New Hampshire’s Fight for Suffrage
Women worked for over 70 years to get the vote. Divisions over race, tactics, and strategy did not stop suffrage efforts. Women kept their eyes on the prize . . . suffrage. Learn more about the fight for suffrage in New Hampshire in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
New Hampshire’s Suffrage Timeline
1868
Mary Farnum and Armenia White, along with White’s husband, Nathaniel White, founded the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association (NHWSA).
1870
Attorney Marilla Ricker attempted to vote at her local polling place, as she owned property and paid taxes. Although poll workers turned Ricker away, she continued to request a ballot at every election for the next five decades.*
1878
New Hampshire’s suffragists achieved an early victory when the legislature enacted legislation permitting women to vote for school board elections. Although additional legislative action stalled for several decades, NHWSA leaders kept suffragists engaged by holding annual conventions in the state and working to broaden NHWSA membership.
1902
At the New Hampshire Constitutional Convention, suffragists successfully lobbied for delegates to remove the male qualification from the state’s voter provisions. But when the issue went to the state’s male voters, it was soundly defeated. After this, New Hampshire’s suffragists turned their focus to passing a federal amendment.
1913
Sallie W. Hovey, the daughter of a prominent New Hampshire minister, served as president of Portsmouth’s Women’s Suffrage Association.
1913
The New Hampshire Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women lobbied legislators to oppose any upcoming referenda.
While the New Hampshire Legislature considered several suffrage bills during these intervening years, it was unwilling to enact statewide suffrage prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
September 10, 1919
New Hampshire voted to ratify the 19th Amendment.
* Ricker attempted to run for New Hampshire governor in both 1910 and 1920 as part of the Republican ticket. Both times, the party refused to list her on the ballot.
References
Brown, J. (2013, May 20). Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s Charity Worker and Suffragist: Sarah Whittier “Sallie” Hovey (1872-1932). Cow Hampshire. https://www.cowhampshireblog.com/2013/05/20/portsmouth-new-hampshires-charity-worker-and-suffragist-sarah-whittier-sallie-hovey-1872-1932/
Coles, B. (2018, April 19). Remarkable Women 2018: Persistence. New Hampshire Magazine. https://www.nhmagazine.com/remarkable-women-2018-persistence/#mricker
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
Marilla Marks Ricker. (n.d.). Dover Public Library. https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/library/research-learn/history/marilla%20marks%20ricker/
New Hampshire and the 19th Amendment. (2019, August 9). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/new-hampshire-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
New Hampshire Question 7, Women’s Suffrage Amendment (March 1903). (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/New_Hampshire_Question_7,_Womens_Suffrage_Amendment_(March_1903)
Timeline of the Women’s Suffrage Movement: 1874-1887. (n.d.). Americans All. https://americansall.org/legacy-story-group/timeline-womens-suffrage-movement-1874-1887
Vote Against Woman Suffrage, 1913 February 14. (1913). New Hampshire Historical Society. https://www.nhhistory.org/Object?id=da29b1b3-e882-464d-b639-c65352fdfd50
White, Armenia S. (1817-1916). (n.d.). New Hampshire Historical Society. https://www.nhhistory.org/object/313471/white-armenia-s-1817-1916