Embroidered Portraits of Easton Political Equality Club Members

 In 2020 I received a grant from my local arts council to create a series of tea cozies featuring embroidered portraits of local and regional NY suffragists to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Included in this project are four members of the Easton Political Equality Club: Lucy P. Allen, Emma Skiff Becker, Lydia Dwelle Hoag, and Chloe Peckham Sisson. Click on the images to learn more!

Lucy P. Allen embroidered portrait tea cozy (Tisha Dolton, 2020)

Emma Skiff Becker embroidered portrait tea cozy (Tisha Dolton, 2020)

Lydia Dwelle Hoag embroidered portrait tea cozy (Tisha Dolton, 2020) <In the Folk art collection at The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library>

Chloe Peckham Sisson embroidered portrait tea cozy (Tisha Dolton, 2020)

You can also watch me embroider an entire portrait in less then five minutes via this time-lapse video!

The exhibition is on view in the Folklife Galleries at Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, NY thru September 3, 2021, or online at https://www.crandalllibrary.org/folklife-center/folklife-gallery/past-folklife-exhibits/equali-tea-suffragist-tea-cozies-in-redwork/. 

Suffragist Tea Cozies in Redwork by Tisha Dolton exhibit poster 2020-2021

Equali-tea: Suffragist Tea Cozies in Redwork is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency Decentralization Program with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; administered by the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council.

Jonathan E. Hoag on Dionondahowa Falls

A running theme of my blog seems to be "While researching something else, I came across this cool thing!" & today's post is no different. I was just searching online for some local suffrage images for a colleague (& myself), when I came across a great virtual cemetery on Find A Grave listing members of the Easton Political Equality Club. I noticed a lot of family names, so I started trying to piece together how folks were related. 

Then I came to Jonathan E. Hoag. & the next person on the list turns out to be his third wife Lydia Martin (nee Dwelle) Hoag. The couple joined the EPOC in 1892, just one year after it's founding. So we have husband/wife suffragists in Easton. Cool! As I start reading Jonathan's bio on Find A Grave, I notice that he was poet & friends with Howard P. (H.P.) Lovecraft! Very cool! Since I just happened to be working in the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library at the time, I went over to the OPAC & located a copy of The Poetical Works of Jonathan E. Hoag with an Introduction by none other than H.P. Lovecraft.

Jonathan Elihu Hoag of Easton, NY poet & suffragist

Suffragist Lydia (nee Dwelle) Hoag of Easton, NY

Jonathan Elihu Hoag was born in Valley Falls (Rensselaer County), NY on February 10 1831 to Abigail (nee Gifford) Hoag & her husband, Robert Nesbit Hoag. The family, including six other children, moved to South Easton when Joanthan was 8. He moved to Greenwich in 1911, & lived there until his death on December 17, 1927. He was 96 years old, & had outlived three wives.

Hoag wrote poems for family & friends

A brief search of New York Historic Newspapers brought the above clip. Apparently Jonathan was fond of writing poems for family members to commemorate milestones, like his cousin's 80th birthday. There are some such poems in his book, including a few for his mother, and one for his sister Hannah Hoag Balch.

I have yet to read the entire volume of Poetical Works..., & while I have not yet found a poem entitled "An Ode to a Suffragist", I did notice one about Dionondahowa Falls. Please enjoy...

An Ode to the Falls of Dionondawa [sic] 

by Jonathan Elihu Hoag (1917)

Ye towering rocks o’er which the waters fly,

Pray tell me whence ye came and when and why;

Your revered age reveal, your purpose show,

Unseal those mysteries of long ago!

Was it at Nature’s noon that first your height

Rose to the fulgent rays of solar light?

Or was it at the dawn, when nascent earth

Glowed like the nebula that gave it birth?

Speak, hoary torrent of the primal scene,

And trace the course of ages that have been;

Reflect once more that ancient sky, whose rays

Lit the first drops with mist-enshrouded blaze;

Recall each memory, and display the whole

On revelation’s all enlightening scroll!

Tell the long story to yon clinging vine,

On that proud sentinel, the wind-swayed pine;

In whispers tell the tinted flowers that spring

Close to the banks where your swift waters sing;

Tell the green groves by balmy winds caressed,

Where twittering wrens and chirping robins nest;

Why be so loath your secrets to unfold,

Ere time shall leave your gorges dry and old?

