Matilda Joslyn Gage

Women's History Month Biography

Abolitionist, Author and Feminist in the Civil War Era

Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826-1898) is the forgotten mother of the women's rights movement. She was a contemporary of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, with whom she co-authored the first three volumes of The History of Woman Suffrage. Gage was always one of the more radical leaders of the movement and her writing focused on the significant accomplishments of women in invention, military affairs and in history.



Childhood and Early Years
Matilda Joslyn Gage was born on March 24, 1826 in Cicero, New York. An only child, she was raised in a household dedicated to antislavery. Her father Dr. Hezekiah Joslyn was a nationally known abolitionist, and the Joslyn home was a station on the Underground Railroad.

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Susan B. Anthony

Women's History Month Biography

Women's Rights Leader in the Civil War Era

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) was a prominent civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights and women's suffrage movements in the United States. Working closely with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony was a primary organizer, lecturer and writer for the movements, especially the first phases of the long struggle for women's right to vote. She traveled the United States, averaging 75 to 100 speeches per year.



Childhood and Early Years
Susan Brownell Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts and raised in a Quaker family with long activist traditions. She was the second oldest of seven children born to Daniel and Lucy Read Anthony. Susan was a precocious child, learning to read and write by age three.

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Belva Lockwood

Women's History Month Biography

Lawyer and Women's Rights Activist in the Civil War Era

Belva Lockwood (1830–1917) was a politician, educator, author and one of the first female lawyers in the United States. She was also active in working for women's rights and overcame many social and personal obstacles related to gender restrictions. Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party and was the first woman to appear on official ballots.



Childhood and Early Life
Born Belva Ann Bennett on October 24, 1830 in Royalton, New York, she was the daughter of farmers Lewis Johnson Bennett and Hannah Green Bennett. By age 14, she was teaching at the local elementary school. At the age of 14 she taught in a rural school, chafing that she was paid half the salary of her male counterpart.

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