The History of Woman Suffrage - Volume III Part 143
Library

Volume III Part 143

CHAPTER XLVII.

MINNESOTA.

[A.]

In the early days, long before the organization of either State or local societies, there were, besides those mentioned in the main chapter, a few earnest women who were ever ready to subscribe for suffrage papers and circulate tracts and pet.i.tions to congress and the State legislature, whose names should be honored with at least a mention on the page of history. Among them were: Mrs. Addie Ballou, Mrs. Ellis White, Mrs. Eliza Dutcher, Mrs. Sarah Clark, Miss Amelia Heebner, Miss Emily A. Emerson, Mrs. Mary F. Mead, Mrs.

E. M. O'Brien, Miss Ellen C. Thompson, Miss R. J. Haner, Mrs. Mary Hulett, Mrs. Gorham Powers, Mrs. C. A. Hotchkiss, Mrs. Emma Wilson, Mrs. Mary Wilkins, Mrs. Anna D. Weeks, Mrs. Mary Leland, Mrs. Susan C. Burger, Mrs. A. R. Lovejoy, and others.

[B.]

Of the seventy-six organized counties in Minnesota we give the following partial list of those that have elected women to the office of superintendent of public schools: _Mille Lacs County_, Olive R. Barker; _Pine_, Ella Gorton; _Lac Qui Parle_, Malena P.

Kirley; _Anoka_, Mrs. Catharine J. Pierce, Mrs. Ellen Conforth, Miss Dailey; _Benton_, Mrs. Belle Graham, Mrs. E. K. Whitney; _Cottonwood_, Mrs. E. C. Huntington, Mrs. B. J. Banks, Mrs. L.

Huntington; _Dodge_, Mrs. Mary Powell Wheeler, Mrs. P. L. Dart, Mrs. J. W. Willard, Barbara Van Allen; _Dakota_, Mrs. Martha Wallace, Harriet E. Jones, Mrs. C. H. Day, Mrs. C. Teachout, Nellie Duff, Mary Mather, Anna Manners, Jennie Horton; _Freeborn_, Mrs. J.

B. Foote, Mrs. D. R. Hibbs, Mrs. A. W. Johnson, Mrs. J. H.

Pickard; _Fillmore_, Charlotte Taeor, Margaret Hood, Mrs. M. E.

Molstad, Mrs. A. E. Harsh; _Fairbault_, Jane Harris, Georgia Adams, Mrs. A. B. Thorp, Mrs. Levi Crump, Mrs. R. C. Smith, Mary Rumage, Mrs. L. A. Scott; _Goodhue_, Mrs. H. A. Hobart; _Brown_, Mrs. O. B.

Ingraham; _Dougla.s.s_, Mrs. M. C. Lewis, Mrs. J. B. Van Hoesen, Mrs.

Trask; _Houston_, Mrs. Annie M. Carpenter; _Hennepin_, Angelina Dupont, Mrs. M. F. Taylor; _Lyon_, Louise M. Ferro, M. D., Mrs. W.

C. Robinson, Mertie Caley; _Mower_, Mrs. W. H. Parker, Mrs. V. J.

Duffy, Mrs. J. F. Rockwell, Mrs. E. Hoppin, Sarah M. Dean; _Marshall_, Mrs. L. H. Stone; _Meeker_, Mrs. A. R. Jackman, Mrs.

Orin Whitney, Mary E. Ferguson; _Martin_, Mrs. J. W. Fuller, Mrs.

M. E. St. John, Mary E. Harvey, Mary A. McLean; _Olmstead_, Adelle Moore, Jane Haggerty, Mrs. R. S. Carver; _Polk_, Mrs. M. C. Perrin, Mrs. J. A. Barnum; _Ramsey_, Mrs. B. McGuire, Annie E. Dunn; _St.

Louis_, Sarah Burger Stearns; _Winona_, Dr. Adaline Williams; _Stevens_ county reports one lady serving as school-district treasurer; _Otter Tail_ county reports six ladies serving in different places; _Wright_ county, four serving as clerks of school-districts; and in _Beeker_ county it is said ladies sometimes serve as deputies during their husbands' absence.