Some fateful day the sage will seek in vain,

Where now your ripples run, a numerous train;

And many a weed and thorn will lift its head

O’er the mute pebbles of the arid bed.

So speak, thou cataract, while time remains,

And I will spread thy fame in Doric strains;

Thy wondrous tale to millions shall be dear,

And generations yet unborn shall hear!

When glacial cohorts on the heights arrayed,

In icy wonder watched thy tall cascade;

With deadly purpose scanned thy gorge below,

And stalked with hypoborean skill the foe;

Didst chant a warning, and the glaciers greet

With prophecies of peril and defeat?

On sunny plains to Phoebus wont to yield,

They left their rocky bones strewn o’er the field!

And when the Red Man in primeval pride

In admiration sought they pine-clad side;

In each white spray a Manitou to trace,

And bow before the spirit of the place;

Didst thou to him thy secret then relate,

And tell the copper visitor thy fate!

See Cossayuna, stately, gray and tall.

With question grave, address the waterfall;

“You tell me some,” he grunt, “Me tell you more,”

But naught is heard above the mighty roar.

Then lovely Minnewawa, she whose eyes

Gleam brighter that the stars of midnight skies;

“You tell,” she says, “the many things you know;

“Me tell you Indian lore of long ago.

“Your rocks and torrents, I’ll preserve to fame,

“And your proud falls, Dionaondawa name!”

Then spake the rocks, whose ancient lips so long

Had lain in silence, dumb to speech and song;

With thunderous accents they the records read,

Kept through uncounted years of varied dead;

“Behold our sides, by time’s sharp chisel rent

“When Nature rocked the rising continent,

“Dark were the thick veiled skies, no sound was heard

“Save the black Vulcan’s subterranean word.

“The sooty Cyclops, with gigantic might,

“Heaved up the rocks from realms of Stygian night,

“Plutonian silence and Cimmerian pall

“In hideous mantle shroud and cover all;

“In sunless, moonless, starless, soundless space,

“A new world joins the planetary race,

“Then falls the fiat as the Almighty speaks,

“A rift of light through the deep vapor breaks—

“Sun, moon, and stars their wonted paths assume,

“And ordered heaven supplants the primal gloom.

“We gaze above, where circling seraphim

“Induct a foaming torrent o’er our brim;

“With sprightly grace the crystal waters flow,

“And loud reverberate in the gulf below;

“Through the deep gorge with rushing force to rage,

“And serve the mill-wheels for a future age.

“In days to come a million souls shall reap

“The blessings our tumultuous waters keep,

“And industry, with all her copious store,

“Shall feed the mendicant and clothe the poor.

“Its work complete, the useful stream shall glide

“To where the river meets the salty tide;

“And there the laboring flood at least shall rest,

“Safe sleeping on Old Ocean’s ample breast!”

Dionondahowa Falls from the Easton side looking toward the Stevens & Thompson Paper Mill

Easton Political Equality Club Reenacment

This past weekend was a whirlwind of Suffrage Centennial activity for me as I participated in two events; Saturday's 1900 Suffrage Convention reenactment in Glens Falls, NY, & Sunday's Easton Political Equality Club reenactment at Easton Burton Hall in the hamlet of North Easton, NY in my home county of Washington.

The Easton Political Equality Club (hereafter referred to as "the PEC") was the first suffrage organization formed in rural Washington County, NY in 1891. Suffrage movement leaders & sisters, Susan B. & Mary S. Anthony kept close ties to the region where they spent much of their childhood. Mary was born in Battenville, a hamlet in the neighboring town of Greenwich. Both women taught school in the area for a few years, & some members of the PEC were their former students.

Chloe Sisson and Lucy P. Allen

Members of the PEC were instrumental in getting Washington County women to form other political equality clubs & getting Washington County men to vote in favor of woman suffrage on November 6, 1917.

