Susan F. Ferree (, Nelson; January 14, 1844 - September 6, 1919) was an American journalist and social reformer from
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
. Ferree served as a
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
newspaper correspondent. She favored
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and women's rights; she also affiliated with the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
(WCTU). Ferree died in 1919.
Biography
Susan Frances Nelson was born in
Mount Pleasant, Iowa, January 14, 1844. Her parents were Frances S. Wray Nelson and John S. Nelson, who was a lineal descent of
Thomas "Scotch Tom" Nelson
Thomas "Scotch Tom" Nelson (1677–1747) was a businessman and politician who immigrated from England to become a merchant at Yorktown in the Colony of Virginia. He was from Penrith, Cumberland. , the founder of Old York,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. His oldest son,
William Nelson, was at one time president of the king's council. William's oldest son,
Thomas Nelson Jr.
Thomas Nelson Jr. (December 26, 1738 – January 4, 1789) was an American Founding Father, soldier and statesman from Yorktown, Virginia. In addition to serving in the Virginia General Assembly for many terms, he twice represented Virginia in t ...
, was one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, and the war governor of Virginia. At the age of one year she, with her parents removed to
Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...
, which was her home for many years.
Ferree wrote poetry, but her forte was journalism, especially her newspaper correspondence from Washington, D.C. She supported temperance and the advancement of woman.
She was a member of the
Order of the Eastern Star,
Woman's Relief Corps
The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and p ...
, the Iowa Woman's Suffrage Association,
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence.
A non-profit group, they promote ...
, and the local WCTU. In religion, Ferree was Episcopalian, and a communicant of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, of Ottumwa.
Personal life
In 1860, she married Jerome Dial Ferree (1838–1914), a business man, in
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...
. By 1908, she had removed to
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. In 1913, he filed for divorce on grounds of abandonment.
[ ]
She was one of several
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
residents who formerly resided in
Wapello County, Iowa that were present at the picnic in Eastlake Park,
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...
, March 1911.
[ ]
At the time of her death, she was a resident of
Spreckels, California
Spreckels is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, United States. Spreckels is located south of Salinas, at an elevation of . Its population was 692 at the 2020 ce ...
. Susan Ferree died September 6, 1919.
[ ] Interment was in
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...
Cemetery,
Salinas, California
Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...
.
[ ]
References
Attribution
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Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferree, Susan F.
1844 births
1919 deaths
19th-century American journalists
19th-century American women writers
Journalists from Iowa
American women journalists
People from Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Woman's Christian Temperance Union people
American social reformers
Activists from Iowa
People from Keokuk, Iowa
People from Ottumwa, Iowa
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century