September 28, 2020 Thank you, Barbara Schock, for sharing your extraordinary gift of these vignettes of Galesburg & 19th century American history.
Women and the Vote By Barbara Schock
This past summer there have been a
number of news articles about the 100th
anniversary of the passage of equal suffrage for women. The addition of such an
amendment to the Constitution was a long process and a very difficult one. It is believed that more than 4000 women have campaigned for
public office from 1850 to 1920. The earliest known women to gain a public
office was Olive Rose. She was elected Registrar of Deeds in Lincoln County,
Maine, in 1853. She couldn’t vote for the office she won. It may be that she had
better handwriting than those opposed to her and the male voters knew it. In Knox County Mary Allen West was elected Superintendent of
Schools in 1873 by a majority of 814 votes. The Illinois Legislature had passed
a statute allowing women to hold that public office earlier in the year. Nine
other women were elected to the same position across the state in that election. Miss West was born in Knox County in 1837 and she was a
member of one of the most respected families of the Gale Colony. She attended
Knox College and was one of the first teachers in the public schools. She also
worked with the Ladies Aid Society during the Civil War and traveled extensively
in the cause of temperance. In the nineteenth century women who ran for public office
were subjected to raucous laughter, derision, outrage and just plain meanness.
There were plenty of men who felt a woman’s place was in the home taking care of
the children. Others thought women weren’t intelligent enough to decide how to
vote. There were some women who felt the same way. Hettie Linsley Thompson was elected to the Galesburg School
Board in 1902 and served for twenty years. She had been born September 29, 1857,
at Galva to James and Susan Albro Linsley. The family moved to Galesburg in
1864. After graduating from Knox College Hettie became head of the Galesburg
Public Library. Miss Linsley married George W. Thompson on September 11,
1884. They had three children: Alma, Ruth and Wallace. George Thompson was an
attorney and served as a circuit judge for many years. Mrs. Thompson was a leader in the community who urged the
establishment of the Galesburg Woman’s Club in 1911 and served as president of
the organization for several years. She assisted with the restoration of Old
Main during the 1930s and was awarded an honorary degree by Knox College in
1937. After her husband’s death Mrs.
Thompson lived at the Broadview Hotel and traveled extensively. She died April
29, 1939, from injuries in an automobile accident.
She is buried with her husband in Linwood Cemetery.
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