. Nicholas Hall in the evening, thus manifesting their satisfaction with what they had heard and their interest in the cause, which was further discussed by Mrs. Gage, whose address was an elaborate argument for the removal of woman’s legal and social disabilities. Among other authorities she quoted with judgement, was the following from Wm. W. Story: “In respect to the powers and rights of married women, the law is by no means abreast the spirit of the age. Here are seen the old fossil prints of feudalism. The law relating to woman tends to make every family a barony, a monarchy, or a despotism, of which the husband is the baron, king, or despot, and the wife the dependent, the serf, or slave. That this in not always the fact, is not due to the law, but to the enlarged humanity which spurns the narrow limits of its rules; for if the husband choose, he has his wife as firmly in his grasp and dominion, as the hawk has the dove upon whom he has pounced. This age is ahead of the law. Public opinion is a check to legal rules on this subject, but the rules are feudal and stern, It can not, however, be concealed that the position of woman is always the criterion of the freedom of a people or an age, and when man shall despise that right which is founded only on might, women will be free to stand on an equal level with him—a friend and not a dependent.”           Mrs. Gage also, and with like effect, cited from the same learned jurist, laws, which, had her lecture been a sermon, might have be prefixed as a text. Such opinions, although but seldom known to any but lawyers, and not appreciated by many of them, have frequently been printed in books, which, however, being professional, are perused by few persons only. Mrs. Gage3 concluded her excellent discourse with Bryant’s celebrated stanza, relative to truth and error.           Miss Anthony’s situation had become embarrassing, if not critical. At a late hour of a summer night, she was to follow Mrs. Gage on the same subject, and before a fastidious audience, almost surfeited during three days with public addresses in several different conventions, and many of whom desired to contrast her expected effort with the splendid platform eloquence of Henry J. Raymond, Wm. H. Burleigh, and “their like,” fearlessly advocating the redress of wrongs and the promotion of human rights. Miss Anthony, who had conciliated her audience by lady-like conduct and courtesy, in providing seats for the accommodation of those standing, commenced with an appropriate apology for unavoidable repetition, when it was her lot to follow Mrs. Gage. Sufficient here to say that she acquitted herself admirably. The simplicity and repose of her manner, the dignity of her deportment, the distinctiveness of her enunciation, her empathetic earnestness, the pathos of her appeals, and completeness of her arguments, convinced the understanding and persuaded all hearts.           The gossip of mustached dandies, and the half-suppressed giggles of bedizened beauty, soon settled down into respectful attention, if not appreciated. Indeed many of the most intelligent hearers before retiring, audibly confessed that they had came to find fault, but had seen nothing to censure. So some who came to scoff remained to applaud. With such advocates there can be no retrogression of Woman’s Right. Equality is their motto, and onward their destiny.Wm. HayThis Convention was so successful in point of numbers and receipts, and the sale of woman suffrage literature, that it was decided to repeat the experiment the next year; accordingly the following call was issued early in the season:           Saratoga Convention, 1855A Convention will be held at Saratoga Springs on the 15th and 16th of August next, to discuss woman’s right to suffrage.In the progress of human events, woman now demands the recognition of her civil existence, her legal rights, her social equality with man.How her claims can be the most easily and speedily established on a firm, enduring basis, will be the subject of deliberation at the coming Convention.The friends of the movement, and the public generally, are the most respectfully invited to attend.Many of the advocates of the cause are expected to be in attendance.Elizabeth Cady Stanton,Ernestine L. Rose.Samuel J. May,Lydia Mott,Antoinette L. Brown,Susan B. AnthonyThis Convention also was held in St. Nicholas Hall, and a large audience greeted the speakers of the occasion as they appeared upon the platform.           A brief report of the secretaries in The Una of September, 1855, says: A large audience assembled on the morning of August 15th at St. Nicholas Hall. Susan B. Anthony called the meeting to order, and presented a list of officers4 nominated at a preliminary gathering, which was accepted. Martha C. Wright, on taking the chair made a brief statement of the object of the Convention, and invited all those who were opposed to our demands to come to the platform and state their objections.           During the absence of the Business Committee, Ernestine L. Rose briefly reviewed the rise and progress of the woman’s rights movement. Antoinette Brown reported a series of resolutions, on which she commented at some length, when the Rev. Samuel J. May was introduced. Although he spoke to the entire edification of the platform, yet he was constantly interrupted by the audience. It was a novelty to hear women speak, and the audience having assembled for that purpose, preferred to listen to woman’s pathetic statements of her wrongs, than to the most gifted orators that men could boast. It was not until after repeated requests for order from the president, and assurances from several of the ladies that they would not speak until Mr. May had finished his remarks, that quiet was restored.           It was at this Convention that Mary L. Booth5 made her first appearance on our platform, as one of the secretaries. One feature of these meetings was the freedom and warm sympathy between the audience and the platform. At the close of almost every speech, some one on the floor asked questions and refuted by the speakers in the most pleasant conversational manner.           Mrs. Rose presented the wrongs of woman in her most happy manner, demanding the ballot as the underlying power to protect all other rights. Thomas Wentworth Higginson made an address specially adapted to the fashionable audience. Many of the thoughtless ones whom idle curiosity had led to the hall, must have felt like the woman of Samaria (John iv. 29) at the well, when she reported that she had seen a man who told her all the things that ever she had done, so nearly did Mr. Higginson picture to them their thoughts and feelings, the ennui of their daily lives. Lucy Stone, whom the papers now call Mrs. Blackwell, arriving in the midst of the convention, was greeted with long and repeated cheers, and spoke with her wonted simplicity and earnestness. The resolutions covering all the different phases of the movement were duly discussed through two entire days.           Antoinette Brown was called on as usual to meet the Bible arguments. A clergyman accused her of misapplying texts. He said Genesis iv. 7 did not allude to Cain and Abel, and that the language in Genesis iii. 16, as applied to Eve, did not mean the same thing. Miss Brown maintained her position that the texts were the same in letter and spirit; and that authority to all men over all women could be no more logically inferred from the one, than authority to all elder brothers over the younger could be from the other; and that there was no divine authority granted in either case.           Miss Anthony announced that woman’s rights tracts and papers were for sale at the door, and urged all who had become interested in the subject to procure them not only for their own benefit, but to circulate among their neighbors. If they would be intelligent as to the real claims of the movement, they must take The Una, a paper owned and edited by one of its leaders. No one would expect to get temperance truths from Bennett’s Herald, not anti-slavery facts from The New York Observer, or Christian Advocate; no more can we look to any of the popular newspapers, political or religious, for reliable information on the woman’s rights movement.           