Women -- Suffrage -- History; Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History; Women's rights -- History; Women's rights -- United States -- History
In April, 1908, Mrs. Upton wrote to Mrs. Noland begging her to call a
convention. Acting as president, secretary and treasurer and supplying
the funds from her own purse, Mrs. Noland sent hundreds of letters
over the State asking for names of people interested in suffrage and
from the names she formed committees to interest others. Her only
assistant was her husband, Dr. J. F. Noland, who helped in leisure
hours. In October the work of organization began by Mrs. Noland and
Miss Pearl Penfield. A convention was called to meet in Logansport,
March 16-17, 1909. Fifteen clubs had paid small dues but only seven
sent delegates. It was welcomed by Mayor George P. McKee. Much
interest and a great deal of publicity resulted. The _Reporter_, a
Logansport daily paper, published a suffrage edition March 17, one
page edited by a committee from the association. Mrs. Ella S. Stewart
of Chicago, Miss Harriet Noble of Indianapolis and Mrs. B. F. Perkins
of Fort Wayne were the speakers. The following officers were elected:
President, Mrs. Noland; first vice-president, Dr. Susan E. Collier,
Indianapolis; second, Mrs. Mary Mitchner, Kokomo; corresponding
secretary, Mrs. Bessie Hughes, Logansport; recording secretary, Mrs.
Wood; treasurer, Mrs. Barnard; auditors re-elected; member National
Executive Committee, Mrs. Perkins. During the year Sullivan, Terre
Haute, Amboy, Lafayette, Red Key and Ridgeville became auxiliaries.
Mrs. Antoinette D. Leach of Sullivan was made State organizer; Mrs.
Flora T. Neff of Logansport chairman of literature.
In 1911 a resolution to amend the State constitution by striking out
the word "male" was presented to the Legislature, drafted by Mrs.
Leach. It passed the House committee unanimously, went to third
reading and was shelved because of a proposed plan for a new
constitution brought out by Governor Thomas R. Marshall. The Municipal
League composed of the mayors and councilmen of all the cities in the
State invited the Equal Suffrage Association to provide speakers for
the annual meeting at Crawfordsville June 20 and Mrs. Noland, Miss
Noble and Mrs. Leach responded. They were courteously received and
heard with much applause. The convention was not interested in woman
suffrage but the press gave much publicity. A State suffrage
convention was held at this time. In August a monthly journal called
the _Woman Citizen_ was established in Indianapolis by the association
with Mrs. Leach as editor, its columns open to all suffrage
organizations, and published for two years. New Albany,
Jeffersonville, Markleville and Valparaiso clubs were added to the
State association. The New Albany society was large and active and
gave suffrage much prominence in southern Indiana. Mrs. Noland
reported 5,000 letters sent out in 1911.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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