Henrietta Wells Livermore
Part Two-By Mary Hoar, Yonkers Historian
With Mrs. Livermore’s leadership, the Yonkers Woman Suffrage Association (YWSA) was active. Shortly after formation, the YWSA women traveled to New York for the May 21st parade demanding the right to vote. Before leaving Yonkers, they stopped at Yonkers City Hall to show their wagon to Mayor James Lennon, an ally and longtime suffrage advocate. In NY, they joined 10,000 people walking to demand voting rights for women; joining them were socialites, working women, and enlightened men in the largest demonstration ever for women’s vote.
March 3rd, 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s Presidential inauguration, Henrietta and eleven other Yonkers women and men joined 5,000 marchers walking down Pennsylvania Avenue to support universal women’s suffrage.
Returning home, Henrietta addressed a meeting at Library Hall about the approaching 1915 state vote. Every woman at the meeting was asked to persuade five men to vote yes. YWSA members addressed 200 members of the Navajo Democratic Club (Vineyard Avenue); Henrietta stated it was “un-American and unjust for men to pass laws governing conduct of women without giving them an opportunity of voting on them.” According to the Yonkers Herald, it was one of the best suffrage meetings in Yonkers. YWSA continued speaking to drum up support for the vote.
NYS men defeated the 1915 Suffrage bill. A schism developed in the movement. How should they continue fighting? What strategies should they use?
But… suffrage passed in Yonkers! Grateful members of YWSA unanimously approved this resolution:
“Resolved, That to men of Yonkers the thanks of the Yonkers Woman Suffrage Association are given for the splendid vote by which our city—a leader in progress and population in the Empire State—has declared itself for the first and greatest principle of democracy– government for the people, by all the people.”
The Westchester Elections Bureau announced suffrage actually lost in Yonkers; our men turned it down. Henrietta sailed up to the county seat to check figures. The Bureau was wrong, and quickly issued a correction; 5,129 Yonkers men voted to support suffrage, 4,962 voted against it. Suffrage won in Yonkers!
State suffrage support lagged behind Yonkers. Henrietta was called to help reorganize the state program. One by one, Yonkers women set up effective, active suffrage organizations in each Assembly district; NY public opinion began to turn.
At home, large numbers attended her course “Woman Citizen,” designed to help women understand the importance of the right to vote, and the duties, privileges, and limitations of voting. Afternoon classes were at Yonkers Suffrage headquarters. A second course, Park Hill Woman Suffrage, was set up; after completing the course, this group continued meeting biweekly to expand their knowledge of government.
Teachers led requests for night classes, joined by businesswomen and businessmen wanting to become more effective suffrage workers; the six-week evening course was taught by British actress and suffrage activist Beatrice Forbes-Robinson Hale, National lecturer Louise Grant, Columbia University Professor Arthur MacMahon, and Mrs. Livermore.
The Caryl Hill Suffrage Club formed, committing to studying woman suffrage at its meetings.
The Yonkers program was so successful, Livermore was asked to set up classes in other areas of the state; New York City classes particularly were successful. Henrietta taught across the state from Utica to Scarsdale, and trained others to teach; student Attorney Elinor Byrns took over administration of the NYS Suffrage Schools.
Using her Yonkers model, Livermore set up and ran the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Suffrage Schools. She taught the first National School of Suffrage in Baltimore November 1916; her organization advocacy course expanded throughout the country. Within weeks, three other national schools were created and taught in the West and the South. As demand grew, she authored two books for the National Association, “Suffrage Training School” and “Blue Book Suffrage School Course,” enabling others to run effective classes. She was elected to NAWSA’s Board of Directors in 1917.
YWSA formed a Junior League and the Teachers and Industrial Sections became more energized.