She also presented the claims of The Woman’s Advocate, a paper just started in Philadelphia by Anna E. McDowell, devoted chiefly to woman’s right to work—equal pay for equal service (she was sorry that it did not see that the right of suffrage underlies the work problem); nevertheless the existence of a paper owned, edited, published, and printed all by women, was a living woman’s rights fact, and she hoped every one would give it encouragement and support. She then gave a brief report of the work done in the State during the past year,6 and closed by presenting the form of petition that had just been adopted.7           Mr. May moved the appointment of a committee of five8 to engage lecturing agents and raise funds for their compensation. The president thanked the people for the respect and attention manifested during the several sessions, and adjourned the Convention.9           The Saratoga papers were specially complimentary in their notices of Ernestine L. Rose and Lucy Stone, pronouncing them logical and eloquent, and Miss Anthony was highly praised for her skill in getting contributions and distributing documents. She sold over twenty thousand pamphlets that year. As there were many Southern people always at Saratoga, this was considered a grand opportunity through tracts to sow the seeds of rebellion all through the Southern States. This Convention afforded a new theme for conversation at the hotels, and was discussed for many days after with levity or seriousness, to be laughed over and thought over by the women at their leisure.101. As this meeting was hastily decided upon, there was no call issued; it was merely noticed in the county papers. The Saratoga Whig, August 18, 1854, says:WOMEN’S RIGHTS—The series of conventions that have been holding sessions in the village during the week, will close this day with a meeting for the discussion of the social, legal, and political rights of women, at which Miss Susan B. Anthony, Mrs. Matilda Joselyn Gage, and Miss Sarah Pellet will appear, The meetings will be held at St. Nicholas Hall this afternoon at 31/2 o’clock, and in the evening at 8 o’clock.2. Any one but the indomitable Susan B. Anthony would have abandoned all idea of a meeting, but, as it was advertised, she felt bound to make it a fact. This decision may seem the more remarkable in view of other facts, that Miss Anthony had but little experience as a speaker, and was fully aware of her deficiencies in that line; her forte lay in planning conventions, raising money, marshalling the forces, and smoothing the paths for others to go forward, make the speeches, and get the glory. Having listened in St. Nicholas Hall for several days to some of the finest orators in the country, it was with great trepidation that she resolved to attempt to hold such audiences as had crowded all the meetings during the week, and would no doubt continue to do so. However, she had one written speech, which she decided to divide, giving the industrial disabilities of women in the afternoon, and their political rights in the evening, supplementing each with whatever extemporaneous observations might strike her mind as she proceeded. With Mrs. Gage to speak at one session and Miss Pellet at the other, Miss Anthony rounded out both meetings to the general satisfaction. It was thus that she always stood ready for every emergency; when nobody else would or could speak she did; when everybody wished to speak she was silent.—E.C.S.3. The Daily Saratogian, August 19th, said: Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage, a medium-sized, lady-like looking woman, dressed in a tasty plum-colored silk with two flounces, made the first address upon some of the defects in the marriage laws, quoting Story, Kent, and Blackstone. She closed by speaking of Mrs. Marcet, an able writer on political economy, her book much used in schools. She referred to Miss Pinckney, of South Carolina, who in nullification times, wrote powerfully on that subject. It was said that party was consolidated by the nib of a lady’s pen. She was the first woman in the United States who was honored with a public funeral.4. President—Martha C. Wright, of AuburnVice-Presidents—Rev. Samuel J. May, Syracuse; Lydia Mott, Albany; Ernestine L. Rose, New York; Antoinette L. Brown, New York; Susan B. Anthony, Rochester; Augusta A. Wiggins, Saratoga SpringsSecretaries—Emily Jaques, Nassau; Aaron M. Powell, Ghent; Mary L. Booth, WilliamsburghFinance Committee—Susan B. Anthony, Marietta Richmond, Mary S. Anthony, Phebe H. JonesBusiness Committee—Antoinette L. Brown, Ernestine L. Rose, T.W. Higginson, Charles F. Hovey, of Boston; Phebe Merritt, of Michigan; How. William Hay, of Saratoga Springs5. Now the successful editor of Harper’s Bazar.6. This year Miss Anthony canvassed the State, holding conventions in fifty-four counties, organizing societies, getting signatures to petitions, and subscribers to The Una. At some of these meetings Mrs. Rose, Miss Brown, and Miss Filkins assisted by turn, but the chief part she carried through alone. She had posters for the entire State printed in Rochester, her father, brother Merritt, and Mary Luther folding and superscribing to all the postmasters and the sheriff of every county. The sheriffs, with but a few exceptions, opened the Court Houses for the meetings, posted the bills, and attended to the advertising. Miss Anthony entered on this work without the pledge of a dollar. But with free meetings and collections in the afternoon, and a shilling admission in the evening, she managed to cover the entire expense of the campaign.7. WOMEN’S RIGHTS PETITIONTo the Honorable, the Senate, and Assembly of the State of New York:WHEREAS, the women of the State of New York are recognized as citizens by the Constitution, and yet are disfranchised on account of sex; we do respectfully demand the right of suffrage; a right which involves all other rights of citizenship, and which can not be justly withheld, when we consider the admitted principles of popular government, among which are the following:1st. That all men are born free and equal.2nd. That government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.3rd. That taxation and representation should go together.4th. That those held amenable to laws should have a share in framing them.We do, therefore, petition that you will take the necessary steps so to revise the Constitution of our State, as that all her citizens may enjoy equal political privileges.8. The committee were Susan B. Anthony, Ernestine L. Rose, Antoinette L. brown, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Martha C. Wright, Lydia Mott.9. At the close of this Convention, Charles F. Hovey, as was his usual custom, planned an excursion for those who had taken part in the meeting. He invited them to take a drive to the lake, a few miles out of Saratoga, gave them a bountiful repast, and together they spent a day rich in pleasant memories. Listening day after day to the wrongs perpetrated on women by law and Gospel of man’s creation, Mr. Hovey always seemed to feel that he was in duty bound to throw what sunshine and happiness he could into the lives of women, and thus in a measure atone for the injustice of his sex, and most royally he did this whenever an opportunity offered, not only while he lived, but by bequest at his death.10.Twenty years after this Mrs. Stanton met a lady in Texas, who told her about this Saratoga Convention. She said her attention was first called to the subject of woman’s rights by some tracts a friend of hers, then living in Georgia, brough home at that time, and that we could form by little idea of the intense interest with which they were read and discussed by quite a circle of ladies, who plied her aunt with innumerable questions about the Convention and the appearance and manner of the ladies who led the movement.

