Emily Pierson (1881 – January 21, 1971) was an American suffragist and physician. Early in her career, Pierson worked as a teacher, and then later, as an organizer for the

Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association The Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (CWSA) was founded on October 28, 1869, by Isabella Beecher Hooker and Frances Ellen Burr at Connecticut's first suffrage convention. Its main goal was to persuade the Connecticut General Assembly to rat ...

(CWSA). After women earned the right to vote, she went back to school to become a physician in her hometown of

Cromwell, Connecticut Cromwell ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, located within the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 14,225 at the 2020 census. History The land where Cromwell is now located, was once na ...

. During much of her life, she was interested in

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, studying and observing in both

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Biography

Emily Pierson was born in

in 1881. Her father, Andrew Nils Pierson, a

horticulturalist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, was also wealthy and provided his daughter with an excellent education. The family business, growing

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s, was once one of the largest in the country. Emily Pierson earned her bachelor's degree in 1907 from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

and her master's degree from Columbia College the next year. Pierson went on to teach

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

. Pierson joined the

(CWSA) sometime around 1909 and 1910. She worked as a state organizer for CWSA and was involved in giving speeches and coordinating the 1912 Trolley campaign for women's suffrage. She served as the head marshal of the nationwide suffrage march on May 2, 1914. In 1917, she testified in front of the Connecticut House judiciary committee on women's suffrage. When

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

allowed women to vote for president in the next national election, Pierson toyed with the idea of moving there temporarily just so that she could be allowed to vote. In 1921, Pierson attended

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

and earned her

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1924 as the only woman in her class. She went on to work as the director of health in Cromwell and as a school physician for around 30 years. Pierson was politically progressive and supported

. In the 1930s, she studied for a time at the Institute of Socialism in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. She went back to visit

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s in

and shared her experiences of the country with people in Connecticut. She also traveled to

, going along as a guest of

Anna Louise Strong Anna Louise Strong (November 24, 1885 – March 29, 1970) was an American journalist and activist, best known for her reporting on and support for Communism, communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.Archives Wes ...

. During a 1935 strike of

Colt Firearms Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt that has become a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the s ...

workers, Pierson walked the

picket line A picket line is a horizontal rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and ...

with workers. In August 1955, Pierson resigned as the Cromwell Health Officer. Pierson died in the Meadowbrook Convalescent Home in Cromwell on January 21, 1971. In 2020, she was inducted into the

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame (CWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Connecticut for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The CWHF had its beginnings in 1993 when a group of volunteers part ...

. A

memorial plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

in honor of Pierson was erected in Cromwell in 2021.

References

External links

Emily Pierson papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierson, Emily 1881 births 1971 deaths Vassar College alumni People from Cromwell, Connecticut American women physicians Yale School of Medicine alumni Suffragists from Connecticut