[C.]

In a volume edited by Harriet N. R. Arnold, ent.i.tled, "The Poets and Poetry of Minnesota," published in 1864, are the following names: Mrs. Laura E. Bacon Hunt, Mrs. Emily F. Bugbee Moore, Miss Eleanor C. Donnelly, Miss Jane Gray Fuller, Mrs. E. M. Harris, Miss Ninetta Maine, Mrs. J. R. McMasters, Harriet E. Bishop, Irene Galloway, Mary R. Lyon, Miss M. E. Pierson Smith, Mrs. Helen L.

Pandergast, Julia A. A. Wood. Among the later writers possessing true poetic genius are Mrs. Julia Cooley Carruth, Miss Eva J.

Stickney, Miss Jennie E. M. Caine, Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller.

Among the authors who sent their books to the New Orleans Exposition in 1885, are Frances A. Shaw, Marion Shaw, Minnie May Lee, Eleanor G. Donnelly, Mrs. M. M. Sanford, Mrs. Julia Wood, Edna A. Barnard, Mrs. Arnold, Miss Franc E. Babbett, Mrs. Henderson, Miss Campbell, Mrs. C. H. Plummer, Mrs. Will E. Haskell, Mrs. Delia Whitney Norton, Maria A. Drew, Mrs. Jennie Lynch, Miss Mary A.

Cruikshank.

[D.]

Mrs. Winch.e.l.l, wife of the president of the Minnesota State University, kindly sent us the names of the fifty-six young women who were graduated from that inst.i.tution between 1875 and 1885: Cla.s.s of '75, Helen Mar Ely; '76, Martha Butler; '77, Matilda J.

Campbell, Viola Fuller, Charlotte A. Rollet, Mary A. Maes; '78, Mary Robinson, Nettie Getchel; '79, Marian H. Roe, Caroline Rollet, Martha J. West, Evelyn May Champlin, Etta Medora Eliot; '80, Lizzie A. House, Bessie S. Lawrence, Minnie Reynolds, Lillian Todd, Cora Inez Brown; '81, Emily Hough, Diana Burns, Sarah E. Palmer, Lilla Ruth Williams; '82, Carrie Holt, Lydia Holt, Mary Eliza Holt, Alice E. Demmon, Louise Lillian Hilbourn, Emily D. McMillan, Ada Eva Pillsbury, Agnes V. Bonniwell, Grace W. Curtis, Marie Louise Henry, Mary Nancy Hughes, Carrie D. Fletcher; '83, Annie Harriet Jefferson, Kate Louise Kennedy, Sarah Pierrepont McNair, Anna Calista Marston, Janet Nunn, Emma Frances Trussell, Helen Louise Pierce, Martha Sheldon, Louise E. Hollister, Emma J. Ware; '84, Hannah Sewall, Susie Sewall, Anna Bonfoy, Bessie Latho, Addie Kingsbury, Belle Bradford, Emma Twinggi; '85, Mary Benton, Bertha Brown, Ida Mann, Mary Irving, Mabel Smith.

Among the women who have been successful as preceptresses in the State University are: Helen Sutherland, M. A., Mrs. Augusta Norwood Smith, Matilda J. Campbell, B. L., Maria L. Sanford.

Among the teachers in the normal schools of the State are the following:

_Winona_--Martha Brechbill, Sophia L. Haight, Jennie Ellis, Sarah E. Whittaker, Kate L. Sprague, Vienna Dodge, Ada L. Mitch.e.l.l, Anna C. Foekens, Rena M. Mead, Mary E. Couse, B. S.

_Mankato Normal School_--Helen M. Philips, Defransa A. Swan, Anna McCutcheon, Genevieve S. Hawley, Mary E. Hutcheson, Eliza A.

Cheney, Charity A. Green, M. Adda Holton.

_St. Cloud Normal School_--Isabel Lawrence, Ada A. Warner, Minnie F. Wheelock, Rose A. Joclin, Mary L. Wright, Kittie W. Allen.

Nearly all of the above-named teachers were graduated from Eastern colleges and universities.