In August 1854 Susan B. Anthony, joined by Matilda Joslyn Gage and Sarah Pellet, organized a convention on women's rights held at St. Nicholas Hall. With the success of the 1854 event, a second Saratoga convention was organized for August 15-16, 1855, also at St. Nicholas Hall. The original St. Nicholas Hall no longer stands; it was changed to Putnam Music Hall in the 1880s, but the building was destroyed in one of the several fires that plagued Saratoga in the nineteenth century.

The 1854 & 1855 Women's Rights Conventions at St. Nicholas Hall

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 Thirtieth Annual Convention occurred November 8-10, 1898 in Hudson, NY. The convention headquarters was The Worth Hotel on Warren Street with day meetings held at the Opera House (City Hall) and evening meetings at the Court House. The program included addresses by Mariana W. Chapman, Lillie Devereux Blake, Harriet May Mills, Annie E.P. Searing, Harriet Stanton Blatch, Mary Seymour Howell, Rev. Annis Ford Eastman, Harriette A. Keyser, and Rev. Anna Howard Shaw.Hudson Hall was constructed in 1855 as the City Hall with additional offices for a bank, the police station, the post office, library, and a performance hall on the second floor. It was a trend in the late-nineteenth century for towns to have “opera houses” so Hudson Hall was renamed the Hudson Opera House and renovations were done to improve the performance space. Thus, when the NYSWSA held their 1898 conference, they held their meetings at the “Opera House.” The building was again called City Hall starting in the 1920s and used for that purpose until the 1960s when City Hall moved to a different building on Warren Street. Between 1962 and 1992 the building was vacant, fell into serious disrepair, and was eventually threatened with demolition. In 1992 a group of citizens came together to save and restore the building through a multi-million-dollar project. Renamed Hudson Hall at the Historic Hudson Opera House, the restored community space holds the distinction of being New York’s oldest surviving theater.The courthouse used by the NYSWSA in 1898 no longer stands, but was located in the same location as the current courthouse. The courthouse used during the convention was constructed in 1835 as the third Columbia County Courthouse. It was destroyed by fire in 1900 and the fourth county courthouse was constructed in 1901. That courthouse also suffered a fire in 1907 and the current courthouse was built in 1908.The General Worth Hotel was constructed in 1836-1837 and named after General William Jenkins Worth. It was the center of social life in Hudson and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, but fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1969.

The 30th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Hudson, NY November 8-10, 1898. The General Worth Hotel was the conference headquarters and lodging, daytime events were held in the Opera House (then City Hall), and evening events occurred in the County Courthouse. Participants attended lectures and meetings about advancing the cause of women's suffrage.

