Frankfort Suffrage Women Cemetery Project

We got a message from Mary Ann Burch, chair of the Frankfort Suffrage Women Cemetery Project. They want to identify and honor the women suffrage leaders buried in the Frankfort Cemetery by placing a small bronze plaque on their gravesites. Mary Ann Burch and Sylvia Coffey are part of the Women Suffragist Centennial Chorus which has been performing for several years now as they commemorate those who fought for the right to vote - and to remind us that this fight for universal suffrage continues today. Other members of their project committee are Robin Antenucci (Frankfort Tourism), Patty Peavler (Pres. of the Frankfort Cemetery Board), Jodi Lewis (KY Historical Society), Sara Elliott (Liberty Hall), and Marsha Weinstein (Pres. National Collaborative for Women Historical Sites).

We have a terrific list of Frankfort Cemetery burial sites so far for our statewide "Honor Kentucky Suffragists" - see more on this campaign at https://networks.h-net.org/kentucky-woman-memorial - but more work needs to be done! With your help, we can do it.

• Mary Jacob Nash Averill (1869-1955) charter member of Frankfort Equal Rights Association formed in 1902 in her home, 206 Washington Street
  https://networks.h-net.org/mary-jacob-nash-averill
• Rebecca Gordon Averill (1862-1941) charter secretary of Frankfort Equal Rights Assoc., president by 1914. She was KERA Chairman of Church Work in 1917.
  https://networks.h-net.org/rebecca-g-averill
• Stella Rose Van Arsdell Averill (1871-1957) charter member of Frankfort Equal Rights Association formed in 1902 in her home, 206 Washington Street
  https://networks.h-net.org/stella-v-averill
• William Henry Averill (1834-1904) was one of the founding members of the Frankfort Equal Rights Association; early club meetings were held at his home.
  https://networks.h-net.org/william-h-averill
• Margaret Robertson Duncan Bradley (1846-1923) served as the President of the Lancaster Equal Rights Association. She was also the mother of KERA President Christine Bradley South and wife of Kentucky Governor William O. Bradley.
  https://networks.h-net.org/margaret-robertson-duncan-bradley
• Emma Guy Cromwell (1865-1952) was the first woman in the Commonwealth to hold a statewide office when the Ky. Senate elected her state librarian in 1896.
  https://networks.h-net.org/emma-guy-cromwell-0
• Mary Brown Russell Day (1846?-1939), together with her sister Margaret Russell, was a founding member of the Frankfort Equal Rights Association.
  https://networks.h-net.org/mary-b-russell-day
• Margaret Julian Wood Gaines (1829-1919) was a powerful businesswoman in the bourbon industry and a founding member of Frankfort Equal Rights Association.
  https://networks.h-net.org/margaret-jw-gaines
• Hallie Herndon (1851-1905) was elected in 1903 to be KERA's first official State Historian; she also served as president of the Frankfort Equal Rights Association.
  https://networks.h-net.org/hallie-herndon
• Edwin Porch Morrow (1877-1935) Kentucky’s 40th Governor and who only a few days after inauguration signed Kentucky’s ratification of the 19th Amendment
  https://networks.h-net.org/edwin-porch-morrow
• Katherine Hale [Hail?] Waddle Morrow (1878-1957) served on KERA Republican Suffrage Plank Committee in 1916, and president of Pulaski Co. ERA in 1917, became First Lady when her husband Edwin P. Morrow (nephew of suffragist Margaret Duncan Bradley and cousin of KERA President Christine Bradley South) became governor in 1919.
  https://networks.h-net.org/katherine-waddle-morrow
• Margaret J. Russell (1844-1923), together with her sister Mary Brown Russell Day, were founding members of the Frankfort Equal Rights Association.
  https://networks.h-net.org/margaret-j-russell
• Virginia “Jennie” Lee Hazelrigg O’Rear (1863-1944) served as chair of the KERA Republican Suffrage Plank Committee in 1916
  https://networks.h-net.org/virginia-lee-hazelrigg-orear
• Christine Bradley South (1879-1957), daughter of Kentucky’s First Lady Margaret Duncan Bradley and cousin of Governor E.P. Morrow, was KERA president from 1916 to 1919.
  https://networks.h-net.org/christine-bradley-south-0
• Charlotte “Lottie” Elizabeth Smith Watson (1852–1925) was a founding member of the Frankfort Equal Rights Association - also mother-in-law of Frank Clay of Richmond, son of state and national suffragist leader Mary Barr Clay.
  https://networks.h-net.org/charlotte-smith-watson

Take a look at what we have (so far) on our "Kentucky Votes for Women Trail" digital map for all Kentucky suffragists. Go to https://networks.h-net.org/kywomansuffrage portal page and click on "Votes for Women Trail." You can hover your cursor over a pin on the map to see the name commemorated there, and click on the thumbtacks to learn a little more detail. Or you can go directly here (https://networks.h-net.org/node/2289/pages/135677/votes-women-trail-kentucky) to search on any keyword or county.

We'd love to hear from you! Send suggestions for additions or more information about someone we have on our map to kywomansuffrage@gmail.com.