Monthly Archives: April 2017

Catharine Bergen Jones, oldest woman voter, 1914

Posted on April 24, 2017 by editor

Catharine Bergen Jones cast her first vote (in support of liquor prohibition) in 1914, at age 97. Her obituary described her as one of “Springfield’s best known and most interesting characters.” See Women’s vote history, Sangamon County. This entry has … Continue reading →

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Women register to vote, 1914

Posted on April 24, 2017 by editor

A massive outpouring of women added more than 10,000 names to Springfield voting rolls in a single day, March 17, 1914. It was the first time women were allowed to register to vote in local elections other than schools. See … Continue reading →

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Mary Morrison (woman school board member)

Posted on April 24, 2017 by editor

Mary Morrison was one of two women elected to the Springfield School Board in 1911. She and Ida Hanes were the first two women to serve on the board. See Women’s vote history, Sangamon County.

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Ida Hanes (woman school board member)

Posted on April 24, 2017 by editor

Ida Hanes was one of two women elected to the Springfield School Board in 1911. She and Mary Morrison were the first women to serve on the board. See Women’s vote history, Sangamon County.

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Women’s vote history, Sangamon County

Posted on April 24, 2017 by editor

Following the Civil War, Illinoisans decided their state constitution needed updating. Delegates met in Springfield from December 1869 until May 1870, and one of the issues they debated was whether to allow universal suffrage. The 15th amendment to the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, Schools and school districts, Springfield, Women | Leave a comment

Mary Howard

Posted on April 16, 2017 by editor

Mary Howard (later Mary Howard Miles) was the Anti-Monopoly Party’s unsuccessful candidate for Sangamon County school superintendent in 1873, making her the first woman to seek an elective office in the county. See Annie Rheem Hannon.

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First woman to run for election

Posted on April 16, 2017 by editor

Mary Howard (later Mary Howard Miles) was the Anti-Monopoly Party candidate for Sangamon County school superintendent in 1873. See Annie Rheem Hannon.

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First woman elected to public office

Posted on April 16, 2017 by editor

Annie Rheem Hannon was appointed Sangamon County school superintendent in 1892 and elected to the post in 1894. See Annie Rheem Hannon.

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Annie Rheem Hannon (first woman elected to public office)

Posted on April 16, 2017 by editor

The first woman to hold an elective office in Sangamon County was Annie Rheem Hannon (1857-1945), who served from 1892 to 1894 as county superintendent of schools – a position for which neither she, nor any other woman, could cast … Continue reading →

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Poisoning and racial controversy, 1860

Posted on April 7, 2017 by editor

The sentencing of three African-American teenagers in 1860 on charges they tried to poison the employers of two of them highlighted differences in how courts and the newspapers treated blacks and whites at the time. Perhaps inevitably, the case also … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Crime and vice, Journalism, Law enforcement, Media, Politics, Prominent figures | Leave a comment