campaigning for votes:
wOmAn suffrage in allen county
LOCAL SUFFRAGE LEADERS
Suffragists, both men and women, tirelessly campaigned for equal enfranchisement. Allen County citizens gave presentations in favor of woman suffrage, attended regional meetings of suffrage associations, and even went door to door to canvas support. Suffragists came in all ages, as seen in the 1914 "Suffrage Day" parade in Allen County: young girls marched and sang suffrage-themed songs, college graduates walked in their gowns, and veteran suffragists led the homemaker's division. Armed with pro-suffrage literature and their oratory skills, Allen County suffragists coordinated mass meetings, campaigns, and parades to educate the public on their cause. They were known regionally and invited suffragists from across the United States and Great Britain to the county's seat, Lima, to share their strategies and anecdotes. Below are suffragists from Allen County who helped lead the local movement.
1934 - 1926 Mary Mehaffey was a well-known activist, beloved by her fellow suffragists and prohibitionists. She founded the Allen County's Woman Temperance Union in 1957, presiding as its first president until 1881 and again in the early 1900s. A veteran suffragist, she belonged to the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association Pioneer Auxiliary. She was teacher for over 25 years. Learn more about Mary Mehaffey in the link below.
1887 - 1913 A life-long resident of Lima, Helen Basigner participated in the Allen County Political Equality Club’s 1912 woman suffrage campaign as a speaker promoting equal suffrage at mass meetings throughout Allen County, including in Elida, Cairo, Lafayette, and Spencerville. She was a housewife. While fighting for women’s suffrage, Basinger was ill with tuberculosis and died fifteen months after the 1912 campaign.
1857 - 1933 Bessie Crayton and her husband, William, were well known in the community and active in the temperance and suffrage movements. As one of the most prominent leaders of woman suffrage in Allen County, she remained politically adept, enthusiastic, and passionate about the suffrage movement. After the 19th Amendment was ratified, she continued her work through the League of Woman Voters and was elected their first president. Learn more about Bessie Crayton in the link below.
1869-1946 A Bluffton native, Blanche Boone lived in Lima after her marriage to Frank in 1888. In 1914, she served as president of the Business Women’s Club and coordinated a team of twenty-five women, who created yellow roses to be worn by marching suffragists and supportive onlookers during the 1914 “Suffrage Day” parade. Boone was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mayflower Society, Trinity Church, Lima Federation of Women’s Clubs, and Garden Club. Make your own rose:
1876-1939 A civic leader of Lima, Edith Hughes was a member of the committee that coordinated Suffrage Day in 1914 and was the President of the Lima Federation of Women’s Clubs during the 1916 Ohio Woman Suffrage Association (OWSA) Convention in Lima. Hughes was a delegate to the convention and gave welcoming addresses. That year, she was elected as OWSA Corresponding Secretary. Learn more about Edith Hughes in the link below.
1867 - Unknown Although in Allen County for a short time, Douglass was known throughout the community. She assisted in coordinating the Suffrage Day parade. Douglass was also a leader in the Business Women's Club. Learn more about Sara Douglass in the link below.
1861-1941 Active in Lima's community, Lelia Bell was a member of the Lotus Club and represented that club at the convention held in Springfield to form the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1894. She was an active member of the Lima Federation of Women’s Clubs and served as their president. Bell was involved in Daughters of the American Revolution and Spanish American War Veterans Auxiliary. During the Woman Suffrage Movement, she led the Women’s Division in the 1914 Suffrage Day parade.
Elizabeth: 1864 - 1931 Martha: 1888 - 1972 Marcella: 1891 - 1961 All three women in the Pflum family were activists for woman suffrage. Elizabeth Pflum was an active suffragist in the Allen County Political Equality Club. Her daughters, Martha and Marcella, played piano and violin at several pro-suffrage gatherings. Learn more about the Pflums by clicking on the link below.
1858 - 1924 Starting at age 16, John Davison had a 50-year career in education as a teacher, professor, and superintendent. He was known for his public speaking and participated in the Allen County Political Equality Club's 1912 campaign for woman suffrage through presenting at mass gatherings. Learn more about John Davison in the link below.
1873 - 1948 Ethelyn Sherwood served as president of the Allen County Political Equality Club when the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association held their annual convention in Lima in 1916. She worked with other suffragists to plan the convention and attended as a delegate from the Political Equality Club. Sherwood gave welcome addresses at the convention. She was also a member of the Business Women’s Club, serving as corresponding secretary in 1919.
1831 - 1916 Well known throughout the community, Isabell was a veteran suffragist. During the 1914 Suffrage Day parade, she was one of the leaders of the Homemakers’ Division at 83 years old. Two years later, she passed away unable to see women achieving the vote.
1879 - 1962 Reverend George Washington Watson served as pastor of the Central Church of Christ between 1909 and 1912. During that time, he supported the Allen County Political Equality Club’s 1912 woman suffrage campaign through speaking at mass gatherings, including at the launch of the campaign on July 22 and when visiting speakers Florence Allen and Grace Clarke presented in the following two weeks.
lima's First woman to vote
in a national election
Lila (Graham) Gamble
1890 - 1989
On November 2, 1920, Lila Gamble stood in line at her polling location, a garage on the corner of Market and Kenilworth. At 6:00 AM, a half hour before the official opening time, Gamble cast her vote. She is believed to be the first woman in Lima to vote in a national election.
Born in Georgia, Gamble moved to Lima by age 30, where she lived most of her life. She was a homemaker and a member of the Order of Eastern Star and St. Paul’s AME Church. Her husband was Louis Cola Gamble, a prominent local. Two of her children, actress Maidie Ruth and Clarice, the first black woman to lead a YWCA in Philadelphia, were also well-known.
Photograph: Lila Gamble, c. 1950. Allen County Museum Collection.
Do you have a photograph or information about a local suffragist?
Contact Brittany Venturella, Director of Curatorial Affairs, at bventurella@allencountymuseum.org.