Lydia Taft
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Lydia Taft (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Chapin; February 2, 1712November 9, 1778) was the first woman known to legally vote in
colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...
. This occurred at a
town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...
in the
New England town The town is the basic unit of Local government in the United States, local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England town ...
of
Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
in
Massachusetts Colony The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Engla ...
, on October 30, 1756.


Early life

Lydia Chapin was born in Mendon,
Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts. Being 1,510.6 ...
, on February 2, 1712. She was the daughter of Bethia (née Thurston) and Seth Chapin, who was a respected member of the community and a captain in the militia. Her mother gave birth to 14 children. Lydia grew up with nine siblings on near the Post's Lane bridge and Mill River in Mendon. Her father owned property in what is today
Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...
, South Hopedale, and Mendon. In 1727, the western part of Mendon became the newly incorporated town of
Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
. Mendon and Uxbridge were, at that time, rural communities in central Massachusetts. In 1731, these communities became part of the new county of Worcester County.


Marriage and children

Lydia Chapin was married to
Josiah Taft Josiah Taft (April 2, 1709 – September 29, 1756) was a wealthy landowner and legislator in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. He performed several roles within the community and served with the Uxbridge Militia. Attaining the rank of captain, he fought d ...
, on December 28, 1731, in Mendon, becoming Lydia Taft, at the
Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
. The Tafts settled in Uxbridge and had eight children: Josiah (b. May 10, 1733), Ebenezer (b. August 20, 1735), Caleb (b. January 15, 1738 or 1739), Asahel (b. April 23, 1740), Joel (b. August 15, 1742), Joel (b. February 19, 1748 or 1749), Bazaleel (b. November 3, 1750), and Chloe (b. June 7, 1753). Josiah became a prominent citizen in early Uxbridge as a wealthy farmer, local official, member of the militia, and Massachusetts legislator. He served several terms as a member of the
Board of Selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...
, as town clerk, as town moderator, and in the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...
(1753). Josiah became the largest
taxpayer A taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an identification number, a reference number issued by a government to citizens or firms. The term "taxpayer" generally characterizes o ...
in the town of Uxbridge in 1756. In the fall of 1756, Taft's and Josiah's 18-year-old son, Caleb, became ill while studying at Harvard and died on September 19. After traveling to Cambridge to bury Caleb, Josiah himself became ill and died on September 30, at age 47—leaving behind a significant estate.


Vote

Taft became the largest landholder in Uxbridge and based upon the principal of "no taxation without representation, she was made a voter by proxy, America's first woman voter. Another factor was that her eldest living son Bazaleel was still a minor. On October 30, 1756, an important
open town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...
was held to decide whether to support the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
effort. Taft's vote settled what would otherwise have been a tie. The town would provide financial support for the war. Taft appeared at and may have voted at two other official Uxbridge Town meetings, in 1758 and 1765. Taft's historic vote preceded the constitutional amendment for women's suffrage by 164 years.


Death and legacy

Taft died at Uxbridge on November 9, 1778, during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
(April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783). Judge Henry Chapin proclaimed in an 1864 address to the Unitarian church, that, "Uxbridge may yet become famous as the pioneer in the cause of
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
". Chapin's claim for Taft as the first woman voter has been disputed by recent historians. Taft's role in the history of
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
has been recognized by the
Massachusetts legislature The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days o ...
since 2004, when it named Massachusetts Route 146A, from Uxbridge to the
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 ...
border, in her honor.


See also

*
Taft family The Taft family is an American political family of English descent, with origins in Massachusetts. Its members have served in the states of Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont, and the United States federal government, in variou ...
*
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its U.S. state, states from denying the Suffrage, right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recogni ...
*
Women's suffrage in the United States Women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, was established in the United States over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, first in various U.S. states, states and localities, then nationally in 1920 with the ratification ...
*
Feminism in the United States Feminism is aimed at defining, establishing, and defending a state of equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women. It has had a massive influence on American politics. Feminism in the United States is often divided chron ...
*
Timeline of women's suffrage Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, in which cases women and men from certain Social ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * (archive.org) * (google.com) *


External links


The Chapin Genealogy, p. 226-227
Photo of Painting: Lydia Chapin Taft Source:Find a grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Lydia French and Indian War 1712 births 1778 deaths People from Mendon, Massachusetts People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts People from colonial Massachusetts Taft family Women's suffrage in the United States