Women occupy the same positions as men and receive corresponding salaries. A recent report of Minneapolis schools names fifteen women in the High School receiving from $650 to $900 per year; twelve princ.i.p.als of ward schools, receiving from $750 to $1,000; and eleven primary princ.i.p.als receiving from $650 to $800. At St.

Paul there were reported two princ.i.p.als getting $1,200 each, two getting $900, and twelve others getting $600 each; of the five lady a.s.sistants in the High School, one received $900, one $800, and three received $700 each. The princ.i.p.al of the High School at Duluth receives $750 per annum, and some of the a.s.sistants and princ.i.p.als of ward schools, $600.

Miss Sarah E. Sprague, a graduate of St. Lawrence University, and of the Normal and Training School at Oswego, N. Y., has been employed since August, 1884, by the State Department of Public Instruction, for inst.i.tute work, at a salary of $1,260 per year and expenses. Miss Sprague is a lady of rare ability and an honor to her profession.

Prominent among private schools for young ladies is the Bennett Seminary at Minneapolis, Mrs. B. B. Bennett, princ.i.p.al; also the Wasioja Seminary, Mrs. C. B. P. Lang, preceptress, and Miss M. V.

Paine, instructor in music. The services of Miss Mary E. Hutcheson have been highly valued as instructor in vocal music and elocution in the Mankato Normal School. Miss Florence Barton at Minneapolis, Mrs. Emily Moore of Duluth, are excellent teachers of music, and Miss Zella D'Unger, of elocution.

Prominent among the kindergarten schools is that of Mrs. D. V. S.

Brown at St. Paul; Mrs. Mary Dowse, Duluth; Miss Endora Hailman, Winona. The latter is director of the kindergarten connected with the Winona State Normal School. Miss Fannie Wood, Miss Kate E.

Barry, Miss Ella P. McWhorter and Miss Abby E. Axtell, are reported as having rendered very efficient service as teachers in the State Deaf and Dumb Asylum; Miss Mary Kirk, Miss Alice Mott and Miss Emma L. Rohow are spoken of as having been earnest and devoted teachers in the State Inst.i.tution for the Blind.

Mrs. Viola Fuller Miner of Minneapolis, graduated from the State University, has long been known as a teacher and writer of much ability. Her pen never touches the suffrage question except to its advantage. Miss Eloise Butler, teaching in the High School of the same city, would gladly have lent her personal aid to suffrage work had time and strength permitted. We have at least the blessing of her membership and influence. Mrs. Sadie Martin, likewise a teacher of advanced cla.s.ses and an easy writer, will be remembered as the first president of the local suffrage society of Minneapolis, and one much devoted to its interests. Mrs. Maggie McDonald, formerly a teacher at Rochester and long a resident of St. Paul, has ever been a devoted friend of the suffrage cause--commenced work as long ago as '69, and is to-day unflagging in hope and zeal. Mrs. Caroline Nolte of the same city, though much occupied as a teacher in the High School, still found time to aid in forming the St. Paul Suffrage Society. Miss Helen M. McGowan, a teacher at Owatonna, is spoken of as "a grand woman who believes in the ballot as a means to higher ends." Miss S. A. Mayo, a lady of fine culture and a successful teacher of elocution, was also an active member of this society while in the city. Miss Clara M. Coleman, a cla.s.sical scholar from Michigan University, for one year princ.i.p.al of the Duluth High School, was a believer in equal rights for all and did not hesitate to say so. Miss Louise Hollister, a graduate of the Minnesota University, is Miss Coleman's successor and a friend of suffrage for women, with an educational qualification; she is vice-president of the Equal Rights League of Duluth. Miss Jenny Lind Gowdy, graduated from the Winona Normal School, is an excellent primary princ.i.p.al who teaches her pupils that girls should have the same rights and privileges as boys--no more, no less.

[E.]

The names of the women who have been admitted to the Minnesota State Medical Society are: Clara E. Atkinson, Ida Clark, Mary G.

Hood, A. M. Hunt, Harriet E. Preston, Belle M. Walrath, Annes F.

Wa.s.s, Lizzie R. Wa.s.s, Mary Twoddy Whetsone.