PEC members were also key informing the Easton Library, &, upon obtaining the vote, formed the Easton Book Club which is still going strong today. Because of this tie, the PEC gave their meeting minutes & other documents to the library, allowing researchers access to a treasure trove of great primary source documentation of suffrage movement activities in our area. In 2009, local historian Teri Gay published Strength Without Compromise: Womanly Influence and Political Identity in Turn-of-the-Twentieth Century Rural Upstate New York which drew much of its focus from this collection, as did Sunday's event.

Program for the Easton PEC event 10/22/2017

Kate Dudding portrayed Chloe Sisson & Nancy Marie Payne portrayed Lucy P. Allen as they remembered twenty-six years of suffrage activism. Greenwich Town Supervisor, & descendant of a PEC member, Sarah Skiff Idleman read a brief biography of suffragist Lucy Stone, as members would have done.

L to R top only: Nancy Payne, Kate Dudding, Tisha Dolton

My contribution to the program was also in keeping with the PEC meetings of more than a century ago. I sang "America (My Country 'tis of Thee)" as they usually sang a hymn or patriotic song to begin a meeting. Likewise, I ended by leading the attendees in singing the "Star Spangled Banner", our National Anthem.

I was also the entertainment. PEC meetings usually had musical entertainment, so I was there to sing suffrage songs, & get people to sing along! They did & when some sang harmony on the chorus of "Arise! Brave Woman!" ("Battle Hymn of the Republic"), I smiled.

Arise! Brave Woman!

Lyrics: Nannie Parker, Tune: John Brown’s Body/ Battle Hymn of the Republic, 1910 

Verse 1

Arise! Arise brave woman!

There is work for you to do;

Show the world that love is wisdom

And love’s promises are true;

Break the bonds that hold you captive

For the world has need of you

As we go marching on.

 

Chorus

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

As we go marching on.

 

Verse 2

Do you need a sound to rouse you?

Hear the little children cry;

Do you need a sight to stir you?

See the old who hopeless die.

Shall they call to you in misery

While you stand heedless by?

No, we’ll go marching on.

 

Verse 4

We will give the world fair daughters

And those daughters shall be free;

They shall stand beside their brothers

On the ground of liberty,

And the cause of right shall prosper

On the land and on the sea

As we go marching on.

 

Verse 5

Then arise! Arise brave woman!

There is work for you to do;

Show the world that love is wisdom

And love’s promises are true;

Break the bonds that hold you captive

For the world has need of you

And we’ll go marching on.

Photo of Tisha Dolton in the Post-Star, Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Washington County Political Equality Club Adopts Resolutions

Excerpt from the May 31, 1905 article in the Greenwich Journal...

The Washington County Political Equality Club in its 14^th Annual convention assembled, reaffirms its loyalty to the principles of American Independence, and calls for their application to all American citizens irrespective of sex.   And

                Whereas, The home is the foundation of human society and whatever tends to broaden women’s minds and deepen their sense of responsibility tends directly to promote the happiness and sobriety of the family relation, therefore

                Resolved, That equal suffrage should be granted to the mothers of the Republic, not only for the sake of the State, but also for the sake of the home.

                Resolved, That woman suffrage is no longer an academic question, but an existing faction in Great Britain* and Ireland*, in New Zealand** and Australia*** and throughout more than 300,000 square miles of United States territory^ and nine Representatives elected by both men and women.

                Resolved, That we continue with unabated diligence our policy of education and agitation. That while we in the future as in the past follow with singleness of heart and unity of purpose our one aim, to obtain the ballot for women, we extend the most cordial sympathy to all women’s societies, working for the advancement of civilization.

                Resolved, That we rejoice in the recent granting of full suffrage to women in Kansas, in the striking out by Congress from the state-hood bill of the clause classing women with illiterates, insane persons and felons; in the unanimous endorsement of women suffrage by 1300 physicians at the recent Russian medical congress, and by 4,000 students and professors of the University of St. Petersburg.

                Resolved, That in the death of Mary A. Livermore the cause of woman’s political equality with men has sustained a loss that will be felt throughout U.S.; that we honor her memory, and will do our best to carry on her work.

                                                                MRS. GEORGE WHELDEN,

                                                                MRS. CARROLL HALL,

                                                                MRS. JOHN WILSON, Jr.

                                                                                                Committee.

