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future voter mother baby

Sisterly Support

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Jane Freeman, self portrait when in her 80s.

This blog topic comes to me by way of Tom Dublin, Binghamton University Professor Emeritus of Women’s History and sharer extraordinaire. I may have mentioned that researchers in this field are incredibly generous when they find mention of Elisabeth Freeman, and none more so than Tom, who also co-authored an article with me in an online journal. But this time, it was not Elisabeth but her sister Jane Freeman, a portrait artist of some note, who came to his attention.

In 1915, as New York was gearing up for another vote on women’s suffrage, women artists of all kinds mounted an exhibition at the MacBeth Gallery in NYC “for the Benefit of the Woman Suffrage Campaign.” Prior to this there had been no mixing of politics and art in the established art scene but more than 90 painters and sculptors eagerly put forward their work for the Cause.

Suffrage speakers such as Elisabeth made a variety of arguments on why women should have the vote but visual artists were responsible for creating the images that would influence voters. Both the anti-suffrage forces and the pro-suffrage movement claimed the “protective and nurturing mother figure and her perceived moral authority.” (Dennison, “Babies for Suffrage”)

“The Coming Voter”, later “Mother and Child”

Jane Freeman entered a painting of  “The mother, with the baby in her lap, her head beautifully modeled and features delicately chiseled, looks down fondly at the little one that raises its chubby hands in tender appeal.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle review). Here’s the interesting part: Jane titled the painting The Coming Voter, effectively posing the question “If women are entrusted with the moral education and upbringing of future voters, why can’t women vote?” Dennison notes that in the title Freeman subverts “the image of alluring mother and her happy child, which otherwise might have served as the anti-suffrage ideal of feminine passivity.” This linguistic jujitsu was a great trick of Jane’s–she sustained her long and successful career as a portrait artist by giving people what they wanted.

In 1916, she sold the image to the magazine The Delineator for its March 1916 cover with the title “Mother and Child.” In my installation, “Art, Money, Love: Jane Freeman” I celebrated her artistic talent as well as her ability to promote herself and sell her work. She submitted to contests, mass media, exhibitions, and worked the gentry for portraits of their children and wives.

Dennison points out that “the anti-suffragists propagated the notion that suffragists lacked domestic skills, were mannish in appearance, and behaved in a strident and fanatical manner…equating the vote with a lack of maternal feeling and desertion of the home or family.” In second wave feminism, we called that lesbian baiting, proscribing what women should look and act like, and sacrificing any woman who didn’t meet that standard, such as Ida Craft in the previous post.

Jane Freeman, portrait painter

A reporter once followed Elisabeth around for a whole day of speech making and declared that she never repeated the same thing twice. She tailored her speeches to the audience and had several arguments in her repertoire. If male voters needed a pretty face to charm them and hook them in with an argument, she was happy to comply. And so too was her sister, Jane Freeman, both of whom were independent, unmarried, and self supporting, exactly what the anti-suffragists most feared.

Woman’s suffrage was, in fact, a logical step for women working outside the home and forging their own independence. Prof. Kitty Sklar, married to the aforementioned Tom Dublin, and a BU Professor Emeritus of Women’s History as well, asserted that Jane and Elisabeth were not unusual in their achievements but part of a huge demographic of their time. Dr. Sklar gave a brilliant lecture during my 2011 Jane Freeman installation (which you can see here) to note that the fertility rate dropped precipitously during this period, as women found ways to control their fertility. They, and many suffragists in the movement, valued their independence above all.

References:

“Babies for Suffrage: The Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Women Artists for the Benefit of the Woman Suffrage Campaign” by Mariea Caudill Dennison, Woman’s Art Journal. vol 24. No. 2 (Autumn 2003- Winter 2004)

Jane Freeman Papers,  Archives of American Art Smithsonian Museum.

Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000, an online journal founded by Professors Tom Dublin and Kathryn Sklar.