Pamphlet for the Thirtieth Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, front cover

30th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, November 8-10, 1898

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 27th Annual Convention was held November 8-12, 1895 in Newburgh, NY. Like many of the previous conventions, there were committee meetings and reports, addresses and speakers, and entertainment. There was a special focus on efforts to pass New York Assembly Bill No. 637 that would change the language of the state’s voter laws and there was also a heated debate between Lillie Devereaux Blake and anti-suffrage Reverend Dr. Morgan Dix. However, the 1895 convention was an important turning point in the New York, and larger national, suffrage movement. The first generation of leaders was growing older, Susan B. Anthony was 75 and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 80, and the 1895 convention marked a transition to a younger generation of suffragist leaders. Some of the new generation, like Carrie Chapman Catt and Reverend Anna Howard Shaw, had been mentored closely by Anthony and Stanton, but overall the new generation had new ideas on how to move the suffrage movement forward. In a way, the older generation was more radical, calling for the vote and women’s equality with men. The younger generation, influenced by white middle-class Progressivism, sought the vote as a way to address the social ills of wider American society. The symbolism of the 1895 convention as a changing of the guard was cemented by the conventions final event, a celebration hosted by the National Council of Women at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s 80th birthday.Events for the 27th Annual Convention were held at the Academy of Music on Broadway. The convention organizers displayed an altered American Flag across the Academy stage—the flag only had four stars. Two fully embroidered stars represented Colorado and Wyoming where women had gained the full vote and two outlined stars represented Utah and Idaho where women had partial suffrage. The Academy hall opened in September 1888 and was later converted to a cinema and renamed the Academy Theatre. The building was destroyed in a fire in 1956 and was demolished. Convention lodging was at the Palantine Hotel on Grand Street (located where the front lawn of the Newburgh Free Library is). The Palantine Hotel opened in July 1893 as an elegant 116-room hotel. At the turn of the century, Newburgh was a bustling city with a flourishing theater district, close enough to New York City to attract visitors for a day or overnight trip. Starting with the Great Depression Newburgh experienced economic decline, leading to many of the magnificent nineteenth-century structures to fall into disrepair. In the 1960s and 1970s an urban renewal plan led to the demolition of almost 2000 buildings, including the Palantine Hotel.

The 27th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was held in Newburgh, NY on November 8-12, 1895. Convention events were held at the Academy of Music Hall on Broadway and convention attendees stayed at the Palantine Hotel, which was located up Grand Street near the Newburgh Free Library.

27th Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, November 8-12, 1895

Carrie Chapman Catt devoted her life to securing women's suffrage and the end to war. During her marriage to her second husband, George Catt, she returned to her home state of Iowa. There, she became involved in the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and devoted roughly four months each year to the cause. Eventually Catt and her husband moved to New York City, where she became involved with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Catt twice served as the organization's president; she ended her first term early to care for her ailing husband. Later, following the death of her husband, Catt returned to her leadership of NAWSA.These were busy years for Catt, and after the death of her husband she purchased this Briarcliff Manor home named Juniper Ledge by its previous owners. Catt moved into the home with her partner, Mary Garrett "Mollie" Hay in 1919 and lived here until 1928. Catt's years at Juniper Ledge were busy ones. During Catt’s residence here, women secured the vote through the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment and Catt helped organize the League of Women Voters. Catt and Hay often hosted suffragists at Juniper Ledge and held meetings of the League at the home.The home was built in around 1910 and was situated on sixteen sloping, hilly acres. The house is 2.5 stories in a T-shape; the section of the house with the higher roof was originally the main section of the house, while the lower roofline marks the service wing. Originally the main driveway entered from Saw Mill River Road (N State Road), and the stone entry with “Juniper Ledge” is still visible there, with a secondary entrance from Ryder Road. The property has a brook running through it and many flowerbeds, juniper bushes, and trees. Catt also built a small cottage for their chauffeur (which still stands, but has been altered and is now on separate property after the subdivision of the land after 1928). Although Catt initially had no interest in farming the land, she and Hay soon began planting both flower and vegetable gardens on the property. Catt, who was also a supporter of Prohibition, reportedly once told guests at the property that she bought it so that its many juniper berries would never be used in the production of alcohol. She also planted trees on the property in honor of other suffragists, marked with bronze tablets (these tablets are no longer there).Although she was happy at the property, Catt eventually found that living in Briarcliff Manor put her too far away from New York City, and in 1927, she bought a home in New Rochelle to be closer to her political activities. The home is still a private residence. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt (1859-1947)Carrie Clinton Lane was born on January 9, 1859 in Wisconsin and her family moved to Iowa when she was a girl. She attended Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) and graduated with a general science degree as the only woman in the class of 1880. After graduation she worked as a law clerk, school teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools. Carrie Lane married Leo Chapman in February 1885 and the couple moved out to San Francisco, but Leo Chapman died less than a year after their wedding. Carrie Lane Chapman wrote as a freelancer in San Francisco until she returned to Iowa in 1887.After the death of her first husband and her return to Iowa, Carrie Chapman joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and was the state organizer from 1890 to 1892. In 1890, she remarried to George Catt and began working for women’s suffrage on a national level. Her skills as a writer and speaker brought her to national attention and she started working with the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890. She succeeded Susan B. Anthony as NAWSA president in 1900 and in 1902 founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA).Carrie Chapman Catt stepped down from the NAWSA presidency for a period between 1904-1915 due to her husband’s ill health and subsequent death, and the deaths of several other close family members and friends. During this time she traveled and worked as president of the IWSA. She returned to the United States and took up the NAWSA presidency again in 1915. The women’s movement had become divided between those who were advocating for state voting rights and those who were for more radical approaches such as picketing the White House. Under Catt’s leadership the NAWSA used her “Winning Plan” to work towards both state and federal suffrage rights and accept compromises at the state level if needed. The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 and Catt stepped down from the NAWSA presidency again. She founded the League of Women Voters to encourage women to participate in voting and was active in reform until her death.Carrie Lane Chapman Catt died of heart failure on March 9, 1947 in her New Rochelle, NY home. She donated her entire estate to Iowa State University and the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics was established in 1992.Mary Garrett Hay (1857-1928)Mary Garrett Hay was born on August 29, 1857 and spent her childhood in Indiana. Her mother died when she was young so she spent a lot of time with her father who was physician. Mary Hay often traveled with her father to his patient calls and attended political conventions with him (he was a prominent Indiana Republican). She attended school at the Western Female Seminary and was trained as a druggist under her father. From childhood she was interested in politics and as a young woman she first became involved in the temperance movement and then joined the women’s rights movement. She spent some time organizing local suffrage groups and through her involvement with the movement met Carrie Chapman Catt. In 1895 Hay moved to New York City and briefly lived with Catt that year. She helped Catt set up the offices of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in New York, served as the organization’s railroad secretary, and was instrumental in organizing many of the national conventions.Mary Hay continued to work for the NASWA but also was a leader in the New York movement. She was the president of the New York State Federation of Women’s Clubs 1910 to 1912, president of the New York Equal Suffrage League 1910 to 1918, president of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party 1912-1918, and was chair of the League of Women Voters in New York City 1918 to 1923. Like her father, Hay was a staunch Republican and her involvement in the Republican Party helped support the suffrage work she and Catt were doing. She was chairman of the Republican Women’s National Executive Committee 1919 to 1920. Through her positions in the New York suffrage movement, Mary Hay helped win the right to vote for New York women in 1917.After Carrie Chapman Catt’s second husband died in 1904, Hay moved in with her and the two women lived together for the rest Hay’s life. Together the two women worked tirelessly for women’s suffrage and other reform causes. Mary Hay died suddenly in 1928 on her 71st birthday. Catt found her unresponsive in her bedroom from a possible cerebral hemorrhage and Hay died about twelve hours later.

Suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt lived in the home known as Juniper Ridge from 1919 to 1928. After years of frenetic activity, Catt moved to the home after passage of the Nineteenth Amendment along with her partner, Mary Garrett "Mollie" Hay. The house offered solitude and an escape from the pressures of public life, although Catt continued to be active after moving there. Because of its connection of Catt, the home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Carrie Chapman Catt House (Juniper Ledge)

Hudson Valley

Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt (1859-1947)Carrie Clinton Lane was born on January 9, 1859 in Wisconsin and her family moved to Iowa when she was a girl. She attended Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) and graduated with a general science degree as the only woman in the class of 1880. After graduation she worked as a law clerk, school teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools. Carrie Lane married Leo Chapman in February 1885 and the couple moved out to San Francisco, but Leo Chapman died less than a year after their wedding. Carrie Lane Chapman wrote as a freelancer in San Francisco until she returned to Iowa in 1887.After the death of her first husband and her return to Iowa, Carrie Chapman joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and was the state organizer from 1890 to 1892. In 1890, she remarried to George Catt and began working for women’s suffrage on a national level. Her skills as a writer and speaker brought her to national attention and she started working with the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890. She succeeded Susan B. Anthony as NAWSA president in 1900 and in 1902 founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA).Carrie Chapman Catt stepped down from the NAWSA presidency for a period between 1904-1915 due to her husband’s ill health and subsequent death, and the deaths of several other close family members and friends. During this time she traveled and worked as president of the IWSA. She returned to the United States and took up the NAWSA presidency again in 1915. The women’s movement had become divided between those who were advocating for state voting rights and those who were for more radical approaches such as picketing the White House. Under Catt’s leadership the NAWSA used her “Winning Plan” to work towards both state and federal suffrage rights and accept compromises at the state level if needed. The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 and Catt stepped down from the NAWSA presidency again. She founded the League of Women Voters to encourage women to participate in voting and was active in reform until her death.Carrie Lane Chapman Catt died of heart failure on March 9, 1947 in her New Rochelle, NY home. She donated her entire estate to Iowa State University and the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics was established in 1992.Mary Garrett Hay (1857-1928)Mary Garrett Hay was born on August 29, 1857 and spent her childhood in Indiana. Her mother died when she was young so she spent a lot of time with her father who was physician. Mary Hay often traveled with her father to his patient calls and attended political conventions with him (he was a prominent Indiana Republican). She attended school at the Western Female Seminary and was trained as a druggist under her father. From childhood she was interested in politics and as a young woman she first became involved in the temperance movement and then joined the women’s rights movement. She spent some time organizing local suffrage groups and through her involvement with the movement met Carrie Chapman Catt. In 1895 Hay moved to New York City and briefly lived with Catt that year. She helped Catt set up the offices of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in New York, served as the organization’s railroad secretary, and was instrumental in organizing many of the national conventions.Mary Hay continued to work for the NASWA but also was a leader in the New York movement. She was the president of the New York State Federation of Women’s Clubs 1910 to 1912, president of the New York Equal Suffrage League 1910 to 1918, president of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party 1912-1918, and was chair of the League of Women Voters in New York City 1918 to 1923. Like her father, Hay was a staunch Republican and her involvement in the Republican Party helped support the suffrage work she and Catt were doing. She was chairman of the Republican Women’s National Executive Committee 1919 to 1920. Through her positions in the New York suffrage movement, Mary Hay helped win the right to vote for New York women in 1917.After Carrie Chapman Catt’s second husband died in 1904, Hay moved in with her and the two women lived together for the rest Hay’s life. Together the two women worked tirelessly for women’s suffrage and other reform causes. Mary Hay died suddenly in 1928 on her 71st birthday. Catt found her unresponsive in her bedroom from a possible cerebral hemorrhage and Hay died about twelve hours later.

