An Unfinished Revolution

Marguerite Kearns

Description

Through the lens of one family's history, An Unfinished Revolution tells the story of the suffrage movement and the ongoing struggle for women's rights in the United States. The book opens with ten-year-old Marguerite Kearns listening to her grandfather Wilmer's stories about how he met her grandmother Edna, a ninth-generation Quaker and ardent suffrage campaigner, and how he fell in love with her. Wilmer, who became a male suffrage activist himself, also shares the story of the "Spirit of 1776" suffrage campaign wagon that Edna and others used while organizing in New York State in 1913. After sitting for years in a Kearns family garage, the wagon is currently housed in the permanent collection of the New York State Museum as a prime artifact in the national suffrage movement.

As Marguerite grows older, she draws on a wide variety of sources—from family stories and photographs to archives and scholarly histories—to piece together the real-life narrative of her family. Profoundly changed in the process, she becomes an activist herself, and when she marches in a present-day women's march, she carries a photo of her grandparents participating in a 1914 women's march in New York. With the women's suffrage movement as the backdrop, this memoir and family history illuminates how activism passes from one generation to another—and how a horse-drawn suffrage campaign wagon became a symbol of freedom and equality.
Contents
List of Illustrations
The Story Behind the Story

Part I

1. The March of the Women

2. Wilmer Meets Edna

3. Granddaddy Wilmer

4. "Dish Rags" and "She-Men"

5. An Unlikely Couple

6. "When Is Papa Coming Home?"

7. The Secret

8. "Don't Fall in Love with Curmudgeons"

9. The Spirit of 1776 Wagon

10. Getting to Know the Family on Edgar Allan Poe's Chairs

Part II

11. The Telephone Party Line

12. Just Friends

13. Dinner at Delmonico's

14. Many Women, Many Views

15. Learning about Interviewing

16. "Is It Always Like This?"

17. "Will Thee Marry Me?"

18. Rumblings at the Dinner Table

19. "Happy New Year to Thee and All"

20. First Chance to Be Alone

Looking Back: The Wedding

Part III

21. Charles, Angela, and the Wedding Scandal

22. Honeymoon in St. Louis

23. "I Am a Writer"

24. Civil War Orphan School

25. Sinking Spells

26. Holly, Mistletoe, and Evergreens

27. "It Is Awful. Awful."

Part IV

28. "Trust Me"

29. The Wagon in Woodstock

30. Uproar in Huntington

31. One Woman per Century

32. Sojourner Truth in the Hudson Valley

Looking Back: In Their Own Words

33. Pete Seeger's Aunt—Suffrage Activist Anita Pollitzer

34. Inez Milholland—US Suffrage Martyr

35. The Struggle Continues

Acknowledgments
Genealogy Chart
Timeline of the Spirit of 1776 Suffrage Wagon
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Sujets

• États-Unis
• Regional
• History of the Americas
• 20th century
• Region
• Local history
• United States of America
• USA

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438483313
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

