Jessie C. Methven facts for kids

Jessie Cunningham Methven (1854 - 15 February 1917) was a Scottish woman who worked hard for women to get the right to vote. For many years, she was the main helper (called the honorary secretary) for the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage. This group wanted women to have the same voting rights as men. Later, she joined a more active group called the Women's Social and Political Union and described herself as an "independent socialist".

Early Life in Edinburgh

Jessie Cunningham Methven was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1854. Her parents were Janet Allan and Thomas Methven. She lived her whole life at 25 Great King Street in Edinburgh with her sisters, Helen and Minnie, and her brother, Henry. Henry was a seed merchant. Records from 1901 show she was "living on own means," meaning she had her own money.

In 1885, Jessie's mother hosted a special meeting at their home for the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage. Jessie later became the secretary of this very important group.

Fighting for Women's Rights

Jessie Methven spent many years campaigning for women's right to vote. People described her as "a very active worker for the cause." As the honorary secretary of the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage, she wrote many letters to newspapers and local councils. Her goal was to make more people aware of women's suffrage and gain their support.

She also helped raise money, organized petitions (lists of signatures), and took part in peaceful demonstrations. These actions made her a suffragist. However, she eventually felt that these peaceful methods were not working fast enough. So, in 1906, she joined the more active Women's Social and Political Union. She took part in suffragette protests and was detained in London in 1911.

Working with the Edinburgh Suffragists

Jessie Methven joined the main committee of the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage in December 1895. Soon after, she became its honorary secretary. She worked closely with the group's founder, Priscilla Bright McLaren, until McLaren passed away in 1906. In 1897, the Edinburgh Society joined a bigger national group called the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). Jessie was one of two people from her society who represented them on the NUWSS Parliamentary Committee.

Jessie was also part of a special committee that created a huge national petition for women's suffrage. This petition was meant to support a new law in Parliament in May 1896. By the time it was handed in, the petition had 257,796 signatures! More than 50,000 of these signatures came from Scotland. Even with all this support, the law was not discussed in the House of Commons. In April 1896, Jessie had written to the Brechin Town Council, asking them to ask Parliament to support the law.

Jessie Methven understood how important newspapers were in teaching people about women's suffrage. She often wrote to local and national newspapers. She would thank editors for writing about meetings and helping to spread the word. Because she was the secretary of the Society, her name was often connected to reports, articles, and letters in the newspapers. This made her quite well-known in the Scottish press.

In 1901, Jessie Methven and Mrs. McLaren signed a letter that was reported in many Scottish newspapers. The letter expressed disappointment that political groups didn't seem to care much about women's suffrage. It suggested that some politicians were worried that if women could vote, they would all vote for the Conservative Party.

At the Society's yearly meeting in 1904, Jessie suggested that women should refuse to work for any parliamentary candidate unless that candidate promised to vote for women's right to vote. This idea was not fully accepted, but the committee did agree to encourage its members not to support candidates who didn't support women's suffrage.

Joining the WSPU and More Active Protests

After years of peaceful campaigning as a "constitutional suffragist," Jessie Methven became frustrated with the slow progress. In January 1906, she signed a joint statement from the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and the Independent Labour Party. She signed it as an "independent socialist."

In April 1906, there was a WSPU protest at the House of Commons that caused a lot of talk in the newspapers. Jessie wrote to the Glasgow Herald (as an individual, not as the Society's secretary) to say she understood why the protesters had lost patience with peaceful methods. She warned that people should not use this incident as an excuse to do nothing more about women's suffrage.

After Priscilla Bright McLaren died in November 1906, many members of the Edinburgh Society joined the new Edinburgh branch of the WSPU. Even Jessie Methven, who had been the Society's secretary for a long time, joined the more active group. In 1907, she wrote to a magazine called Women's Franchise. She announced that her Society's committee would join the Edinburgh WSPU for a protest in Edinburgh on October 5.

On November 21, 1911, Jessie Methven was one of 223 protesters detained at a WSPU protest at the House of Commons. She had traveled there with five other women from Edinburgh. The protests happened after a law called the Conciliation Bill was stopped. Jessie was accused of breaking windows at the Foreign Office. She was sentenced to 10 days and a fine of 10 shillings. The Scotsman newspaper noted that she had been "for many years hon. secretary of the older Suffrage Society." Her name was sometimes spelled differently in newspaper reports, like Methuen or Mothuel. She is listed on a special list of suffragette prisoners as JC Methuen.

Jessie Methven was a very active member of the WSPU. She kept writing to newspapers, sold copies of The Suffragette newspaper, and regularly gave money to its fund. In 1911, she gave a hand printing press to the Edinburgh branch.

In January 1913, Jessie wrote an article for The Suffragette newspaper called "Women's Suffrage in the Past, A Record of Betrayal." In this article, she talked about the history of the women's suffrage movement. She explained why she lost faith in peaceful suffragism and concluded that "militancy will bring victory." The newspaper introduced her article by saying she was well-known and respected in the suffragette movement. They noted that she was a friend of the early leaders and was one of the first to believe in the new, more active movement.

Death and Legacy

Jessie Methven passed away at her home on February 15, 1917. The very next year, in 1918, a law called the Representation of the People Act 1918 was passed in Parliament. This law finally gave the right to vote to women over the age of 30 who owned property. Jessie had worked her whole life for this important change.