Local Suffragists - Notebook Vol. 2018-3
By Bob Fetonti BMSHS Trustee
Yes you read it correctly. Suffragist rather than the more familiar Suffragette. It is believed that "Suffragette," which has fallen into disfavor, was originally coined by The Daily Mail in London as a derogatory term for female activists. Suffragist is now considered the correct name. On May 20th Putnam County Historian, Sarah Johnson PhD, will discuss the Women's Suffrage Movement in New York. See the final paragraph for more information. As a preview we are presenting a brief description of the contributions made by residents of Briarcliff and the surrounding area: Carrie Chapman Catt, Frank and Narcissa Vanderlip, Sojourner Truth, and Max Eastman.
Carrie Chapman Catt (1895 -1947) became the involved in the Suffragist movement in Iowa in the 1880’s. She went on to serve as President of the National American Suffrage Movement from 1900 to 1904, as Susan B. Anthony’s chosen successor, and again from 1915 to 1920. Her Winning Plan for Suffrage Victory unveiled in 1916 is credited as a major factor in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Following its ratification and the dissolution of the National American Suffrage Movement in 1920, Catt together with Emily Newell Blair and Emma Smith DeVoe founded the League of Women Voters. In 1919 Catt purchased an Arts and Crafts-style house called Juniper Ledge located on Ryder Road near the Briarcliff-New Castle border. Catt purchased the house as a country refuge where she could unwind; however, the house soon became the location of activist meetings and other gatherings. “In June 1921, The New York Times covered a picnic held by a hundred LWV members.”(1) Catt sold the house in1928 and moved to New Rochelle. The house is still a private residence and thanks to the efforts of Briarcliff resident and former BMSHS Trustee, Carmino Ravosa, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. A stone column with the inscription “Juniper Ledge” can still be seen at the original entrance to the estate on North State Road.
Beechwood (see Briarcliff Notebook 2018 1.1) on Route 9, the old Albany Post Road, across from the Scarborough Presbyterian Church, was the home of Frank and Narcissa Vanderlip from 1905 to 1966. Both Frank and Narcissa were active in a number of social welfare causes. They were considered one of the "power couples" of the women's suffrage movement along with other socially prominent couples like James and Harriet Laidlaw, and James and Vera Whitehouse. Narcissa (1879 – 1966) became active in the New York State Women’s Suffrage Party serving as the chair of the 9th Campaign District. After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, she became involved with the League of Women Voters and served as President of the New York Chapter from 1919 to 1923. Narcissa, a lifelong Republican, was committed to keeping the League of Women Voters politically neutral. Narcissa was also responsible for recruiting her friend, Eleanor Roosevelt for the League’s Board of Directors. Eleanor was impressed with Narcissa’s leadership abilities, pragmatic approach to politics and passion. Together they worked on a variety of woman's issues and other social causes. While Frank (1864-1937) is generally remembered as a banker and founder of the Federal Reserve, he was also a supporter of female suffrage and appears on a number of lists of prominent male suffragists.
From 1833 to 1835 Sojourner Truth, known then as Isabella Baumfree or Bomefree (1797 ca – 1883), lived and worked as a house keeper on an estate called Heartt Place owned by Benjamin Folger. This estate and the house on it would later become part of the Beechwood estate of Frank and Narcissa Vanderlip. Sojourner, an ardent and tireless abolitionist, fought equally hard for the rights of women. Her name, Sojourner Truth, came from her belief she had been chosen to spread God's word. She was reported to be a down-to-to-earth and charismatic speaker who was able to win over initially hostile crowds. In the 1850s she came to understand that she was discriminated against not only because of her race but also because of her gender. Her speech known as “Ain’t I a Woman?” was delivered at the Ohio Woman’s Rights Convention in 1851. In 1853, she spoke at the suffragist “mob convention” in New York City and in 1867 she addressed the American Equal Rights Association which advocated the right to vote for all citizens regardless of race, religion or gender. Although she would continue to advocate and work for woman's suffrage for the rest of her life, she later parted with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton over the question of whether black men should get the right to vote before women.
Max Eastman (1883 - 1969) was a member of the radical community of Greenwich Village who also lived in Croton-on-Hudson in the 30s and 40s. He was a writer, journalist and lecturer. In 1941 he became a roving editor for Reader's Digest and a frequent writer for the New Republic. Influenced by his sister, Crystal, his mother and his wife, Ida Rauth, he became involved in the suffragist movement, which he considered “the big fight for freedom in my time.”(2) In 1908 Eastman spear-headed the Men's League for Women's Suffrage. The 150 founding members of the League included John Dewey and W.E.B. Du Bois. National American Suffrage Movement President, Fanny Villard, saw the men's league as a way for prominent men to quietly lend their names and prestige to the cause of women's suffrage. Instead Max Eastman and others became vocal and active participants in the movement. Max had Woodrow Wilson's ear and publicly debated with Theodore Roosevelt.
If you are interested in more information on local suffragists, please join us at our annual meeting at which Putnam County Historian Sarah Johnson Ph.D. will discuss the Suffragist Movement. The meeting is 2:00 pm on May 20th at Beechwood, the former estate of the Vanderlips on Route 9. Watch your e-mail for an announcement. Additional information and pictures on local suffragists can be found in the archives of our Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society, the local history section of the library, and on Wikipedia.
Credits:
Photo of Carrie Chapman Catt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Chapman_Catt
Photo of Juniper Ledge by Elisa Rolle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Chapman_Catt_House
Photo of Frank and Narcissa Vanderlip ca 1931 from the Daily Breeze 11/9/14 https://www.dailybreeze.com/2014/11/09/palos-verdes-peninsula-founder-to-be-profiled-in-documentary/
Photo of Sojourner Truth by Randall Studio from the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution
Photo of Max Eastman by Bain News Service from the Library of Congress
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie Chapman Catt_House
2. Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites Who Fought Women's Right to Vote by Johanna Neuman, p. 63.
Bibliography:
www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/suffragette
www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/suffragist
Woman’s Suffrage History Timeline – Woman’s Rights National Historic Park. National Park Service
Biographical Cycopaedia of American Woman p 92
Wikipedia – Carrie Chapman Catt
Westchester Historical Society http://westchesterhistory.com/index.php/exhibits/people?display=vanderlip
Columbia College of Arts and Science: Eleanor Roosevelt Project papers https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/narcissa-cox-vanderlip-1879-1966
Wikipedia – Sojourner Truth
“The Little Known Story of the Men Who Fought for Woman's Vote”
https://Timeline.com/the-men-who-supported-suffragettes
The New Rochelle Pioneer March 19, 1910. http//nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn85026837/
Wikipedia - Men's League for Women's Suffrage
Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites Who Fought Women's Right to Vote by Johanna Neuman
Sojourner Truth | National Women's History Museum https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth
Sojourner Truth Biography - Biography https://www.biography.com/people/sojourner-truth-9511284
Max Eastman - Spartacus Educational http://spartacus-educational.com/Jeastman.htm
Matt Eastman Facts http://biography.yourdictionary.com/max-eastman
New York Times Bookshelf by Sam Robert, November 25, 2017
Tarrytown Daily News March 25, 1937 https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org