Northwest Yonkers women founded the Palisade Suffrage Club with Henrietta and wholeheartedly entered the fight. Described in the February 1, 1917, Yonkers Herald as a “wide awake body of women,” it had more than a hundred members, “some of the most prominent workers in the suffrage cause.” President Celine Baekeland, a talented artist whose art graced museums and wife of Bakelite plastic inventor Leo Baekeland, was an effective leader who espoused the importance of unity in the Yonkers suffragist community. Elizabeth Noble, wife of Barnes and Noble founder Clifford Noble, was described in the March 1, 1917, Yonkers Herald as an “earnest and sincere suffragist” with a “big house, a big heart and a big hospitality.”
Henrietta continued supporting other causes, such as the Child Study Club of Yonkers, the Woman’s University Club of New York, and remained President of the Garden School Board.
Mrs. Livermore introduced Emmaline Pankhurst, leader of the British suffrage movement, at a reception held at the YWCA.
Amid all this, son Henry married the former Rose Barnes January 1917, and moved to Omaha, where Henry worked for Otis Elevator.
The prospects of war grew closer: food became scarcer and more expensive. Livermore launched a campaign encouraging residents to grow their own food, pointing out accomplishments of the 600 Fairview Garden School students; her March 1917 Garden School annual report revealed children not only had planted 24,000 seeds during the 1916 growing season, they sold 32,000 seeds!
Addressing the YWCA and other groups, she discussed impending shortages: crops, labor, tin (canning), and food transportation. She promoted local land cultivation, food preservation and advocated the practical Garden School work, children growing food for families. The school presented a series of lessons for the community; besides practical gardening, course participants learned how to cook vegetables, canning and food preservation.
All the while, pressure for suffrage continued on all fronts. Yonkers Suffragists fundraised; Henrietta, now YWSA’s Honorary President, held a Suffrage Yellow card party at her home. She worked with Sara McPike and Catholic women for suffrage through the St. Catherine Welfare Association. McPike also headed Yonkers’ Industrial Division.
Yonkers women published the second issue of their paper, “The-Up-To-Date-Woman,” March 21st 1917; once again, all copies were gone in a few hours.
Continued submarine attacks on American merchant and passenger ships caused President Wilson to declare war on Germany April 2nd, 1917. Livermore immediately pledged full support of YWSA’s 7,000 women to utilize their training, executive abilities and organizational skills to protect America in wartime. Our suffragists worked on the military census; since the state allocated $150,000 for the census with an anticipated cost of $1 million, their help was imperative. Suffragists joined the Red Cross in large numbers, pledging service as long as needed. The Palisade Suffrage Club taught women to increase food supply by training them for agricultural work and food waste reduction. Many Yonkers women already had started garden plots because of Fairview Garden School classes. Suffragists under Henrietta’s leadership taught classes in National Allegiance in every local election district, emphasizing tolerance while remembering “our flag waves best over loyal, patriotic and undivided people.”
The First Assembly District Suffrage Party held its June 1917 annual meeting at Fairview Garden School; Henrietta and her aides emphasized the importance of service in Agriculture, the Red Cross, the Census, and the wartime thrift campaign. They also discussed how the war affected suffrage and how to continue the fight during war.
YWSA members attended the Republican City Committee’s Candidates Night at Radford Hall; Chair Leslie Sutherland allowed a few women to speak. Mrs. Vanderlip outlined suffragists’ war work and Mrs. Livermore urged them to support the movement. YWSA President Mrs. Ives reminded them the County Republican Committee endorsed suffrage and asked them to do the same; she presented a resolution supporting passage of the state amendment. Although immediately moved and seconded by Walter Jones and Assemblyman George Blakely, John Ten Eyck stopped the resolution. He moved they must hear Yonkers’ anti-suffrage women before voting.
A few days later, Livermore made a moving speech at the Third Ward Democrats meeting; at her conclusion, George T. Kelly moved the Ward go on record in favor of Suffrage and urge all other wards do the same. The men adopted the motion with a standing unanimous vote!
Would their all their successes help win the vote? Would New York State men pass the vote?
Next: It’s Only Just Begun
Editor’s Note: Part one of Mary Hoar’s series on Henrietta Wells Livermore can be found at https://yonkerstimes.com/henrietta-wells-livermore-leader-of-the-suffrage-movement-from-yonkers/
