… in their footsteps
There are so many of them.
The youngest, The Legal Genealogist‘s grandmother, Opal (Robertson) Cottrell, born in Texas in 1898.1
The oldest, a first cousin four times removed, Susannah C. (Young) Blalock, born in North Carolina, in 1836.2
Add in my great grandmother, Eula (Baird) Livingston Robertson, born in 1869 in Alabama.3
Four of my grandfather’s Texas-born sisters: Nettie (Cottrell) Holley, born 1879;4 Theo (Cottrell) Hodges Dean, born 1886;5 and Addie Lee (Cottrell) Harris, born 1881.6
Two of my grandfather’s aunts — Mary (Cottrell) Green, born 1856,7 and Margaret “Arby” (Cottrell) Hollis McCann, born 1863.8
A whole ration of my grandmother’s aunts:
On her father’s side, Martha Wilmoth (Robertson) Crenshaw, born 1854;9 Mary Isabella (Robertson) Hendrix, born 1863;10 Fannie Boone (Robertson) Harrison, born 1865;11 and Lillie (Robertson) Wilson, born 1868.12
On her mother’s side, Lula (Livingston) Lancaster, born 1877;13 Margaret Etta (Livingston) Roberts, born 1880;14 and Susie (Livingston) Kidwell, born 1889.15
And what was true of them all — Every. Last. One. of. Them. — is that they were eligible to vote, for the very first time, 100 years ago this year.
Today, to honor them, I did what they could not do for so much of their lives.
Today, I cast my ballot in this momentous election.16
Today, I walked in their footsteps.
They fought so hard for the right to vote.
I surely wasn’t going to do less.
Today, I voted.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “To honor them,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 17 Oct 2020).
SOURCES
- See Virginia Department of Health, Certificate of Death, state file no. 95-011808, Opal Robertson Cottrell (1995); Division of Vital Records, Richmond. ↩
- North Carolina State Board of Health, Death Certif. No. 163, Susan C. Blalock, Mitchell County, 11 Nov 1929; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Raleigh. Her death certificate says she was born in Mitchell County; that county wasn’t created until 1861. ↩
- See Virginia Dept. of Health, Certificate of Death, state file no. 6367, Eula Robertson (1954). ↩
- See Texas State Department of Health, death certificate no. 14160, Mrs. H.D. Holley, 8 Mar 1934; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Austin. ↩
- See “Matter of Record, Deaths: Theo Hodges,” Odessa (Tex.) American, 4 May 1984, p. 14, col. 2-3; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/ : accessed 17 Oct 2020). ↩
- See Texas Dept. of Health, death certificate no. 38558, Addie Lee Harris, 6 May 1974. ↩
- Texas Dept. of Health, death certif. no. 32464, Mary E. Green, 12 July 1946. ↩
- Texas Dept. of Health, death certif. no. 20306, Margaret Arvy McCann, 13 Apr 1944. ↩
- Texas Dept. of Health, death certif. no. 1583, Mrs. Mattie Crenshaw, 26 Jan 1922. ↩
- Colorado State Registrar, Death Certif. No. 2203, Mary Isabella Hendrix, 5 Mar 1950; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Denver. ↩
- See 1870 U.S. census, Lamar County, TX, population schedule, Paris Post Office, p. 253(B) (stamped), dwelling 307, family 307, “Gustavis” B. Robertson household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Oct 2011); citing National Archive microfilm publication M593, roll 1594. ↩
- Texas Dept. of Health, death certif. no. 9581, Lily Wilson, 13 Feb 1956. ↩
- Tombstone, Lula Lancaster, Frederick City Cemetery, Frederick OK, photographed by author, 2002. ↩
- Tombstone, Etta Roberts, Frederick City Cemetery, Frederick OK, photographed by author, 2002. ↩
- Tombstone, Susie Kidwell, Frederick City Cemetery, Frederick OK, photographed by author, 2002. ↩
- New Jersey is all absentee this year: you can mail your ballot in; drop it as I did at a secure ballot box; or deliver it to your polling place on election day. ↩
And in your lifetime you were able to buy a home and apply for a credit card in your own name. 100 years of positive change
That rib of mine, standing beside me, sometimes leading, sometimes encouraging me, voting, speaking her mind, raised 3 sons, while still being a Wife, Mother and family director. Fifty six years, she has credit cards in her name, is my equal and more. She is woman!
You’re a good man, cousin Stan. I hope this virus gets under control soon enough that you and I can actually get together in person…
This is lovely. Even though I often feel like voting is a waste of time because of where I live, I still do it as a way of honoring the women before me who didn’t get that privilege at all.
I wrote up a summary of all our lady ancestors who’d experienced the ratification of the 19th amendment for our little family history email newsletter. My hope is that when people feel a personal connection to an event like that, they’ll realize what a big deal it really was (and still is). And it warms my heart to see that you’re doing the same 🙂