Frances Jennings Casement (1840–1928) was an American

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

and voting advocate from

Painesville Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 census. Painesville is the home of Lake Erie College, Morley Libra ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Her father Charles C. Jennings was a politician active in the abolition movement in the 1830s. Frances married General

John S. Casement John Stephen "Jack" Casement (January 19, 1829 – December 13, 1909) was a general and brigade commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a noted railroad contractor and civil engineer. He directed the construction of the Un ...

in 1857.Timeline: a publication of the Ohio Historical Society, vol. 18, 2001, p. 12 He was elected as representative to

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and lobbied for voting rights for women. Frances and her husband moved to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

where she became friends with suffragettes

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

and

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...

. In 1870 they returned to Painesville, where Frances continued her campaign for women's rights. In 1883, she organized the Equal Rights Association in Painesville and in 1885 helped found Ohio Women's Suffrage Association, serving as president from 1885 to 1889. Casement lived to see the 19th Amendment to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

giving women equal voting rights adopted in 1920. The

Casement House Casement may refer to: * Casement (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Casement Aerodrome, a military airfield near Dublin, Ireland * Casement Park Casement Park ( ga, Páirc Mhic Asmaint) is the principal Gaelic ...

in Painesville Township was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1975. Casement was inducted into the

Ohio Women's Hall of Fame The Ohio Women's Hall of Fame was a program the State of Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services ran from 1978 through 2011. The Hall has over 400 members. In 2019, the Hall's physical archives and online records were transferred to the ...

in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casement, Frances Jennings 1840 births 1928 deaths People from Painesville, Ohio Lake Erie College alumni Suffragists from Ohio Activists from Ohio