By Scarlett Andes – Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Public History Program, Fall 2019.             Agnes Nestor, a prominent labor leader and educator, stands out as an unusual contributor to the fight for women’s suffrage in Illinois, which she saw as directly tied to working women’s interests. Born in 1876 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Agnes Nestor … Continue reading Agnes Nestor – Working Women’s Advocate

By Erin Witt – Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Public History Program, Fall 2019.  “From the first years to which my memory stretches, I have been a disappointed woman” [1]. This was how Lucy Stone began an 1848 speech and how she also began her political life. Early on, Stone saw the differences in the way … Continue reading Making the World Better: Lucy Stone

By Davis Stubblefield – Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Public History Program, Fall 2019. When people think about the major figures of the Suffrage movement, several names immediately spring to mind: Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. For Illinois, and particularly Evanston and the Chicago area, another name should be just … Continue reading Elizabeth Boynton Harbert