 

 

 

 

The Privilege of History

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One of my favorite TV shows is Henry Louis Gates’ “Finding Your Roots” where a couple of celebrities get the benefit of genealogical tools and DNA tracking to discover who their ancestors are and where they came from. Needless to say, it’s transformative for his guests, particularly black and brown people, whose histories were quite literally erased, and those whose ancestors migrated here, fleeing not only impossible conditions but also the ability to trace their roots. Sometimes the guest celebrities break down, even without Gates prompting them to feel for the camera. The most poignant are African-Americans who learn about the struggles of the forbearers, not just in general, but specifically. One young man was so overwhelmed that it literally was a show-stopper. They did an extra session a month later to capture his reactions. He still seemed dazed and deeply moved by what he had learned and struggling with a changed identity.

And here I am, surrounded by piles of historical documents from my family. So much that I just started another site to post some family history, www.johnstonfreemanfamily.com, a work in progress. The site is an attempt to put historical documents somewhere findable. Like the two way correspondence of my great great grandparents during the Civil War. Or the early dictionary that has a family list in the flyleaf that goes way back. And I have not even gotten to the correspondence of my parents during WWII and their experience of war and leftist organizing during the war on both sides of the Atlantic. I have loaded documents of my maternal grandfather who was a stalwart in the printer’s union. And my cousin who signed the Port Huron Statement founding SDS. Some documents are mostly personal rather than historically significant but they all give me some clues about what life was like.

This amount of personal artifacts and documents is “an embarrassment of riches.” It is a privilege. And let’s be clear, a white privilege. Think what it takes to save this stuff: first of all, it helps to own a house. To own a house implies a level of income that, theoretically at least, allows subsequent generations to inherit or buy a house, get an education, have a career. One of the documents I just found was a mortgage for a tiny little house in the late forties. (I lived in the attic of that little box with my brothers until I was 12.) When I read it I noticed an exclusion notice stating that you could not sell to black people; the restriction had expired by the time my family sold it, but it still gave me a shiver. So, if you were black, you might have had the income to buy a house but still not be able to. Systemic Racism in Action.

My niece Susan is making a pilgrimage with a couple of her friends to hold Elisabeth Freeman’s scrapbook in their hands and to immerse themselves in records of her suffrage and other work. It is a privilege to have it and to be able to share it. It is also humbling to think how many people can’t trace their heritage beyond a grandparent, if that.

If this country ever gets to give reparations to the people whose enslaved ancestors built this country–and I hope they do–a genealogical search should be part of it. Giving people information about their roots would be a reparation worth more than whatever monetary sum is on offer. It would be life changing.

1916 NAACP Anti-Lynching Campaign

1916 NAACP Anti-Lynching Campaign

In early 1916 Elisabeth Freeman was hired by the Texas Woman’s Suffrage Association to make some inroads there. On the long train trip down to Texas, Elisabeth met Roy Nash who was working on an anti-lynching effort for the NAACP. The NAACP leadership felt that they needed a well documented case of lynching to raise a public outcry about the practice. The NAACP was founded in 1909 and needed a high profile issue to build membership.

Gruesome pictures of lynching of Jesse Washington in Waco TX 1916

Elisabeth criss-crossed the state for suffrage on a contract that would last 3 or 4 months. On May 16th, Roy Nash wrote a letter asking Elisabeth to investigate the lynching of Jesse Washington, a young man in nearby Waco: “Will you not get the facts for us? Your suffrage work will probably give you an excuse for being in Waco…” Elisabeth was on the scene soon after it happened and interviewed everyone from the judge and sheriff to the family of the young man as well as the family of the woman he was accused of killing. She spent about a week there interviewing people, getting photos of the event, and trying to locate people to protest the lynching. She also visited black churches in town and apologized for the behavior of whites.

Apparently there was no real doubt about Washington’s guilt, but the fault lay in the security of the courtroom. Just after the verdict, a mob grabbed him and dragged him around town, tortured him, and burned him alive while an estimated 10,000 people watched. A photographer was forewarned and set up near the lynching site, capturing it all on film.

This was the perfect case for the NAACP—solid intelligence by an outside observer, photos documenting the horror, and a town that was not a “backwater” place, but a young city with dozens of churches, several colleges, and a modern outlook. The NAACP used this information to launch their anti-lynching campaign, and to raise awareness and funds for this effort.

