Family: A daughter of the early abolitionist Hezekiah Joslyn, Gage was the wife of Henry Hill Gage, with whom she had five children: Charles Henry (who died in infancy), Helen Leslie, Thomas Clarkson, Julia Louise, and Maud. Gage maintained residence in Fayetteville, New York for the majority of her life. Though Gage was cremated, there is a memorial stone at Fayetteville Cemetery that bears her slogan "There is a word sweeter than Mother, Home or Heaven. That word is Liberty." -- Maud, who was ten years younger than Julia, initially horrified her mother when she chose to marry The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum at a time when he was a struggling actor with only a handful of plays (of which only The Maid of Arran survives) to his writing credit. However, a few minutes after the initial announcement, Gage started laughing, apparently realizing that her emphasis on all individuals making up their own minds was not lost on her headstrong daughter, who gave up a chance at a law career when the opportunity for women was rare. Gage spent six months of every year with Maud and Frank, and died in the Baum home in Chicago, Illinois in 1898. -- Gage's son Thomas Clarkson Gage and his wife Sophia had a daughter named Dorothy Louise Gage, who was born in Bloomington, IL, on June 11, 1898 and died just five months later on November 11, 1898. The death so upset the child's aunt Maud, who had always longed for a daughter, that she required medical attention. Thomas Clarkson Gage's child was the namesake of her uncle Frank Baum's famed fictional character, Dorothy Gale. In 1996, Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, a biographer of Matilda Joslyn Gage, located young Dorothy's grave in Bloomington. A memorial was erected in the child's memory at her gravesite on May 21, 1997. This child is often mistaken for her cousin of the same name, Dorothy Louise Gage (1883-1889), Helen Leslie (Gage) Gage's child. As theosophists, both the Baums and the Gages believed in reincarnation, and thought this child might have been Matilda Joslyn Gage, whose personal spark is apparently written into the character. -- In The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story, Gage was played by Rue McClanahan, whose relationship with Frank was wrongly portrayed as antagonistic, and falsely presented Gage as the inspiration for the Wicked Witch of the West. Annette O'Toole played Maud, and Nancy Morgan and Pat Skipper played Helen and Charles, respectively.

Lyman Frank Baum, author of Ozma of Oz, didn't just write one of the most popular children's books in history. He also produced thirteen other Oz books as well as over 40 other novels, 82 short stories, hundreds of poems, and an unknown number of scripts. -- As a young man, Baum was a printer, producing several amateur newspapers, a poultry breeder specializing in the Hamburg chicken, and a theater lover. Despite working as a clerk in his brother-in-law's dry goods store, he found time to perform in plays until eventually his father, who owned numerous opera houses and theaters, built him a theater on his 24th birthday. Baum wrote plays, including the highly successful musical "The Maid of Arran," and composed music for them as well. Two years later he married Maud Gage, and moved with her a few years later to Aberdeen in the Dakota Territory, where he operated a store called "Baum's Bazaar." In 1890 the store failed, and Baum turned to newspaper writing and working as a traveling salesman. -- He believed deeply in the power of children's literature, saying "Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - day dreams with your eyes wide open - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization." -- Politically, Baum was a flaming liberal. His wife was the daughter of suffrage leader Matilda Joslyn Gage, author of The Women's Bible and companion to Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Baum wrote editorials trying to convince the public to vote for women's suffrage and served as secretary of Aberdeen's Women Suffrage Club.

We lost something when politicians stopped taking public transit. Caption here says “At Bristol station, on Saturday, a frantic suffragette attacked Winston Churchill with a dog whip.” See Also:Publicly Whipped CouplePunishing The SuffragistsPublic Spanking of SuffragettesWhipped By The Order Of Queen VictoriaLeon Trotsky Whipping Two Nude Girls

Bermuda is set to commemorate the 80th anniversary of women’s suffrage, with a forum set to take place tomorrow [April 30]. A spokesperson said, “The 80th anniversary of the successful passage of the bill in our Parliament mandating women’s right to vote in Bermuda happened on Sunday, April 21st and this became law on May […]

In 1913, British Royalty would come in direct contact with a changing social order, thanks to a suffragette named Emily Davison. Her death at Epsom Falls would send shockwaves through the nation.

The Delaware Public Archives is pleased to announce the installation of the second of four Historical Markers celebrating the centennial of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing for women’s suffrage.  The “Women’s Suffrage Parade” marker commemorates the parade by approximately 400 suffragists as they marched from […]

The Delaware Public Archives is happy to present the installation of a NEW Delaware Historical Marker, “Women’s Suffrage in Delaware.”  This Marker remembers the 1920 conference that was held by Sussex County’s members of the General Assembly that heard opinions in support of and against women’s suffrage. This Delaware Historical Marker, the third of four […]

    The Delaware Public Archives & Delaware Heritage Commission are proud to present the installation and unveiling of the “Equal Suffrage Study Club” Historical Marker — the final marker in the series of four Delaware Historical Markers celebrating the centennial of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United […]

The Delaware Women’s Suffrage Centennial Committee is launching its educational, history filled, and interactive website.

On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant the right to vote to all adult women. New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the OECD Rosemary Banks says the 120th anniversary of this decision is an time to reflect on that achievement.

On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to grant the right to vote to all adult women. New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the OECD Rosemary Banks says the 120th anniversary of this decision is an time to reflect on that achievement.

Wyoming passed a suffrage bill 50 years before the 19th Amendment, but the Equality State is struggling to live up to its nickname. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday meets the women working to boost female representation. Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann

[London] : [Published by The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.], [1909]

[London] : To be obtained from the Secretary , London's Society for Women's Suffrage, 58, Victoria Street, S.W., [1873]

[Edinburgh] : [s.n.], [1904?]

