Eliza Mason Tupper Wilkes (October 8, 1844 – February 5, 1917) was an American suffragist and

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

minister.

Early life

Eliza Mason Tupper was born in

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in and the county seat of Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Int ...

, the daughter of Allen Tupper and

Ellen Smith Tupper Ellen Smith Tupper (April 9, 1822 – March 12, 1888) was an American writer, expert beekeeper and the first female editor of an entomological journal. Early life Ellen Smith was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the daughter of Noah Smith and ...

. Her father was a Protestant minister; her mother was a writer and editor, and an expert beekeeper. Her sisters included Mila Tupper Maynard (who also became a Unitarian minister) and educators

Margaret Tupper True Margaret Allen Tupper True (1858 – January 10, 1926) was an American educator. She was president of the Denver School Board from 1906 to 1908. Early life Margaret Allen Tupper was born in 1858, the daughter of Allen Tupper and Ellen Smith T ...

and

Kate Tupper Galpin Kate Tupper Galpin (née Kate Tupper, 3 August 1855 – 1906) was an American educator and woman's club leader. For several years President of the Woman's Parliament of Southern California, Galpin was a natural teacher. Before instituting her clas ...

. The family moved to Iowa in Tupper's childhood, but she returned to live with grandparents in Maine for her schooling. She graduated from Iowa Central College in 1866. ElizaTupperWilkes1913

Ministry work

Tupper taught school in

Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders. History ...

as a young woman, hoping that her training as a teacher would prepare her for life as a Baptist missionary. However, she converted to Universalist instead, and became a minister in that denomination, preaching first in Iowa, then Wisconsin, then Minnesota, where she was ordained in 1871.Lindell, Lisa R. (Summer 2008)
"'Sowing the Seeds of Liberal Thought': Unitarian Women Ministers in Nineteenth-Century South Dakota"
''South Dakota History'' 38(2): 152-156. After her husband became a lawyer, the family moved to Colorado, where she organized a new church in Colorado Springs. In 1875 she attended the first Women's Ministerial Conference, hosted in Boston by

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...

. In 1876 she was one of the founding leaders of

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

. In 1878, Wilkes moved again, to

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

. She organized seven Universalist congregations in the upper midwest, sometimes providing sermons and pastoral care in multiple states by riding a circuit from church to church. Once the churches were established, she handed them to another pastor, often another woman pastor from the

Iowa Sisterhood The Iowa Sisterhood was a group of women ministers who organized eighteen Unitarian societies in several Midwestern states in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Some of the first women ordained in the United States were Universalist ...

. She was director of the Iowa Unitarian Conference. Wilkes relocated to California in the 1890s, serving as pastor of the Unitarian Church in

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

, and assistant pastor in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. She was a delegate to the Pacific Unitarian Conference, and was president of the Western Woman's Unitarian Conference. Late in life, she was chaplain of the Cumnock School of Expression in Los Angeles.

Suffrage

Wilkes was honorary vice president of the

National Woman Suffrage Association The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement spl ...

, representing South Dakota, in 1884. She attended the

World's Congress of Representative Women The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within Art Institute of Chicago Building, the World's Congress Auxiliary Building in conjunction with the World's Columbian Expositio ...

in Chicago in 1893. In 1896 she spoke at a

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

camp meeting in Oakland, on the same platform as Susan B. Anthony. She split pulpit duties with

Anna Howard Shaw Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first women to be ordained as a Methodist minister in the United States. Early li ...

and

Eleanor Gordon Eleanor Elizabeth Gordon (October 10, 1852 – January 6, 1942) was an American Unitarianism, Unitarian minister. Part of an informal network of Unitarian women ministers known as the "Iowa Sisterhood", she was often partnered in her work with Mar ...

at the 1905 national suffrage convention in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. She shared the platform with both Anthony and Shaw at the second annual Women's Congress in San Francisco in 1895, and at a 1905 suffrage rally in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

. She represented California at the International Woman Suffrage Conference in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 1913.

Personal life and death

Tupper married William Augustus Wilkes, a lawyer, in 1869, in Wisconsin; they had five sons and a daughter born between 1872 and 1884. Tupper Wilkes was widowed in 1909, and died in 1917, aged 72 years, while on holiday in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. Wilkes' grave in South Dakota is not separately marked, but there is a historical marker about her life and work nearby. Her sister Mila Tupper Maynard wrote a biography, ''A Mother's Ministry: Glimpses of the life of Eliza Tupper Wilkes, 1844-1917''. Her sister Margaret Tupper True's son was illustrator and muralist

Allen Tupper True Allen Tupper True (May 30, 1881 – November 1, 1955) was an American illustrator, easel painter and muralist who specialized in depicting the American West. Biography Allen Tupper True was born May 30, 1881, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkes, Eliza Tupper 1844 births 1917 deaths People from Houlton, Maine American suffragists National Woman Suffrage Association activists Unitarian Universalist clergy