This was the final home of Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary Garrett Hay. Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt (1859-1947) and Mary Garrett Hay (1857-1928) were both influential leaders of the women's suffrage movement. Carrie Chapman Catt was president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and oversaw the victory of passing and ratifying the 19th Amendment. Catt also founded the League of Women Voters. Mary Garrett Hay worked closely with Catt in the work of the NAWSA, but was also a leader in the New York suffrage movement. Hay was president of the New York Equal Suffrage League, president of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party, chair of the League of Women Voters in New York, and chairman of the Republican Women's National Executive Committee. After the death of Catt’s second husband, they lived together for 23 years. Catt and Hay moved to this New Rochelle home in 1928 from their home, Juniper Ledge, in Briarcliff Manor. Mary Garrett Hay died here on August 29, 1928, not long after they moved in. Carrie Chapman Catt continued her work and activism from this home from 1928 until her death here on March 9, 1947.

Carrie Chapman Catt House, New Rochelle, NY

Carrie Chapman Catt & Mary Garrett Hay Home & Deathplace

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born on November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York. She grew up listening to her father discuss law and was educated at the Johnstown Academy and Emma Willard’s Troy Female Seminary. She became involved in the abolitionist movement after marrying Henry Stanton in 1840; Stanton was an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society and often traveled to speak about abolition. The couple’s honeymoon was to London for the World’s Anti-Slavery convention and this event is where Elizabeth Stanton met Lucretia Mott.Stanton and Mott were both dedicated abolitionists but agreed that women were being excluded from parts of the movement and decided to organize a convention about women’s rights. They organized the Woman’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, NY in 1848, now considered the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement that would continue for more than seven decades. Stanton’s “The Declaration of Sentiments” is a founding document of the women’s movement, written based on the United States Declaration of Independence to call attention to the inequality in American society.Stanton, Mott, and other anti-slavery reformers organized yearly women’s rights conventions, wrote about both women’s rights and abolition, and began to petition state and national legislatures about women’s issues. In addition to the vote, reformers spoke about marital rights, parental rights, legal rights, property rights, temperance, and other issues relating to women. Stanton met Susan B. Anthony in 1851 and the two women became the powerhouse team behind the suffrage movement (while both also working in the abolitionist movement). During the years that Elizabeth Stanton needed to raise her seven children, Anthony was often a present visitor at their Seneca Falls home, helping with the Stanton children while writing and strategizing with Elizabeth. Stanton often wrote speeches that Anthony then traveled around the country delivering.During the Civil War the Stantons moved to the New York City area. They both worked in war efforts and Elizabeth supported the end of the abolitionist movement (the 13th Amendment) through the Women’s Loyal National League. With the completion of abolition at the end of the Civil War, Stanton’s focus turned back to the women’s rights movement. Suffragists formed the American Equal Rights Association to advocate for universal suffrage, extending the vote to both African Americans and women in the aftermath of the war. Anthony and Stanton were disappointed with the 14th and 15th Amendments, which both excluded women, and formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. Other suffragists were more accepting of the Reconstruction Amendments as positive steps in the right direction, causing a rift among female reformers that lasted until the 1890s.During the 1870s Stanton actively traveled to speak about women’s suffrage and the NWSA pushed for a federal amendment to protect voting rights in the U.S. Constitution. This amendment was introduced for the first time in 1878 (often called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment) and it would ultimately become the 19th Amendment in 1920, after both Stanton and Anthony had died. Stanton started to slow down in the 1880s with less traveling, but she did agree to serve as the president of the unified National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890. Stanton advocated for women’s rights until her death in October 1902. Stanton and Anthony wrote a three-volume documentation of the movement, along with Matilda Joslyn Gage, titled History of Woman Suffrage (1881-85) and Stanton wrote an autobiography titled Eighty Years and More.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was a leader of the Women's Rights Movement. Stanton and fellow abolitionists organized the Seneca Falls Convention, considered the beginning of the women's suffrage movement. Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony worked together to advance suffrage and many other women's issues from the 1840s into the early 1900s. Stanton was a founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association and also served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Gravesite

