33rd Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, October 29-November 1, 1901
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
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.
Images
Program, Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the NYSWSA, Oswego
Program, Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the NYSWSA, Oswego, page 2
Program, Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the NYSWSA, Oswego, page 3
Program, Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the NYSWSA, Oswego, page 4
The convention program published in the Oswego Daily Times, October 18, 1901
Mariana Wright Chapman, President of the NYSWSA.
Mary Thayer Sanford, pictured here with Susan B. and Mary S. Anthony. Sanford was the Recording Secretary for the NYSWSA.
Elnora Monroe Babcock, Chair of the Press Committee
Harriet May Mills, Chair of the Organization Committee. In addition to the committee report, Mills presented an address titled "Subject or Sovereign."
Gail Laughlin, lawyer and Chair of the Industrial Committee
Alice Stone-Blackwell addressed the convention on "The Ballot for Women"
Julie R. Jenney, the first woman to graduate from Michigan Law School and later the first female Deputy Attorney General of New York, addressed the convention on October 30.
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As was tradition, Susan B. Anthony delivered one of the keynote speeches.
Mary Hillard Loines, Chair of the Legislative Committee
Jean Brooks Greenleaf (pictured here) and Ella Hawley Crossett presented a memorial to Charlotte A. Cleveland, who had died in April 1901.
Ella Hawley Crossett (pictured here) presented the memorial to Charlotte Cleveland with Jean Brooks Greenleaf.
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Rev. Anna Howard Shaw presented a keynote address titled "Progressive Ideals of American Women."
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Maps of the three locations used during the 33rd Annual Convention
First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church
Modern view of the First Presbyterian Church. The church steeple was removed at an unknown date after the congregation left the building in 1936.
The church building is now the home of American Legion Post 268
The Danio Hotel, c. 1920 (previously the Hamilton House Hotel)
City Hall, c. 1906
City Hall, 2012
Hamilton House shown on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oswego, Oswego County, New York, 1897
First Presbyterian Church on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oswego, Oswego County, New York, 1897
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The New York State Woman Suffrage Association (NYSWSA) was organized in 1869 after the Fifteenth Amendment only granted the vote to men. Matilda Joslyn Gage organized the first state convention at Saratoga Springs, July 13-14, 1869 and the association held a convention annually after that. The annual convention was a strategy used by NYSWSA to bring together all the smaller societies throughout the state to work together to advance women’s suffrage in New York.
The 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.
Sources
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The Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association Headquarters, the Hamilton House, Oswego. October 29--November 1, 1902. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001376/. Accessed December 15, 2021.
The Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association Headquarters, the Hamilton House, Oswego. October 29--November 1, 1902. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001376/. Accessed December 15, 2021.
The Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association Headquarters, the Hamilton House, Oswego. October 29--November 1, 1902. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001376/. Accessed December 15, 2021.
The Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association Headquarters, the Hamilton House, Oswego. October 29--November 1, 1902. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001376/. Accessed December 15, 2021.
The Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association Headquarters, the Hamilton House, Oswego. October 29--November 1, 1902. Online Text. https://www.loc.gov/item/rbcmiller001376/. Accessed December 15, 2021.
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"Mary Hillard Loines." Wikipedia. Accessed December 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Hillard_Loines.
"Jean Brooks Greenleaf." Wikipedia. Accessed December 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Brooks_Greenleaf.
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"Anna Howard Shaw." Wikipedia. Accessed December 15, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Howard_Shaw.
Map: Google Maps. Edited by Kathleen Thompson.
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“First Presbyterian Church.” Freethought Trail. Accessed December 15, 2021. https://freethought-trail.org/trail-map/location:first-presbyterian-church/.
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"Oswego City Hall c. 1906." Then and Now Oswego. Accessed December 15, 2021. https://thenandnowoswego.com/oswego-city-hall/.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oswego, Oswego County, New York. Sanborn Map Company, Nov, 1897. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06151_002/. Accessed December 15, 2021.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oswego, Oswego County, New York. Sanborn Map Company, Nov, 1897. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06151_002/. Accessed December 15, 2021.