Frances Borgia Jolliffe (1873 – November 9, 1925) was an American actress, journalist, and suffragist, and arts editor at the ''

San Francisco Evening Bulletin The ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' was a newspaper in San Francisco, founded as the ''Daily Evening Bulletin'' in 1855 by James King of William. King used the newspaper to crusade against political corruption, and built it into having the highe ...

''.

Early life

Jolliffe was born in San Francisco, one of the ten children born to William Howard Jolliffe and Johanna Margaret Donohue Jolliffe. Her mother was born in Ireland; her father was born in England, and worked at the Port of San Francisco. She graduated 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, closely follo ...

in 1893.

Career

Billboard signs welcoming suffrage envoys 159033v

Theatre

Jolliffe was a "society actress" in San Francisco as a young woman. She appeared on the New York stage in 1900, and with

Helena Modjeska Helena Modrzejewska (; born Jadwiga Benda; 12 October 1840 – 8 April 1909), known professionally as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles. She was successful first on the Polish stage. After e ...

's company. She was performing arts editor at the ''San Francisco Evening Bulletin'' newspaper. In that role, she interviewed

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

and reviewed

Ruth St. Denis Ruth St. Denis (born Ruth Denis; January 20, 1879 – July 21, 1968) was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and the teac ...

(whose solo performance of ''Radha'' bored Jolliffe in 1911). Artist

Theodore Wores Theodore Wores (August 1, 1859 – September 11, 1939) was an American painter born in San Francisco, son of Joseph Wores and Gertrude Liebke. His father worked as a hat manufacturer in San Francisco. Life Wores began his art training at age t ...

painted her portrait.

Suffrage

Jolliffe was a suffragist in California, and in 1913 became one of the first two women admitted as lobbyists to attend a meeting of the California legislature; they spoke to assemblymen about a mothers' pension bill. Jolliffe,

Sara Bard Field Sara Bard Field (September 1, 1882 – June 15, 1974) was an American poet, suffragist, free love advocate, Georgist, and Christian socialist. She worked on successful campaigns for women's suffrage in Oregon and Nevada. Working with Alice Paul ...

, Ingeborg Kindstedt and Maria Kindberg set out on a road trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. in September 1915, as "suffrage envoys", to deliver a "monster petition" of thousands of signatures supporting women's suffrage, and meet with President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and members of Congress. However, Jolliffe dropped out of the trip in Sacramento, their first stop, because of some undisclosed illness. She rejoined the group in Albany, New York, in time to participate in the East coast part of the trip, and to deliver the petition to Congress and President Wilson. "Anybody who thinks the California women don’t care about the vote had just better go out there and try to take it away from them," Jolliffe told an audience at a New York City rally during one of their stops.

War work

During World War I, Jolliffe went to France as a war correspondent, to report on conditions in hospitals and refugee centers; on her return, she spoke at fundraising events for war relief causes.

Personal life

In 1912, Jolliffe caused a scandal when she smoked a cigarette in a hotel lobby in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

. Jolliffe died in 1925, in San Francisco, aged 52 years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jolliffe, Frances 1873 births 1925 deaths American actresses 20th-century American journalists American suffragists People from San Francisco American women in World War I American women war correspondents American war correspondents