[London] : London Society for Women's Suffrage, 58, Victoria Street, S.W., [1892]

[London] : Published by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.w. President - Mrs. Henry Fawcett, LL.D, [1909]

[London] : Central Society for Women's Suffrage 25, Victoria Street, London, S.W., [1905]

[Edinburgh] : [s.n.], [1911]

[London?] : [s.n.], [1909?]

London : A. C. Fifield, 44 Fleet Street, E.C., 1910.

[London] : Printed by Strangeways and Sons, Tower Street, Cambridge Circus, W.C.], [1908]

[London] : Published by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.], [July, 1909]

[London] : Published by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, Parliament Chambers, Great Smith Street, S.W.; and Printed by The Women's Printing Society, Ltd., Brick Street, Piccadilly], [1909]

[London] : Published by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.], [July, 1909]

[London] : Published by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, Parliament Chambers, Westminster, S.W.; and Printed by The Women's Printing Society, Ltd., Brick Street, Piccadilly], [1909]

[London] : [S. Sidders & Co., Printers, 17 & 19, Ball Street, Kensington, W.], [1909]

[Lucknow] : [s.n.], 1910]

[London?] : [s.n.], 1907?]

[Letchworth] : [Garden City Press Ltds., Printers, Letchworth, Herts.], [1910]

[London] : [Printed by Francis & Co., Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C.], [1911]

London : Published by The Women's Freedom League, 1, Robert Street, Adelphi, London, WC, [1908]

[London?] : [s.n.], [19--]

[London] : [s.n], 1911?]

[London] : [Printed by Francis & Co., The Athenaeum Press, 13, Bream's Buildings, London, E.C.], [1908?]

[Keighley] : [Printed by Wadswirth & Co., The Rydal Press, Keighley], [1909]

[London] : [s.n.], [1909]

[London] : [Published by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.], [November, 1908]

Written by Ina R. Bort Recently acquired by the New-York Historical Society, this small plate adorned with the “Votes for Women” slogan is linked to Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, a notable New Yorker whose fascinating, improbable life trajectory began as a society doyenne and ended as suffrage activist. This, the first of three posts, explores perhaps the...

The post Suffrage on the Menu: Traces of the Life and Legacy of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Written by Ina Bort Our last post explored the biography of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, the doyenne-turned-activist we believe commissioned this plate’s manufacture. Today we explore the first of two likely scenarios where this and similar plates may have been used: The suffrage conferences Alva organized at Marble House, her Newport estate, in 1909 and 1914....

The post Suffrage on the Menu, Part II: The Marble House Conferences of 1909 and 1914 appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Written by Ina Bort In our last two posts, we explored the life of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and dropped in at her Marble House suffrage conferences in Newport, where “Votes for Women” plates like this one may very well have been used. But it may be that these plates were instead (or also) used—that is,...

The post Suffrage on the Menu, Part III: Alva’s Political Equality Association Lunchroom appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Women's Suffrage in Sheet Music

The Library of Congress just released Women's Suffrage in Sheet Music, a selection of more than 200 pieces of sheet music spanning the years 1838-1923, over half of which highlight women's emerging voices and suffrage efforts. The collection includes published rally songs and songsters written and compiled by notable composers and suffragists, as well as music manuscripts submitted for copyright deposit by everyday citizens. Anti-suffragists raised voices in song as well, and popular music of the era echoed anti-suffrage sentiments of the day with specific references to the movement. Read more and browse the entire collection or take a quick look at the fascinating cover art. 

Joe Smith Collection

The Joe Smith Collection provides recordings of interviews conducted by Smith, a retired music executive, between 1986 and 1988, with musicians, producers, and other music industry icons. He spoke with everyone from Aerosmith to Yoko Ono about different genres of music, the industry, and how it had changed. The contributors are a virtual who’s who from the mid-to-late 20th century and the discussions provide a glimpse behind the curtain.

Lowell Folklife Project

The Lowell Folklife Project from the American Folklife Center (AFC) is the fifth of AFC’s ethnographic field projects to be digitized in full and presented online. The collection is the result of a year-long study conducted between 1987-1988 by AFC fieldworkers. The collection documents contemporary ethnic neighborhoods, occupations, and community life related to the history of industrialization in Lowell, Massachusetts. So much rich material: French, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Greek, Cambodian, Irish, Polish, Laotian, Vietnamese and Italian communities; work, weddings, sports, parades and festivals; music, winemaking, teens hanging out, and Jack Kerouac’s birthplace are all here.

Rotch Library - N8354.T72 2019

Dewey Library - HQ1236.5.U6 A17 2019

Collections Include Records of National American Woman Suffrage Association, President Lincoln’s Private Secretary, Olmsted Associates Landscape Architectural Firm, Federal Monetary Policy

Researchers and students have gained access to seven newly digitized collections of manuscript materials from the Library of Congress, including records of one of the most important women’s suffrage organizations, the papers of President Abraham Lincoln’s personal secretary and collections on the history of federal monetary policy. The availability of these collections added more than 465,000 images to the Library’s already vast online resources.

Click here for more information.

Join the Law Library on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. as we commemorate Human Rights Day with a viewing of the Shall Not Be Denied Exhibition and a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Colleen Shogan, the assistant deputy librarian of the Library Collections and Services Group and the Library’s representative on the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. The panelists include Corrine McConnaughy, associate professor of political science at George Washington University and author of The Woman Suffrage Movement in America: A Reassessment, and Elaine Weiss, journalist and author of The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote.

Register at humanrightsday2019.eventbrite.com. We recommend reserving your tickets early, as these will go quickly and space is limited! We will not livestream this event, so you will want to be in the room!

Rotch Library - NA2543.W65 S84 2020