Elisabeth used all of her wiles and intelligence to investigate the situation. She flirted to get what she wanted and bravely confronted officials and citizens alike, at some danger to herself. Her hotel room was searched twice and she herself was told to “get out of town before you are hanging on that tree.” * Elisabeth was outraged by this lynching and threw herself into this new cause. The blatant injustice and cruelty of the case fueled her keen sense of social justice. (For a thorough narrative of this case and Freeman’s investigation read the First Waco Horror by Patricia Bernstein www.patriciabernstein.com)

Her report led to two national speaking tours on behalf of the NAACP and its Anti-Lynching Campaign Fund and to another cause in her career. Her work for Texas suffrage came to an abrupt end although this may have been unrelated to her controversial anti-lynching work. She was particularly dismayed that even liberal Texans seemed unwilling to bring a legal challenge against the leaders and the officials in Waco.

Her speaking tours over the course of the summer of 1916 brought her into new territory. (itinerary-naacp) As a suffragist she was used to coming into a town in the morning, meeting suffrage sympathizers, speaking on the street, and being invited to speak in the evening at a meeting or other gathering. This same tactic was not always successful in the Negro communities where she was trying to organize. Undoubtably black communities were much more cautious about their organizing efforts. Speaking events and meetings were announced by small cards, circulars/posters, and announcements in the black press; the NAACP also used direct mail and brochures to detail their campaign against lynching. Still, she managed to raise money and awareness and to get much needed tactical information for the NAACP. She also met several members of the black women’s movement, notably Mary Talbert, a leader in the NAACP and the Nat’l Assn of Colored Women, women in the National Assn of Teachers in Colored Schools, and others.

Elisabeth seemed at ease among this new audience who admired her “pluckiness” in investigating the lynching and speaking out about racial injustice. Women’s suffrage groups, which were largely white, and black organizations did not always see eye to eye, as this exchange between two groups in Ohio illustrates: “…to them (black men) the ballot in the hands of white women appears only in the light of an increased number of civil and political oppressors,” wrote a representative of the women of the Columbus branch of the NAACP.

Elisabeth’s new cause did bring her to the attention of Frances Kellor, who organized the Hughes Women’s Campaign Special, as well as other more radical groups.

* Interview with Freeman’s niece, Ruth Freeman Johnston, 2004.

1916 NAACP Anti-Lynching Campaign Additional Information

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Historical Marker for Jesse Washington

Patricia Bernstein, author of the First Waco Horror, detailing Elisabeth Freeman’s efforts to investigate the lynching of Jesse Washington sent this news:  Jesse Washington marker installed February 12, 2023 In the photos: On the right, Shirley Bush, a cousin of Jesse Washington; Left, Nona Kirkpatrick, grand niece of Sank Majors, who was falsely accused of […]

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Anti-Lynching in 1916

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When Elisabeth Freeman showed her niece Ruthie (my mother) the scrapbook detailing her activism, she instructed her not to look at one section. “It was,” she said, “too terrible for a young girl.” * My mother ignored her warning but she was not wrong—there were gruesome images of the torture and lynching of a young […]

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Presentation on EF

Presentation on EF

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Elisabeth Freeman on Soapbox, 1913.

The Historical Society of Woodstock is sponsoring a talk on Elisabeth Freeman’s career as an organizer for several social justice causes. On May 19th there will be a zoom presentation and video showing the Freeman scrapbook which details English and US Suffrage, women’s garment workers and other labor issues, the anti-lynching campaign, and resistance to World War I.

To register, email historicalsocietyofwoodstockny@gmail.com; please write “Elisabeth” in the subject line. You will receive a Zoom link prior to the event via email.

The social justice roots of the late Woodstock councilperson Jane Van De Bogart will be demonstrated by Jane’s cousin, Peg Johnston, in a virtual presentation about their great-aunt, Elisabeth Freeman. During the early 20th century, Freeman was a fiery advocate for the women’s trade union movement. She spoke out against the lynching of blacks in the South on behalf of the NAACP. A militant pacifist, after the U.S. entered World War I, Freeman worked to ensure civil liberties at home.

