This Day in History February 14, 1847

I had never heard of this lady before--maybe you have?  On this date in 1847, Anna Howard Shaw was born in England. In 1851 (or 1853), her family immigrated to the U.S., and Anna grew up on a farm in Michigan. By the age of 15, she was already teaching school on the frontier.

In 1880, she did something with which I do not agree--I do not approve of female ministers unless they are not the "lead minister" in the church. She received a degree in theology and medicine, but her desire was to be a minister. In 1880, her dream came true--she was ordained by the Methodist Protestant denomination (the Methodist Episcopal refused to permit her to preach).

Once she met Susan B. Anthony, and she resigned her pastorate in 1885. She became an advocate for women's suffrage--she even served as vice-president and president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She fell ill during a lecture tour in 1919, and she died shortly thereafter: July 2, 1919.  She never did see women get the right to vote, but that amendment did happen shortly after he death.

For more information:
http://www.infoplease.com/birthday?month=Feb&day=14
http://www.answers.com/topic/shaw-anna-howard
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/539038/Anna-Howard-Shaw
http://www.biography.com/people/anna-howard-shaw-9480841

This Day in History January 10, 1870

I was intrigued to find out that on this date in 1870, the lady pictured above was born.  And you might think--what does that have to do with me?  Who is she?  Her name was Maud Younger, and she was important in women's history.

She was born in San Francisco, CA to a wealthy family.  This meant that she was educated in the finest schools and traveled abroad somewhat regularly.

Amazingly, in spite of her wealth, she was not the typical socialite.  When she was around 30, she visited New York and saw first hand settlements of poor immigrants workers.  She even stayed in one of the settlement houses so she could witness the work of social reformers first hand.  She only planned on staying a week, but she ended up staying five years.  She then became a working woman (a waitress) and championed the suffrage movement and trade unions.

In 1911, she continued her efforts by organizing a woman's suffrage movement and a successful lobby for an 8-hour workday.  In 1913, she worked tirelessly with the Congressional Woman of Suffrage and became a well-known orator on women's issues.  She was even arrested while petitioning Wilson's White House.  After the nineteenth amendment (which gave women the right to vote), she devoted the rest of her life to the ERA (which has never materialized).

I am always indebted to strong women such as these.  I know that I wouldn't be where I am right now without women who worked tirelessly for women's rights.  Thank you, Maud Younger!

For more information, I invite you to check out these sites:
http://www.answers.com/topic/maud-younger
http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/maud-younger/
http://www.americancivilwar.com/women/Womens_Suffrage/Maud_Younger.html