Suffrage reformers Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary Garrett Hay are buried here together under a monument that states: "Here lie two, united in friendship for 38 years through constant service to a great cause." The two women met through the women’s suffrage movement in the 1890s and became close companions. After the death of Catt’s second husband, they lived together for 23 years. There has been much speculation whether their relationship was simply friendship and companionship, or if it was a romantic and sexual relationship. Catt and Hay were never explicit about the nature of their companionship due to the society at the time, so it is impossible to determine that without some degree of doubt. What is clear is that Catt and Hay were devoted to each other for many years. More importantly Catt and Hay were crucial in the New York state suffrage movement and the national movement that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt (1859-1947)Carrie Clinton Lane was born on January 9, 1859 in Wisconsin and her family moved to Iowa when she was a girl. She attended Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) and graduated with a general science degree as the only woman in the class of 1880. After graduation she worked as a law clerk, school teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools. Carrie Lane married Leo Chapman in February 1885 and the couple moved out to San Francisco, but Leo Chapman died less than a year after their wedding. Carrie Lane Chapman wrote as a freelancer in San Francisco until she returned to Iowa in 1887.After the death of her first husband and her return to Iowa, Carrie Chapman joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and was the state organizer from 1890 to 1892. In 1890, she remarried to George Catt and began working for women’s suffrage on a national level. Her skills as a writer and speaker brought her to national attention and she started working with the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1890. She succeeded Susan B. Anthony as NAWSA president in 1900 and in 1902 founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA).Carrie Chapman Catt stepped down from the NAWSA presidency for a period between 1904-1915 due to her husband’s ill health and subsequent death, and the deaths of several other close family members and friends. During this time she traveled and worked as president of the IWSA. She returned to the United States and took up the NAWSA presidency again in 1915. The women’s movement had become divided between those who were advocating for state voting rights and those who were for more radical approaches such as picketing the White House. Under Catt’s leadership the NAWSA used her “Winning Plan” to work towards both state and federal suffrage rights and accept compromises at the state level if needed. The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 and Catt stepped down from the NAWSA presidency again. She founded the League of Women Voters to encourage women to participate in voting and was active in reform until her death.Carrie Lane Chapman Catt died of heart failure on March 9, 1947 in her New Rochelle, NY home. She donated her entire estate to Iowa State University and the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics was established in 1992.Mary Garrett Hay (1857-1928)Mary Garrett Hay was born on August 29, 1857 and spent her childhood in Indiana. Her mother died when she was young so she spent a lot of time with her father who was physician. Mary Hay often traveled with her father to his patient calls and attended political conventions with him (he was a prominent Indiana Republican). She attended school at the Western Female Seminary and was trained as a druggist under her father. From childhood she was interested in politics and as a young woman she first became involved in the temperance movement and then joined the women’s rights movement. She spent some time organizing local suffrage groups and through her involvement with the movement met Carrie Chapman Catt. In 1895 Hay moved to New York City and briefly lived with Catt that year. She helped Catt set up the offices of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in New York, served as the organization’s railroad secretary, and was instrumental in organizing many of the national conventions.Mary Hay continued to work for the NASWA but also was a leader in the New York movement. She was the president of the New York State Federation of Women’s Clubs 1910 to 1912, president of the New York Equal Suffrage League 1910 to 1918, president of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party 1912-1918, and was chair of the League of Women Voters in New York City 1918 to 1923. Like her father, Hay was a staunch Republican and her involvement in the Republican Party helped support the suffrage work she and Catt were doing. She was chairman of the Republican Women’s National Executive Committee 1919 to 1920. Through her positions in the New York suffrage movement, Mary Hay helped win the right to vote for New York women in 1917.After Carrie Chapman Catt’s second husband died in 1904, Hay moved in with her and the two women lived together for the rest Hay’s life. Together the two women worked tirelessly for women’s suffrage and other reform causes. Mary Hay died suddenly in 1928 on her 71st birthday. Catt found her unresponsive in her bedroom from a possible cerebral hemorrhage and Hay died about twelve hours later.

Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt (1859-1947) and Mary Garrett Hay (1857-1928) were both influential leaders of the women's suffrage movement. Carrie Chapman Catt was president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and oversaw the victory of passing and ratifying the 19th Amendment. Catt also founded the League of Women Voters. Mary Garrett Hay worked closely with Catt in the work of the NAWSA, but was also a leader in the New York suffrage movement. Hay was president of the New York Equal Suffrage League, president of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party, chair of the League of Women Voters in New York, and chairman of the Republican Women's National Executive Committee.

Monument for Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary Garrett Hay

Gravesite of Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary Garrett Hay

Alva Erskine Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama on January 17, 1853 to a wealthy family. As a young socialite she attended boarding school and traveled in Europe prior to the Civil War. Her family moved to New York prior to the war, but the conflict did affect the family’s wealth. Alva Smith was ambitious and used marriage to improve her wealth and social status. In 1875, Alva Erskine Smith married into the Vanderbilt family, marrying William Kissam Vanderbilt with whom she had three children. Now a Vanderbilt, Alva made waves in New York elite society. Alva Vanderbilt was known for commissioning elegant estates and homes, often from Richard Morris Hunt and his sons, and worked closely on the designs. She shocked society in 1895 when she divorced from William Vanderbilt on charges of adultery (divorces were not common in late-nineteenth century society). Less than a year later, she married William Vanderbilt’s best friend, Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, on January 11, 1896. Oliver Belmont died on June 10, 1908.Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was extremely wealthy after both of her marriages, and after Oliver Belmont’s death she turned her attention and money towards the suffrage movement. She initially focused on campaigns for voting rights within each state, like the platform of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, but she was inspired by the more radical approach of British suffragists such as the Pankhursts after witnessing one of their rallies in London. Belmont put her wealth and social status into the movement, using her estates to host suffrage meetings and founding the Political Equality League in 1909. She joined the executive committee of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage with Lucy Burns and Alice Pail in 1914 (this was renamed the National Woman’s Party in 1916). In 1917 the National Woman’s Party organized the Silent Sentinels picket outside the White House to pressure President Woodrow Wilson about women’s suffrage.Belmont’s work continued even after the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. In 1921, she was elected President of the National Women’s Party and continued to use her wealth to support the work of getting women out to vote. With funds from Belmont, the National Woman’s Party purchased the Old Brick Capitol as the party headquarters in Washington, D.C. When the federal government seized the building to build the Supreme Court, Alva Belmont provided additional funds to purchase a new headquarters on Constitution Avenue (this is now the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument).For most of the 1920s Alva Belmont lived in Paris, but desired to be buried in New York when she died. Belmont died on January 26, 1933 in France and her children brought her body back to New York for her funeral as she requested. Belmont had provided detailed final instructions for her funeral and burial and fellow activist Alice Paul oversaw the arrangements. Belmont lay in state for two days at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue before her funeral service. During that time a guard of two members of the National Woman’s Party stayed with her body. Her coffin was accompanied by a procession of honorary pallbearers, all feminist women’s rights activists, carrying purple, white, and gold banners, both during the funeral service and as the coffin was brough into the mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery.The Belmont Chapel is now cared for by Woodlawn Cemetery. Only Oliver and Alva Belmont are buried in the mausoleum and the Vanderbilt children deeded the chapel over to the cemetery in 1936.

