Research resources

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I recently traveled to the Harrodsburg Historical Society seeking information on Maria Thompson Daviess, a Kentucky native, suffragist, and writer.  If you have never visited the historical society, it’s worth taking some time to stop by the next time you’re in Harrodsburg.  The society’s research library is housed in a structure that was completed in 1813 and once served as an inn.  The historical society possesses several files on Daviess’ family, including her grandmother, who was also named Maria Thompson Daviess and who wrote a history of Mercer County.  Even though we were

This week I experienced first-hand just how indispensable local historical societies are to our project.  I contacted the Christian County Historical Society in Hopkinsville where William Turner is the director.  Even though we had never met, when I spoke with Mr. Turner I felt like I was talking to an old family friend.  My ancestors settled in Christian County almost two hundred years ago, and I still have family living in Hopkinsville.  As soon as I told Mr. Turner my last name he knew almost everything about my family, including the location of the first home my ancestors built in the

During the last decade of the fight for voting rights, many suffragists embraced public protests, and suffrage parades and other types of demonstrations became more common.  Kentucky’s first suffrage parade (which the Kentucky Equal Rights Association claimed was the first in the South) was held in Louisville in 1913 and was followed in succeeding years by parades in other cities.

Lexington was the site of a memorable parade on May 6, 1916.  The Lexington Herald reported that the event was a “mammoth demonstration” for suffrage.  Estimating that the crowd numbered approximately 1,000 marchers

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Leaders of every successful movement find ways to market their ideas.  They may develop catchy slogans, enlist celebrity support, and even sell merchandise.  It turns out that suffrage supporters and organizations “marketed” their cause through a wide range of consumer goods, from whimsical collectibles to practical household items.  Thanks to my thoughtful sister, who at Christmas presented me with Women’s Suffrage Memorabilia: An Illustrated Historical Study and American Woman Suffrage Postcards: A Study and Catalog, I have been reading about the surprising array

This week I have continued to learn more about the Western Recorder (Kentucky’s Southern Baptist newspaper), and the social attitudes of J.W. Porter, its editor.  Reading Bill Sumners’ research has helped me understand that many evangelicals, including Porter, believed that the suffrage issue was inseparable from the larger question of biblical authority.  Moreover, the suffrage debate was not the only issue that seemed to challenge traditional notions of manhood and womanhood at that time.  In 1918, for example, Southern Baptists argued over allowing women to serve as voting delegates to the

For several weeks I have been looking forward to researching Kentucky’s religious leaders’ attitudes toward the suffrage movement, and this week I was able to begin one portion of my research at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives in Nashville, TN.  I began reading the Western Recorder, Kentucky’s Southern Baptist newspaper.  I was hoping that the paper would provide me with glimpses of church leaders’ as well as lay people’s attitudes toward the movement.  I initially expected to find support for woman suffrage, especially by the summer of 1919 when the Nineteenth Amendment

This week I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Melanie Goan.  Dr. Goan, an assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of Kentucky, is currently conducting research for a book on the suffrage movement in Kentucky.  I asked her to address some of the ways she is seeking to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the movement, as well as some of the challenges and unexpected findings she has encountered along the way.   

JL: What are some of the main questions you are hoping to answer through your research?

MG: I study Kentucky history and I’ve always known the story of Kentucky

Hello everyone!  I wanted to take this opportunity on Election Day to introduce myself.  My name is Joanna Lile and I am very excited to be a new fellow with the Kentucky Woman Suffrage Project.  I graduated with a BA in History from Georgetown College and have a PhD in History from the University of Kentucky.  I have taught US History, History of the South, and Kentucky History at Georgetown College, Transylvania University, and the University of Kentucky.  I also want to thank Kristen Dawson for her impressive contributions to the project.  Thank you, Kristen, for your careful research and

          Good morning everyone! It’s time for the final blog post of September, hard to believe, I know, but it's true! Having another month draw to a close is an appropriate time for this blog post, because I have finally finished going through all of the minutes of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association. As September ends, so does my experience with the minutes. I’m sure you’re all dying to know how the minutes concluded, so that’s what I’m going to write about today.

            Over the past two weeks, I’ve been looking at the minutes from the last 8 years of the Kentucky Equal Rights

            Good morning once again to all my readers. September is just flying by here at the Kentucky Woman Suffrage Project, and it's already time for the first blog post of the fall! This week I found a story in the KERA minutes that really struck me. It is probably not a tale any of you have heard before, in an unlikely setting, starring characters whose names are not familiar to you. This was how I felt when I started reading it, but by the end I was hooked. So without further ado, let me introduce you to Mrs. Lee Campbell.

            The year was 1913, shortly after Kentucky woman had