List of Pennsylvania suffragists facts for kids
The fight for women's suffrage was a big movement where people worked to give women the right to vote. In Pennsylvania, many brave people, called suffragists, and different groups helped make this happen. This article tells you about some of them and their efforts.
Contents
Early Meetings for Women's Rights
Long ago, people started meeting to talk about women's rights. These meetings were important steps in the journey to get women the right to vote.
- The Pennsylvania Woman's Convention at West Chester in 1852 was an early gathering where people discussed women's rights.
- The 5th National Women's Rights Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1854. This was a major event for the national movement.
Groups Fighting for Suffrage
Many groups formed across Pennsylvania to support women's right to vote. They organized events, shared information, and tried to convince people to join their cause.

- Allegheny County Equal Rights Association (ACERA): This group started in 1904.
- Chester County Equal Suffrage Association: Another local group working for suffrage.
- Citizen's Suffrage Association: Formed in Philadelphia in 1872.
- Equal Franchise Federation of Western Pennsylvania: This group began on February 21, 1910.
- Equal Franchise Society of Philadelphia: A key organization in Philadelphia.
- Equal Rights Association: Started in Philadelphia in 1866.
- Equal Franchise Federation of Pittsburgh: A group from the Pittsburgh area.
- Lackawanna County Equal Franchise League: A local league in Lackawanna County.
- Northwestern Pennsylvania Equal Franchise Association: This group worked in the northwestern part of the state.
- Pennsylvania College Equal Suffrage League: Formed in 1908, this group involved college students.
- Pennsylvania Men's League for Woman Suffrage: Men also supported the cause, forming this league in March 1912.
- Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association: This important statewide group was created in 1869.
- Woman Suffrage Party of Chester County: A political party focused on women's suffrage in Chester County.
- Woman Suffrage Society of Philadelphia: Formed in 1892.
- Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU): While known for temperance (reducing alcohol use), this group also supported women's suffrage.
- Women's Suffrage Society of Monroe County: A local group in Monroe County.
Important Suffragists
Many individuals dedicated their lives to the suffrage movement in Pennsylvania. They gave speeches, wrote articles, and marched for women's rights.
- Lida Stokes Adams
- Wilmer Atkinson (Philadelphia)
- Rachel Foster Avery (Philadelphia)
- Mary E. Bakewell (Pittsburgh)
- Flora Snyder Black (Meyersdale)
- Lucretia Longshore Blankenburg (Philadelphia)
- Jennie Bronenberg (Philadelphia)
- Mary A. Burnham (Philadelphia, Powelton)
- Jane Campbell (Philadelphia)
- Annie D. Chisholm (Huntington)
- Lavinia Nelson Clarke (Erie)
- Jennie Cleveland (Erie)
- Isaac Clothier (Pittsburgh)
- JoAnna Connell (Erie)
- Cora Crawford (Philadelphia)
- Lavinia Dock (Fairfield)
- Alice Dunbar Nelson (Philadelphia)
- Rose Fishstein (Philadelphia)
- Augusta Fleming (Erie)
- Margaretta Forten (Philadelphia)
- Gertrude Fuller (Pittsburgh)
- Mary Grew
- Reba Gomborov (Philadelphia)
- Angelina Grimké (Philadelphia)
- Sarah Moore Grimké (Philadelphia)
- Louise Hall (Philadelphia)
- Frances Harper (Philadelphia)
- Charles T. Heaslip
- Kate C. Heffelfinger (Shamokin)
- Elizabeth McShane Hilles
- Matilda Hindman
- Liliane Stevens Howard (Philadelphia)
- Hannah Clothier Hull (Pittsburgh)
- Jane Hunt (Philadelphia)
- Mary Ingham (Philadelphia)
- Caroline Katzenstein (Philadelphia)
- Jennie E. Kennedy (Pittsburgh)
- Julian Kennedy (Pittsburgh)
- Alice Paisley Flack Kiernan (Somerset)
- Caroline Burnham Kilgore (Philadelphia)
- Daisy Elizabeth Adams Lampkin (Pittsburgh)
- Mary Flinn Lawrence (Pittsburgh)
- Dora Kelly Lewis (Philadelphia)
- Elizabeth McShane (Philadelphia)
- Lucy Kennedy Miller (Pittsburgh)
- Winifred Barron Meek Morris (Pittsburgh)
- Gertrude Bustill Mossell (Philadelphia)
- Lucretia Mott (Philadelphia)
- Mary H. Newbold
- Mary Irvin Thompson Orlady (Huntington)
- Anna M. Orme
- Hannah J. Patterson (Pittsburgh)
- Charlotte Woodward Pierce (Philadelphia)
- Odessa Hunter Plate (Erie County)
- Jane Weir Pressly (Erie)
- Ellen H. E. Price (Philadelphia)
- Margaret Wilson Pryor (Philadelphia)
- Sarah Pugh
- Harriet Forten Purvis (Philadelphia)
- Robert Purvis (Philadelphia)
- Katherine S. Reed
- Jennie Bradley Roessing (Pittsburgh)
- Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger (Chester County)
- Helen Stone Schluraff (Erie County)
- Edna Schoyer (Pittsburgh)
- Marion Margery Scranton
- Helen Semple (Titusville)
- Eliza Kennedy Smith (Pittsburgh), also known as Eliza Jane Kennedy.
- Mary Spencer (Erie)
- Althea Staples (Monroe County)
- Lily Helen Dupuy Steele (Pittsburgh)
- Jane Swisshelm (Pittsburgh)
- Martha Gibbons Thomas (Chester County)
- Eliza Sproat Turner (Philadelphia)
- Ellen Winsor (Haverford)
- Mary Winsor (Haverford)
- Mary M. Wolfe (Philadelphia)
- Mabel Woodward Wright (Erie)
- Emma Writt (Pittsburgh)
Politicians Who Supported Suffrage
Some politicians also believed in women's right to vote and helped the cause.
- Samuel Ashbridge
- Dimner Beeber (Philadelphia)
- William Cameron Sproul
Special Places in the Suffrage Movement
Certain places became important symbols or sites for the suffrage movement.
- The Justice Bell is a special bell that was used to promote women's suffrage. It is now on display at Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge.
Suffragists Who Campaigned in Pennsylvania
Many well-known suffragists from other states also came to Pennsylvania to help the movement. They gave speeches and organized events.
- Susan B. Anthony
- Henry Browne Blackwell
- Mary C. C. Bradford
- Carrie Chapman Catt
- Mary Dennett
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Laura Gregg
- Beatrice Forbes-Robertson Hale
- Clara Schlee Laddey
- Nellie McClung
- Inez Milholland
- Alice Paul
- Anna Howard Shaw
- Laura de Turczynowicz
- Ruza Wenclawska
- Elizabeth Upham Yates
Groups Against Women's Suffrage
Not everyone supported women getting the right to vote. Some groups actively worked against it.
- Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS): This group formed in 1911 and worked to stop women from getting the vote.