This elaborate mausoleum is the resting place of Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt Belmont (1853-1933) and Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont (1858-1908). Alva Belmont was a leader of the women's suffrage movement, using her wealth and social status to support the movement. She founded the Political Equality League in 1909, served as president of the National Woman's Party in 1921, and financed the purchase of the party headquarters in Washington D.C. After Oliver Belmont’s death on June 10, 1908, Alva Belmont commissioned the mausoleum, which was completed in 1910. It is a replica of the chapel of Saint-Hubert at Amboise in France. Saint Hubert is the patron saint of hunters so there are many references to stags and antlers repeated in the design.

Alva Vanderbilt Belmont Gravesite

Born enslaved as Isabella Baumfree in Ulster County, New York in 1797, Sojourner Truth escaped from her owner in 1827 and fled to a nearby abolitionist family, which bought her freedom. The following year, she moved to New York City, where she worked for a minister, converted to Christianity, and participated in the religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening. In 1843, believing that God had called her to travel and preach the truth to the people, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and became an itinerant preacher. During her travels, Truth met prominent abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. The former’s organization encouraged her to begin delivering anti-slavery speeches across the country. Truth also met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, which inspired her to fight for women’s rights, including the right to vote. In 1851, at a women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, in which she spoke out against gender and racial inequality. During the Civil War, Truth encouraged enlistments in the Union Army and gathered supplies to send to Black troops. During Reconstruction, she received an invitation to the White House, worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau, and spoke out against racial segregation in the South. Truth died in Michigan in 1883.  Born into a family of privilege in Johnstown, New York in 1815, Elizabeth Cady Stanton received a top-notch formal education during her early years. In 1840, she married abolitionist lecturer, Henry Stanton. Like her husband, she became active in the antislavery movement and, in the process, met many prominent abolitionists, such as William Lloyd Garrison and the Grimke sisters. Infuriated by the exclusion of women at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840, Stanton along with fellow abolitionist Lucretia Mott decided to organize a women’s rights convention in the United States, which later became the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. At the meeting, some of those in attendance signed the “Declaration of Sentiments,” of which Stanton was the principal author. Taking inspiration from the Declaration of Independence, the document asserted that all men and women are created equal and ought to have equal rights, including the right to vote. In 1851, Stanton met Susan B. Anthony and the two commenced a friendship and professional partnership that would span decades. During the Civil War, Stanton supported the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. Along with Anthony, she founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869, which advocated for a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. She also wrote for the organization’s newspaper, The Revolution. In October 1902, Stanton died in New York City.  Born into a Quaker family in Adams, Massachusetts in 1820, Susan B. Anthony learned at a young age the values of her faith. Among those was equality, an idea which would inform her later activism. While living with her family in upstate New York, Anthony met prominent abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. Both men, in fact, were friends of her father and were often guests in the family’s home. Inspired by their work, Anthony became an abolitionist and began traveling the country delivering antislavery speeches. In 1851, she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and began a friendship and professional partnership that would influence the women’s rights movement in the United States for the remainder of the nineteenth century. With Stanton, she founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. Three years later, in 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting, an incident which brought the women’s suffrage movement national attention. Throughout the remainder of her life, she tirelessly advocated for women’s suffrage, traveling the country giving speeches, collecting signatures for petitions, and lobbying Congress for a women’s suffrage amendment to the Constitution. Anthony died in New York in 1906.  In 2014, the all-volunteer non-profit group Monumental Women was founded with the goal of creating the first monument in Central Park to honor actual women, as opposed to fictional female characters. Over the course of several years, the organization raised over $1.5 million in private donations. It commissioned renowned sculptor Meredith Bergmann to create the monument. Unveiled in August 2020, the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the monument consists of three over-life-sized bronze likenesses of Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony on an elongated oval granite pedestal. The Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument was the first to be added to the park since 1965.

Located at the southern end of the Mall in New York City’s Central Park, the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument honors the lives and work of Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony. Sponsored by the all-volunteer non-profit group Monumental Women and designed by renowned sculptor Meredith Bergmann, the monument consists of three over-life-sized bronze likenesses of the early women’s rights advocates on an elongated oval granite pedestal. Unveiled in August 2020, it commemorates the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote. The first to be added to Central Park since 1965, the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument is also the first in the park’s history to depict actual women, as opposed to fictional female characters. 

New York Women's Suffrage History Trail

Howland Stone Store Museum & Sherwood Equal Rights Historic District

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information