Evening star., 1940-07-07

MED the rights no reasonable man
could deny them.
This early worker in the cause
Of woman suffrage was the daughter
of poor upstate New York
farmer named Bennett. She started
in to teach school at an early age
and then at Is married a promising
farmer whose name was McNall.
But her married life was a brief
one, for her husband contracted
tuberculosis and died five years
later, leaving her widow with an
infant daughter, Lura. Necessity
compelled her again to seek en-
ployment and she returned to teach
ing school for living, meanwhile
graduating from Genesee College
in June, 1857. Instructing classes
was never to her liking. Her heart
and mind were continually set upon
getting a thorough knowledge of
the law with q view toward prac-
ticing before the courts, and it was
this ardent desire that brought her
to Washington where she could see
the Nations chief legislative body
making, shaping and debating bills
covering the great problems of the
day.
Reader of The Star.
The Star, according to Mrs. Lock-
woods own words, had considerable
to do with her coming here. "She
appreciated" she said, that the
best recommendation for any city
is found in the principal newspaper
published there, so she read The
Star, then a small, four-page ISSUE"
and continued to do so up to the
time of her death.
This noted woman came to WASH
ington in February, 1866, from
Oswego, N. Y, with few dollars
and only her personality and her
education to recommend her. She
soon found it necessary to obtain
employment, which she did in in
structing in a ladies' school. She
was not a man-hater and twice
demonstrated this, for in 1868 she
again was married, this time to DR..
Ezekiel Lockwood of this city, who
was for some years an invalid prior
to his death in 1877.
The movement for equal suffrage
in this city had it's beginning in
1867, we are informed by The Star
of July of that year, which says:
Equal Rights Meeting-Female
Suffrage.-A meeting was held last
evening at room No. IL, Washington
Building, for the purpose of form
ing an Equal Rights Association
which was attended by ladies and
gentlemen of both colors. Mr.. John
H. Crane presided, and Mrs. j. A.
Archibald acted as secretary. The
object of the association is to Sc
cure equal rights to all American
citizens, without regard to race,
color or sex. The meeting was con-
versational in its character, and
after the constitution of the Amer
lean Equal Rights Association had
been read for information Mr.
Crane remarked that there was a
great feeling favorable to the ex-
tension of women's rights in the
minds of intellectual gentlemen
throughout this country and Europe
and he believed that Congress would
favorably consider a petition at the
next session asking for female suf-
frage.
Mrs. A. ]. Grin said that it was
an insult to the Declaration of In
dependence to deny the right of suf-
frage tc females.
"Mr. Crane said most men opposed
female suffrage on the ground that
1t unsexed them, while at the same
time they would lie in bed and per-
NIT their wives to split wood to get
breakfast with.
ut was stated that President
johnson had been questioned by q
lady member in regard to his views
on female suffrage and replied that
he would not veto a bill passed by
Congress having that object in
view.
Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Archibald, Mrs.
O'Brien (white) and Mrs. Judson
(coloreO were appointed a COM
mittee to wait upon Senator Wade
and tender him the presidency of
the association"
Met in Dental Office.
DR.. Lockwood, to whom Mrs. Lock-
wood was married March IL, 1868,
was practicing dentist, and it was
in his Office that the meeting in
the Washington Building was held.
Subsequently the doctor removed his
Office to the Union League Hall, or
Union Hall, or as sometimes re-
ferred to, Temperance Hall, because
it was the meeting place for num-
ber of temperance societies, which
in 1866 included Good Samaritan No.
l, Federal City Division No. 2, How
ard Division No. 81 and Equal Di-
vision No. 3.
This building was located on Ninth
street NV. and according to the
old system was numbered 481, the
present number being 432. Here
Mrs. Lockwood made her home and
taught school for seven years, and
here several early suffrage meet
ings were held and presided over
by this unusually capable woman.
Later, when this lady had moved
to F street, many stanch support
ers Of the cause of woman's rights
met at her home, q they did on
January 0, 1879. OF this meeting