The Greenwich Journal (Greenwich, NY) May 31, 1905, p.8

View the whole article on the New York Historic Newspapers website: http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84031457/1905-05-31/ed-1/seq-8/

*Single women taxpayers could vote in municipal elections in 1869, partial female suffrage granted in 1918. Ireland broke from Great Britain & gave women full suffrage in 1922, while Great Britain granted full female suffrage in 1928.

**New Zealand grants all women the right to vote in 1893.

***Australia grants women the right to vote in 1902, but excludes aboriginal men & women. 

^ By 1905 only four states allowed women the right to vote: Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Idaho.

Timeline of Woman Suffrage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage

Suffrage School in 1917

A bunch of us have been getting together to research the suffrage movement in Washington & Warren Counties in preparation for this year's New York State Suffrage Centennial. We even formed a committee to create events, like last month's Suffrage Rally in City Park. I thought I would share this article from The Post Star, March 22, 1917 which mentions some women from Greenwich & Easton participating in a suffrage school. Suffrage schools were created to educate women about civics, politics, and economics, so that when they finally got the right to vote, they would be knowledgeable voters.

GREAT INTEREST IN SUFFRAGE SCHOOL

Large Attendance is Source of Much Satisfaction to Leaders

At the Hudson Falls Suffrage School yesterday afternoon delegations were present from Greenwich, Easton, Fort Edward and Glens Falls, and the sesion was most interesting. Miss Elinor Byrns, dean of the school, gave a talk on suffrage, history and there was an argument by Mrs. Sophia Sisson of Easton who read a splended paper on pioneers. Remarks were made by Mrs. L.V.H. Gill and Mrs. Herbert Van Kirk of Greenwich. An information discussion closed the meeting.

Practical campaign instructions and drill in answer question occupied the first period of the evening session. These were followed by addresses by Miss Byrns and Mrs. Mitchell.

This afternoon addresses will be given by Miss Byrnes, and by Mrs. Brodie G. Higley, secretary of the Washington County branch of the new York State Suffrage Party, and one of the presidents of the Hudson Falls Political Equality Club, who will speak on Why Women Want to Vote.

The Rev. S. K. Emurian of Fort Edward will deliver an address at 8 o'clock this evening on Consecration to a Cause.

Tomorrow afternoon the Rev. O. D. Kellogg will conduct a class in Parliamentary Law, and on Friday evening Leroy V. Chew, editor of the Salem Press, will speak on Suffrage and the Press.

The large attendance at all sessions of persons who have hitherto given little heed to the equal suffrage cause, is a source of much gratification to the suffrage leaders.

Suffrage School in Wisconsin*

Thanks to the researchers at the Chapman Historical Museum who found this particular article.

Photo source: *http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WIReader/Images/WER1372.html

Easton Political Equality Club

Right next door to Greenwich is an even more rural town called Easton. Most people think of Easton as the home of Grandma Moses, if they think of it at all. It is also home to Willard Mountain, the Washington County Fair and the first suffrage group in Washington County, the Easton Political Equality Club.



Chloe Sisson- circa 1880

 From 1891 to 1917 the Easton Political Equality Club had a mission- to prove to people that women, as citizens of the United States of America, deserved the right to vote. Like the "good wives" they were, Lucy Allen, Chloe Sisson and the ladies of the Easton PEC used their influence as wives & mothers, neighbors & friends, to convince many men in the area to vote in favor of female suffrage. This tireless effort culminated on November 6, 1917 when male voters all across New York approved the measure guaranteeing the right to vote to citizens of the state regardless of sex. The measure passed statewide by about 80,000 votes, in Washington County by 188 votes & in Easton by 18 votes. It would be another 3 years before the 19th Amendment would be ratified.

The women of the Easton PEC continued to serve their communities through the library, the grange, the school board, and a book club. We owe a debt of gratitude for all of the women, local & national, who paved the way for equality at the polls. Don't forget to vote!

If you would like to know more about the Easton Political Equality Club and the local suffrage movement, Teri Gay, author of Strength Without Compromise: Womanly Influence and Political Identity in Turn-of-the-Twentieth Century Rural Upstate New York (ISBN 9780984221509), will be speaking at the United Church in Greenwich on Monday, November 1, 2010 @ 7:00pm.