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Lucy Elmina Anthony (October 24, 1859July 4, 1944) was an internationally known leader in the American woman's suffrage movement. She was the niece of American social reformer and women's rights activist, Susan B. Anthony, and longtime companion of women's suffrage leader,
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 ...
. She served as a secretary to both women, as well as on the committee on local arrangements for 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 ...
(NWSA)


Early life

Lucy Elmina Anthony was born on October 24, 1859, in
Fort Scott, Kansas Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,552. It is named for Gen. Winfield Scott. The cit ...
. She was the oldest child of Jacob Merritt Anthony (1834–1900), a sewing machine salesman, and Mary Almina Luther (1839–1915). Her paternal aunt was Susan B. Anthony, a prominent suffragist. Anthony's father served in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, but little else is known about her early life. She moved from Kansas to
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, in 1880 to attend the
Rochester Free Academy The Rochester Free Academy is a former secondary school and historic building (1872–1873) in Rochester, New York. It is part of the City Hall Historic District. History The Free Academy was founded by the Board of Education in 1853 and opened ...
, which she graduated from in 1883. While in New York, she lived with her aunts, Susan B. Anthony and Mary S. Anthony, and began assisting behind-the-scenes with the women's suffrage movement. She began a long career as a secretary for her aunt. She also acted as an assistant to
Rachel Foster Avery Rachel Foster Avery (December 30, 1858 – October 26, 1919) was active in the American women's suffrage movement during the late 19th century, working closely with Susan B. Anthony and other movement leaders. She rose to be corresponding se ...
, who Susan B. Anthony was training to become the leader 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 ...
(NWSA).


Activism

In 1886, Anthony worked with her aunt Susan to try to convince
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 ...
to leave her current organization, the
American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vot ...
(AWSA), and the two women became close. Conversations about a merger between the NWSA and the AWSA began the same year, and the organizations officially united into the
National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National Woma ...
(NAWSA) in 1890. While this unification was being enacted, Anthony, Shaw, and
Alice Stone Blackwell Alice Stone Blackwell (September 14, 1857 – March 15, 1950) was an American feminist, suffragist, journalist, radical socialist, and human rights advocate. Early life and education Blackwell was born in East Orange, New Jersey to Henry Browne ...
compiled ''The Yellow Ribbon Speaker: Readings and Recitations'' (1891), a collection of writings on women's suffrage. Anthony served as Shaw's manager from 1888 until she died in 1919, acting as a business administrator and emotional support, a role for which she received a salary and an assurance that she would receive half of Shaw's belongings. This role included searching for Susan B. Anthony and Shaw as a manager in their world tours. She also worked frequently for the NAWSA itself, coordinating transportation for conferences on the West Coast, working with field offices during state campaigns, and attending most annual conventions. She served on the committee on local arrangements for the NAWSA in 1889, and on the national committee on local arrangements and the committee on railroad rates in 1910. In 1896, Anthony and Elizabeth Sargent arranged a series of conventions in every county in California to promote women's suffrage. After the suffrage victory in 1920, Anthony supported the newly created
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...
and remained active in women's movements throughout her life.


Relationship with Anna Howard Shaw

Susan B. Anthony was initially concerned about the decade age gap between Anthony and Shaw as the two became closer, but she came to encourage the relationship and persuaded them both to move to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. The couple would become longtime companions. During the 1890s, Anthony and Shaw had a summer home together in Wianno, on the south coast of
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
, which became the focus of an 1895 newspaper article by ''
New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...
'' titled "An Adamless Eden of Women in Bloomers". In 1903, Shaw built a home at 240 Ridley Creek Road,
Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area. ...
, where she lived with Anthony until her death. The house was originally held in Shaw's name but she sold it to Anthony for $1 in 1915. Anthony was by Shaw's bedside when she died on July 2, 1919. After Shaw's death, Anthony focused on creating a biography of Shaw and created memorials to her at
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...
and the
Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...
. She had collected letters and memorabilia from their lives together, and she retained
Ida Husted Harper Ida Husted Harper (February 18, 1851 – March 14, 1931) was an American author, journalist, columnist, and suffragist, as well as the author of a three-volume biography of suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony at Anthony's request. Harper also c ...
, the author of her aunt's biography, to write a biography for Shaw. However, they had a falling out over the first draft, which was never published.


Personal life

Anthony was the executrix of her aunt and Shaw's estates and the primary beneficiary of the latter's will. Her aunt Mary's will specified that her property was to go to Susan and, on her death, that it would go to Anthony and Shaw. The two of them were also appointed as
executors An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...
of the will, along with Avery. She was at her aunt Susan's bedside while she was dying in 1906. Anthony died on July 4, 1944, at the home of a friend, Julia C. Kent, in
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Swarthmore was originally named Westdale in honor of painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to Swarthmore after ...
, and in her will, she left the bulk of her estate to the National League of Women Voters and the Philadelphia League of Voters.


Bibliography

* Howard Shaw, Anna; Stone Blackwell, Alice; Anthony, Lucy Elmina (1891)
''The Yellow Ribbon Speaker: Readings and Recitations''.
Boston: Lee and Shepard.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Lucy Elmina 1859 births 1944 deaths People from Fort Scott, Kansas 19th-century American women politicians 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American women American feminists Suffragists from Pennsylvania Rochester Free Academy alumni