KINSLEY — Reenactor Ann Birney will appear as a suffragist she calls Elizabeth Hampstead at the upcoming session of “19th — Piecing Together Women’s Suffrage” at the Kinsley Library from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, March 15. The series is free and open to the public.
Birney created Elizabeth as a composite character drawn from letters in the Kansas Historical Society archives. Inspiration for her comes from such well-known figures as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and also some lesser known women including Olympia Brown, the first woman ordained by the Universalist Church, and Elizabeth Stone, who brought with her to Kansas her husband, Henry Blackwell, another suffragist supporter.
Birney is well-known around the state for her portrayal of Amelia Earhart and other historical figures.
The afternoon will also include Dr. Leo Oliva speaking on the conflicting uses of religion in his talk, “Religion, Other Reform Movements, and Women’s Rights.” Dr. Oliva is a popular Humanities Kansas presenter, Santa Fe Trail expert, and author of many guidebooks on the forts in Kansas.
“The right to vote was only part of the long struggle for women’s civil rights, a struggle that continues today,” said Oliva.
A prominent example, the first version of an Equal Rights Amendment was written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman and introduced in congress in December, 1923. It took until 1979 for both houses to pass the ERA. However, it did not receive two-thirds state ratification until last year, but this was well-past the deadline. It is still not part of the constitution.
The third speaker on March 15 will be Megan Rohleder, the Senior Archivist of Public Services for the Kansas State Historical Society. She will share her research on Martha Farnsworth, who recorded her life in Kansas in her diaries. The presentation will focus on her 1912 diary and her role and observations on the quest for the vote for women.
Funding for this program is provided by Humanities Kansas, a nonprofit cultural organization connecting communities with history, traditions, and ideas to strengthen civic life.