“The impact of the women’s rights work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others in my family was profound. It also carried over to generations of descendants in my own family. This is a strong point of the story told by Marguerite Kearns. Generations into the future will be changed permanently by those who have come before us.”
— Coline Jenkins, Founder and President, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Trust
“Edna and Wilmer Kearns’s story resonates deeply today both as a slice of history and as a rare glimpse of the kind of domestic relationship, based on equality, that helps move society forward. The women’s suffrage movement was a determined drive for liberty, and women like Edna were engaged as in battle. They needed backup and critical support to keep going, and men like Wilmer were there to give it. He was Edna’s partner and his story reflects the experiences of men across the country who quietly shared women’s long campaign for freedom. An Unfinished Revolution is a revealing personal journey that reminds us that love and cooperation are necessary elements to empower changemakers and shape a better future.”
— Robert P. J. Cooney Jr., author of Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement
“This book is the intimate account of several generations of a Quaker family actively involved in the extension of women’s rights. The author collected the family stories, including those of her grandfather, a man fully committed to his wife’s social activism. A valuable addition to the women’s suffrage canon, this memoir offers a rare glimpse into the ways a movement can define a family.”
— Susan Goodier, coauthor of Women Will Vote: Winning Suffrage in New York State
“All the great issues of life have been the outcome of ‘small things,’ wrote Edna Buckman Kearns. This book illustrates that truth, showing how one Quaker family contributed through their daily choices to the largest nonviolent movement for social change in US history, the movement for women’s right to vote. Intertwining fascinating details about personal experiences over generations, this story uses the lives of Edna and Wilmer Kearns to show how individual actions formed the basis for a national movement for equality, offering an inspiration for all of us today.”
— Judith Wellman, author of The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman’s Rights Convention
An Unfinished Revolution
An Unfinished Revolution
Edna Buckman Kearns and the Struggle for Women’s Rights
Marguerite Kearns
Cover image: “On to Albany”—Jones’ Army 1/1/14, part of the George Grantham Bain Collection available through the Library of Congress. Suffrage activist Ida Craft is to the left of the man holding the flag with Edna, Serena, and Wilmer Kearns to his right.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2021 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Excelsior Editions is an imprint of the State University of New York Press
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kearns, Marguerite, author.
Title: An unfinished revolution : Edna Buckman Kearns and the struggle for women’s rights / Marguerite Kearns.
Description: Albany : State University of New York, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020048644 (print) | LCCN 2020048645 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438483320 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438483313 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Kearns, Edna Buckman. | Suffragists—United States—Biography. | Women—Suffrage—United States—History.
Classification: LCC JK1899.K43 K43 2021 (print) | LCC JK1899.K43 (ebook) | DDC 324.6/23092 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048644
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048645
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
March 4, 1919
Dear Daughter Serena,
… If I am arrested tonight (just carrying a purple, white and gold banner), I need not hunger strike here in New York. Dad can call on me in jail and I can get good food—so don’t Thee worry …
Lovingly, Dearie
Contents
List of Illustrations
The Story Behind the Story
Part I
Chapter 1 The March of the Women
Chapter 2 Wilmer Meets Edna
Chapter 3 Granddaddy Wilmer
Chapter 4 “Dish Rags” and “She-Men”
Chapter 5 An Unlikely Couple
Chapter 6 “When Is Papa Coming Home?”
Chapter 7 The Secret
Chapter 8 “Don’t Fall in Love with Curmudgeons”
Chapter 9 The Spirit of 1776 Wagon
Chapter 10 Getting to Know the Family on Edgar Allan Poe’s Chairs
Part II
Chapter 11 The Telephone Party Line
Chapter 12 Just Friends
Chapter 13 Dinner at Delmonico’s
Chapter 14 Many Women, Many Views
Chapter 15 Learning about Interviewing
Chapter 16 “Is It Always Like This?”
Chapter 17 “Will Thee Marry Me?”
Chapter 18 Rumblings at the Dinner Table
Chapter 19 “Happy New Year to Thee and All”
Chapter 20 First Chance to Be Alone
Looking Back: The Wedding
Part III
Chapter 21 Charles, Angela, and the Wedding Scandal
Chapter 22 Honeymoon in St. Louis
Chapter 23 “I Am a Writer”
Chapter 24 Civil War Orphan School
Chapter 25 Sinking Spells
Chapter 26 Holly, Mistletoe, and Evergreens
Chapter 27 “It Is Awful. Awful.”
Part IV
Chapter 28 “Trust Me”
Chapter 29 The Wagon in Woodstock
Chapter 30 Uproar in Huntington
Chapter 31 One Woman per Century
Chapter 32 Sojourner Truth in the Hudson Valley
Looking Back: In Their Own Words
Chapter 33 Pete Seeger’s Aunt—Suffrage Activist Anita Pollitzer
Chapter 34 Inez Milholland—US Suffrage Martyr
Chapter 35 The Struggle Continues
Acknowledgments
Genealogy Chart
Timeline of the Spirit of 1776 Suffrage Wagon
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Illustrations
Parade memorabilia used by Edna Buckman Kearns
Edna Buckman Kearns, “Dearie,” Rockville Centre, Long Island, circa 1915
Marguerite Kearns, 1950s
Spirit of 1776 suffrage wagon, circa 1980s
Edna May Buckman and Wilmer Rhamstine Kearns, circa 1903
Statue of William Penn before installation on the top of Philadelphia’s City Hall, 1894
Edna May Buckman as a young woman, circa 1903
Statue of Liberty in the distance from Battery Park, New York Harbor, late 1800s
Edna’s best friend, Bess, circa 1907
Crowds on Pennsylvania Avenue at the March 3, 1913, women’s suffrage procession
Serena Kearns, as a child, circa 1915
Serena Kearns in a suffrage pageant at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, 1913
Men marching in a suffrage parade in New York City, May 1913
Bicycle shop owned by Wilmer’s brother, John Kearns, Beavertown, circa 1900
Wilmer Kearns with friends in Beavertown at the family home, circa 1895
Edna’s mother, May Begley Buckman, circa 1900
Daguerreotype portrait of James and Lucretia Mott, 1842
Edna’s father, Charles Harper Buckman, circa 1900
Boll Brothers, 1896 Summer Supplement
Wilmer Kearns at Beechwood Drive home, circa 1960s
Kearns family after Wilmer Kearns moved to New York City, circa 1922
Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, circa 1482
Wilmer Kearns with business college friends, circa 1900
George Fox (1624–1690), founder of the Religious Society of Friends
Spirit of 1776 suffrage wagon on its first organizing journey from Manhattan to Long Island, 1913
Wilmer Kearns with his friend M. J. Guthrie on the Spirit of 1776 wagon, 1943
Echo Dale, the Buckman family home, circa 1910
Edgar Allan Poe house, near North Seventh Street, Philadelphia, 1967
Edgar Allan Poe daguerreotype, 1848
Buckman family, 1890s, at the home of Thomas Buckman and Mary Ann Brooke Buckman
Mary Ann Brooke Buckman, second wife of Thomas Buckman, circa 1890
Thomas Buckman, circa 1890
Ann Comly Buckman, first wife of Thomas Buckman, circa 1850s
Wilma Buckman Kearns (Culp), circa 1950s
Edna Buckman Kearns and her second child, Wilma, Marguerite’s mother, circa 1921
Charles Harper Buckman with his summer skin and family, circa 1910
Frederick Douglass, circa 1870
Street scene in Philadelphia, circa 1910
Envelope for a letter Wilmer Kearns sent to Edna Buckman, 1904
Delmonico’s restaurant, New York City, 1903
T. J. Dunn Co. cigar manufacturing firm, circa 1900
Susan B. Anthony, circa 1870
Young Marguerite in love, circa 1953
Letter and envelope from Wilmer to Edna, 1904
Buckman family, circa 1904
Emma Goldman, early 1900s
Edna May Buckman as a child, circa 1880s