She was an Anti-WHAT?

If you haven't figured it out I am rather partial to the Woman's Suffrage Movement in the US. It is my favorite time period. I don't know which came first, my love of all things suffrage, or the knowledge that Susan B. Anthony (& her younger suffragist sister Mary) grew up in Greenwich, but I've been hooked for about 25 years.

In 8th grade, I wrote a paper on Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate from medical school in the US. I could probably credit Mrs. Heighton, my social studies teacher, for laying the groundwork. I even took a history class in college (Western Civ) with her husband.

What I didn't know, until I started reading more about Chester A. Arthur, was that his sister, Mary was an ANTI-SUFFRAGIST! Can you believe it? & I'm going to write about her!

Mary Arthur was born in Union Village (Greenwich), NY on July 5, 1841. She was the ninth and final child of the Reverend William Arthur & his wife Malvina. She attended the Emma Willard Seminary in Troy, NY. http://www.emmawillard.org/

Mary Arthur McElroy as White House hostess

On July 16, 1861, Mary Arthur married Albany insurance man John McElroy. They had four children. They were married 54 years.

Vice President-elect Arthur's wife Ellen (Nell) died in January 1880, months before her husband was chosen as the running mate for James A. Garfield, the Republican nominee for president. With the assassination of President Garfield, Arthur became the reluctant president, on September 19, 1881, still grieving the loss of his beloved wife. As a widower, Arthur had no one to serve as hostess for the many dinner parties. His sister Mary agreed to travel from Albany, NY to Washington D.C. & stayed at the White House during the social season, to act as hostess. Her eldest daughter, May & Arthur's daughter Ellen assisted.

Mary died in Atlantic City, NJ on January 8, 1917 at the age of 75. She is buried in Albany Rural Cemetery.

& here is the shocker. Mary Arthur McElroy belonged to the Albany Association Opposed to Women's Suffrage.

The organized antisuffrage movement had among its flock the sitting lady of the White House, Mary Arthur McElroy, member of the Albany Association Opposed to Women's Suffrage. A woman "of a decisive manner when giving orders... she knew exactly what she wanted, and how she wanted it done; and she never hesitated to express her wishes clearly."*

It's mentioned in her obituary from the Albany Times Union as well.

Anti-Suffrage propaganda^

* Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. First Ladies: The Saga of the President's Wives and Their Power 1789-1961. New York: William Morrow and Co. 1990. (pp 246)

^ Jewish Women's Archive, "Resource Information for Pamphlet distributed by the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage," (January 26, 2012).

Chester Alan Arthur

Did you know... that Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the USA, lived in Greenwich?

Statue of Arthur at Union College

Arthur was born in North Fairfield, Vermont (http://www.historicvermont.org/sites/html/arthur.html) in 1829. After heading various congregations in VT and NY, his father, the baptist minister Rev. William Arthur, moved the family to Greenwich (then Union Village) in 1839. Rev. Arthur remained pastor of the Bottskill Baptist Church until 1844. By that time, young Chet had graduated from Union Village Academy and was attending Union College in Schenectady, NY.

Arthur became president on September 20, 1881, the day after the death of President James A. Garfield. Garfield was shot three months prior, by Charles Guiteau at a train station in Washington, D.C. Arthur was not elected president in his own right. The nomination went to James G. Blaine (R-ME), who lost to Grover Cleveland (D-NY) in 1884.

Chester Alan Arthur died of natural causes on November 18, 1886 at the age of 57. He is buried in Albany Rural Cemetery. (http://www.presidentialgraves.com/graves/chester-a-arthur)



NY State marker



Little is known of the future president's youthful days in our village. His sister Mary, who would serve as hostess during his presidency, was born here in 1841. The house the Arthur's lived in still stands, though it has been moved twice. The old parsonage now sits on Gray Avenue, just a few blocks from its original location. A NY State marker commemorates the site.

Books of Interest:

Adult-

Chester Alan Arthur by Zachary Karabell- ISBN 9780805069518

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeves- ISBN 0394460952

The Complete State of the Union Address of Chester A. Arthur- ISBN 9781406589665

Continental Liar From the State of Maine: James G. Blaine by Neil Rolde- ISBN 9780884482864

Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of James A. Garfield by Kenneth D. Ackerman- ISBN 9780786711512

Children-

Chester A. Arthur: Twenty-First President: 1881 - 1885 by Mike Venezia ISBN 9780516254012