Among the women who have practiced medicine in Minnesota are: Catharine Underwood Jewell, Lake City; E. M. Roys, Rochester; Harriet E. Preston, M. Mason, Mary E. Emery, Jennie Fuller, Clara E. Atkinson, St. Paul; Mary G. Hood, Mary J. Twoddy Whetsone, R. C.

Henderson, A. M. Hunt, Adele S. Hutchinson, Mary L. Swain, D. A.

Coombe, Minneapolis; E. M. Roys, Mary Whitney, Ida S. Clark, Rochester; Augusta L. Rosenthal, Winona; Fannie E. Holden, Anna Brockway Gray, Duluth.

The board of officers of the Sisters of Bethany has for many years consisted of: _President_, Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve; _Vice-President_, Mrs. Euphemia N. Overlock; _Secretary_, Mrs.

Harriet G. Walker; _Treasurer_, Mrs. Abbie G. Mendenhall.

The city of Minneapolis takes the lead of all others in the State in the number of its benevolent inst.i.tutions. It has its Woman's Industrial Exchange, as an aid to business women; its Woman's Home, or pleasant boarding-house; for the care of sick women, its Northwestern Woman's Hospital and training-school for nurses; also a homeopathic hospital for women; for the care of homeless infants, its Foundlings' Home; for unfortunate girls, its Bethany Home. All of these inst.i.tutions are in the hands of the best of women. Among the most active are: Mrs. M. B. Lewis, Miss Abby Adair, Mrs. O. A.

Pray, Mrs. J. M. Robinson, Mrs. John Edwards, Mrs. L. Christian, Mrs. S. W. Farnham, Mrs. Wm. Harrison, Mrs. H. M. Carpenter, Mrs.

D. Morrison, Mrs. John Crosby, Mrs. George B. Wright, Mrs. Moses Marston, Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve, Mrs. T. B. Walker, Dr. Mary S. Whetsone, Mrs. C. S. Winch.e.l.l, Dr. Mary G. Hood, Mrs. R. W.

Jordan, Miss A. M. Henderson.

In the city of Duluth there is a woman's home unlike any other in the State. It is managed by a corporate body of ladies known as home missionaries. The charter members are: Sarah B. Stearns, Laura Coppernell, Jennie C. Swanstrom, f.a.n.n.y H. Anthony, Olive Murphy, Flora Davey, Jennie S. Lloyd, Fannie E. Holden, M. D. The work of this corporation is to seek out all poor women needing temporary shelter and employment. The cla.s.ses chiefly cared for are poor widows and deserted wives, and such small children as may belong to them; also over-worked young women who may need a temporary resting-place; also young girls thrown suddenly upon their own resources without knowledge of how to care for themselves. These ladies care also for the unfortunate of another cla.s.s, but in a retired place, unmarked by any sign. They prefer that to the usual plan of caring for the victims of men.

[F.]

Portrait and landscape-painters in oil and water-colors, who give promise of success: _Minneapolis_, Miss Clara V. Shaw, Miss Mary E.

Neagle, Mrs. Frank Painter, Miss Mary Dunn, Mrs. Irene W. Clark, Miss C. M. Lenora, Mrs. Arthur Clark, Mrs. A. M. West, Miss Myra H.

Twitch.e.l.l, Mrs. A. L. Loring, Miss Luella Gurney, Mrs. Charles Fairfield, Mrs. A. T. Rand, Miss E. Robeson, Miss Helen Goodwin, Mrs. Sarah E. Corbett, Mrs. Lucille Hunkle, Miss Mary Kennedy, Mrs.

Frances A. Pray. Mrs. W. B. Mead, Miss Flora Edwards, Mrs. Knight, Mrs. I. W. Mauley, Mrs. M. P. Hawkins; _St. Paul_, Miss Florence M.

Cole, Miss Mary Hollingshead, Miss A. M. Shavre, Miss Alice Chandler, Mrs. Martha Griggs, Miss L. B. West, Mrs. Knox, Mrs.

Theodosia Rose Cleveland, Mrs. Genevieve Jefferson, Mrs. C. B.