Sarah Knox-Goodrich facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sarah Knox-Goodrich
Born	Sarah Louise Browning (1825-02-14)February 14, 1825 Culpepper County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	October 30, 1903(1903-10-30) (aged 76–77) San Jose, California, U.S.
Occupation	Suffragist and women's rights activist

Sarah L. Knox-Goodrich (1825–1903) was a brave and important women's rights activist. She worked hard for women's suffrage in California in the late 1800s. This means she fought for women to have the right to vote.

Her first husband, William Knox, was a successful businessman and politician. Her second husband, Levi Goodrich, was a famous architect. Sarah Knox-Goodrich used her money and her social standing to push for equal job opportunities, the right for women to vote in school elections, and full voting rights for all women.

Sarah's Early Life and First Marriage

Sarah Louise Browning was born on February 14, 1825, in Culpepper County, Virginia, U.S. Her parents were William Winston Browning and Sarah Smith Farrow. When Sarah was 11, her family moved to a farm in Lincoln County, Missouri.

Meeting William James Knox

William James Knox was born on October 20, 1820, near Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He moved to Lincoln County, Missouri, when he was young. He studied medicine and became a doctor in 1847.

Sarah Browning and William Knox got married on April 1, 1846. On April 12, 1850, they left Missouri with Sarah's sister. They traveled by wagon train all the way to Nevada City, California.

Building a Fortune in California

William Knox and four friends built the South Yuba Canal. They made a lot of money selling water to gold miners during the California gold rush. In 1854, William Knox was chosen to be part of the California Assembly. This is a group of people who make laws for the state.

In 1862, the Knox family moved to San Francisco. Then, in 1864, they moved to San Jose. William Knox and his brother-in-law, T. Ellard Beans, opened the first bank in Santa Clara County in 1866. It was first called Knox & Beans, Bankers, and later became the Bank of San Jose. William Knox was the bank's first president.

William Knox Supports Women's Rights

In 1865, William Knox was elected as a State Senator for Santa Clara County. He was one of the first politicians to support women's rights. In 1866, he introduced a bill called Senate Bill No. 252. This bill gave married women the right to control their own property and money.

The bill said that "Any married woman may dispose of all her estate by will, absolutely, without the consent of her husband." This meant women could decide what happened to their property even after they were married. The bill was passed, which was a big step forward!

William Knox passed away in San Francisco on November 13, 1867. William and Sarah had one child, a daughter named Virginia. Virginia later married Cabel H. Maddox, who also became a state senator.

Sarah's Second Marriage and Later Life

Levi Goodrich was born in New York City on January 1, 1822. He studied architecture and moved to San Jose in 1849. Levi Goodrich was one of the first licensed architects in California. He designed many important buildings. These included the Santa Clara County Courthouse and jail, and the State Normal School. He also designed courthouses in Monterey and San Diego.

Sarah Knox and Levi Goodrich got married on January 15, 1879. After they married, Sarah started using a new name: Knox-Goodrich. This name combined both her husbands' last names. Levi Goodrich passed away in 1886 in San Diego.

Sarah Knox-Goodrich died on October 30, 1903, at her home. She left behind a large amount of money, showing how successful she had been. She is buried between her two husbands.

Sarah's Fight for Women's Rights

Sarah Knox-Goodrich had money and a good social standing. She used both to help women gain more rights in California. She worked on state campaigns for equal job opportunities, the right for women to vote in school elections, and full voting rights. She also protested against "taxation without representation," meaning women had to pay taxes but couldn't vote.

Clara Shortridge Foltz, who was the first female lawyer on the West Coast, said that Sarah was a strong and smart woman who protested against unfair taxes.

Leading the Suffrage Movement

Sarah Knox-Goodrich worked with her first husband, William, to help pass Senate Bill 252. This bill gave married women control over their own property.

In 1869, she started San Jose's first Women's Suffrage Association. By 1876, this group had 200 members! On the Fourth of July in 1876, Sarah wanted to make a statement. She filled her carriage with important friends. They carried signs that said things like "We are the disfranchised Class" and "We are Taxed without being Represented." She wanted her carriage to be placed at the back of the parade to show how women were treated unfairly, but the parade organizers insisted she be at the front.

In 1874, Sarah Knox-Goodrich led the effort for a new bill. This bill would allow women to run for educational offices, like school boards, even though they couldn't vote yet. She and other women traveled to Sacramento and stayed there for a month to support the bill. It was passed in the State Assembly.

In 1877, Sarah Knox-Goodrich even nominated herself to run for an Assembly seat! In 1880, she asked the Assembly to remove her "political disabilities." She wrote:

I, Sarah L. Knox-Goodrich, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the State of California, City of San José, County of Santa Clara, hereby respectfully petition your honorable body for the removal of her political disabilities, that she may exercise her right to vote, all State constitutions and statute laws to the contrary notwithstanding. Your petitioner respectfully represents that she is a real estate owner, paying heavy taxes annually for public improvements, and of the support of a government in which she has no representation....

—January 22, 1880

Sadly, her request was not approved.

Supporting the Cause with Money and Influence

Sarah Knox-Goodrich was an important leader in the California Suffrage Constitutional Amendment Campaign Association. This group was formed in 1895 to help change the California state constitution so women could vote.

She even hosted Susan B. Anthony, a very famous women's rights leader, at her home. Sarah then went with Susan B. Anthony to Sacramento to represent women who wanted the right to vote at the state Republican convention.

Besides her activism, Sarah Knox-Goodrich also gave a lot of her own money to women's rights causes. In 1888, she donated money to help start the International Council of Women. She gave $100 to help pay off debt from the 1895 women's suffrage campaign. She also gave $500 to help fund the 1896 campaign to change the constitution. She even paid for other women to travel and give speeches about women's suffrage. For example, in 1889, she and Ellen Clark Sargent paid for Laura de Force Gordon, a journalist and suffrage leader, to give talks in the Washington Territory.

Sarah Knox-Goodrich often wrote articles for newspapers and journals. She contributed to the Women's Journal, the San Jose Mercury, and the New Northwest.

The Knox-Goodrich Building

Sarah Knox-Goodrich had a building built on land that her first husband, William Knox, left to her. The building was designed by an architect named George W. Page in 1889. The first floor was for shops and businesses. The second and third floors were used as a rooming house, where people could rent rooms.

The building has a special style called Romanesque Revival. It has strong stone walls, huge stone pillars, and carved stone details. You can see a carved 'G' and 'K' intertwined above the third-floor windows. The year '1889' is also carved above the second-story windows.

A plaque on the building tells its story:

This charming commercial structure was built in 1889 by Sarah Knox-Goodrich on property left to her by her first husband, Dr. William Knox, using sandstone from the quarry owned by her second husband, Levi Goodrich. Both men were important San Jose citizens: Knox, with his brother-in-law T. Ellard Beans, established San Jose's first bank; Goodrich was the architect of the Santa Clara County Courthouse. Sarah Knox-Goodrich, a strong advocate of women's rights, organized San Jose's first Women's Suffrage Association in 1869. She died in 1903 and was buried between her two husbands at Oak Hill Cemetery

In 2019, a company bought the building. They plan to build a new retail and office building. The Knox-Goodrich building will be renovated and become an entrance to this new project.

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  Sarah Knox-Goodrich