Humanities New York with assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Historical Society of Woodstock, presents the latest event in the ongoing series, Standing on Their Shoulders; 100 Years of Voting and Still Marching for Women’s Rights, a celebration of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.The project conceived by the Historical Society of Woodstock connects the local community to the history of the women’s rights movement. The views expressed in this presentation do not reflect the opinions or policies of Humanities New York, the National Endowment for the Humanities, or HSW.

In the Top 25 History Blogs

Thanks to Feedspot.com, an aggregator site, for making this blog one of their top 25 American History blogs. 24 out 25, but still up there. It is always difficult to let people know about niche blogs like this one, so we appreciate it. If you like an article, we would be grateful if you share on your social media or with your friends. And it’s been a while and new blog posts are coming soon.  Thanks, happy Fourth!

 

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By George!

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The elusive father of Elisabeth has been found! Genealogically speaking.

For the longest time it was a mystery what his name was, why his wife and kids separated from him, and who his people were. My parents traveled to England and consulted records there, pre-internet, but they were assuming his name was John Francis like my grandfather. Family lore said he was a barrister. Another researcher found him and said he was a coal miner.  On the other hand, the Buxton-Hall Family had a sort of genealogy written in the front of the family dictionary–one of the first dictionaries, more like an encyclopedia of misinformation and prejudice, which went back to William Orange. William OF Orange? Hard to tell, but not likely.

Sometimes you have to wait for a bit of serendipity and in this case it came in the form of my second cousin Cathy Freeman Dyorio, and her niece Bonnie Slocum and their Ancestry.com research. That massive collection can steer you wrong sometimes–still tracking down a mention of possible AWOL from military in Australia. But this seems solid: His name was George and he was born in England but his lineage traces way back in the United States!! I’m amazed!

church in Chesterfield England
“The church with the crooked spire” in Chesterfield England. Photo by Robert Johnston

So, here goes: George Freeman was born in 1849 (?) in Chesterfield England which is where Elisabeth, John and Jane were also born, near the crooked spired church there. He died in 1893– in Connecticut!!  This is interesting that he ended up in the US because his family came here probably in 1880 or there about. Did they follow him or he follow them or neither?  You would think there would be some mention of a father with all the paper and writings they kept, but nary a whisper.

George’s parents were Shubael born 1782 and died 1866 in Connecticut and mother Polly Hanks 1786-1861. Apparently they went to England, had kids and then returned. (But the children were English subjects.) Still a mystery.

Go back a generation and you have Skeff Freeman born 1755 and died 1847 also in Connecticut. And another generation back another Skeff born 1723 in Sandwich on Cape Cod and died 1809 in Connecticut.  Can you see where this is going yet?

Now we have generations of Edmunds. The last was born 1683 in Sandwich which I’ve driven by countless times, and stopped once in search of the eponymous lunch. He died in 1766 in Connecticut.

This is truly funny if not verified: Twin brothers were born and one was called Edmund and the other Edmund III.  Our man was the third, and he was born and died in Sandwich or nearby Dennis. The other twin, or his progeny was a Revolutionary War Soldier so can we claim DAR status or Niece of the American Revolution? Not that we would as the Daughters of the American Revolution have not had a good track record on racism, just for starters.

Edmund Freeman the first, presumably, was born in 1620 in Billinghurst England and died in 1673 in Plymouth. The Puritans founded Plymouth Colony in 1620 so you can see we are getting close to that Mayflower bunch.

Enter another Edmund whose last name is Perry. I confess I got lost here–perhaps the wife’s father? Needless to say, the matrilineal line is virtually non-existent except for this little footnote: M. Rebecca Prence, related to Edmund Freeman died in childbirth and her father Thomas Prence was governor of the Massachusetts Colony and his records are in the Plymouth Compact.

So mystery man actually has a very long family history on this side of the Atlantic. There are still a lot of unanswered questions but by George, it’s good to know his name.

 

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