It wasn’t easy being a suffragist’s husband!
I grew up under the wing of my grandfather Wilmer R. Kearns (shown above) who told me all about Grandmother Edna who died years before I was born. One of Grandmother Edna Kearns’ forays into the world of citizen journalism was to cover a speech by Theodore Roosevelt and write it up in one of her…
Continue ReadingShe died so we can vote today: Inez Milholland
Inez Milholland gave her life for our voting rights today after collapsing while on the campaign trail. She died shortly thereafter. Chances are, most people never heard of Inez Milholland. However, they may have seen photos of the magnificent woman on a horse leading the enormous 1913 suffrage parade in Washington, DC at the time…
Continue ReadingSuffragists picked up their soapboxes and went to town!
Not only did the suffragists march in huge parades, but in some events they even carried portable soapboxes (such as in the photo below) in the event an opportunity arose for them to stand up on a street corner and speak. It was a novelty for women to speak in public back then as Susan…
Continue ReadingPerplexed about a holiday gift for someone special?
I’m hearing a lot about downsizing consumption this holiday season. This suggests a suffrage-themed gift could be in order. Yvonne Crumlish, whose grandmother Addie’s Votes for Women pennant was featured on “History Detectives” in September, tells me that she saw the HBO special “Iron Jawed Angels” for the first time this year. This could mean…
Continue ReadingSplits in suffrage movement didn’t deter working relationships
Mrs. Raymond Brown took over after Harriett May Mills as president of New York’s state suffrage organization. A rare recording of Mrs. Brown speaking is a valuable look at the period, as well as a reference in one of Grandmother Edna Kearns’ newspaper columns that she wasn’t all that pleased with Mrs. Brown being selected…
Continue ReadingPlan holiday meals using the Woman Suffrage Cookbook
This suffrage cookbook available free online tells a great deal about the women of the movement, their perspectives, and the special place of cooking in family life. When you’re planning a meal or special event, find a recipe to make and share the process and results with us at Suffrage Wagon. Holidays are giving us an…
Continue ReadingSupport Oregon women and their Votes for Women centennial!
Oregon suffragists visit New York, 1912, from the Library of Congress collection. These women very much wanted to be seen, just as Oregon women today are gearing up for their anniversary of women voting in 2012. You can Twitter their events: Oregon Women Vote @CenturyofAction.
Continue ReadingGrandmother Edna Kearns had her fingers in many suffrage pies
Edna knew that the women of New York were making history. And when a pageant was held at the Armory in New York City involving 500 performers and broad, vast and innovative subject matter, she made sure the news was spread through her writing. Both Edna Buckman Kearns and daughter Serena Kearns were featured in…
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