Jeanne Gehret's Blog: http://SusanBAnthonyFamily.com/, page 8

America’s Iconic Suffragist

Biography of Susan B. Anthony–New in September 2017!

Susan B. Anthony And Justice For All: Suffrage Centennial Edition–complete revision of 1994 edition

Description:

Biography of Susan B. Anthony that carefully follows primary sources (Ida Harper, Alma Lutz, Ann Gordon), and is updated to include the ratification of the woman suffrage amendments in New York State (2017) and the U.S. (2020).

Celebrate the reformer whose drive and passion for equality made such a difference in the lives of women and African-Americans. From her early work against slavery in the 1860s through her fight for the nineteenth amendment granting woman suffrage, Anthony traveled the world, voted illegally, and changed history.

For grade levels 6-8: includes archival photos, illustrations, bibliography, index, and glossary. Selective adjustments of dialogue accommodate modern ears.

128 pages
Archival images & illustrations
Grade level 6-8
ISBN 978-1-884281-00-6
Paperback, $9.95
Coming soon on Kindle
Author: Jeanne Gehret
Publisher: Verbal Images Press
$9.95 paperback
Available on Amazon

Praise for the first edition:

 “A readable, lively biography of the women’s suffrage advocate, abolitionist, and temperance crusader.”  School Library Journal

“In Susan B. Anthony And Justice For All, students have a chance to see what the world was like for both women and black people more than 100 years ago. . . . Anthony’s story is well told by Gehret.”  Beaumont Enterprise

“A strong and concise overview of Susan B.’s life and the issues she faced.” Rose O’Keefe, author of Frederick & Anna Douglass in Rochester, New York

About the Author:

Jeanne Gehret has portrayed Susan B. in costume ever since the 1994 first edition of this book. She served as a docent at Miss Anthony’s home in Rochester, NY and has set her own feet on many of the places where the famous reformer lived, worked, and visited. She has also written The Truth About Daniel based on the true story of Susan’s brother.

The post America’s Iconic Suffragist appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Strong-minded people in Susan B. Anthony’s family

Copyright 2017 Verbal Images Press

How did Susan B. Anthony’s family shape her? That’s what I set out to discover when I began writing this blog in 2014. It’s easy for me to forget, after all this time, that many people have no idea of the strong-minded people who formed her everyday associations.

Quick Overview

Her father, Daniel Anthony Sr., defied his Quaker fellowship to marry a Baptist
Though  raised (pacifist) Quaker, both her brothers fought in the Civil War
All her sisters voted with her
Her sister Mary was the first Rochester principal to receive equal pay for equal work

For me, the most interesting of her siblings was her brother, Daniel Read (D.R.) Anthony. But if you’ve been reading this blog, you already know that!

In the next few posts I’ll be harking back to earlier entries. This is a good time for me to do so, since I’m putting the finishing touches on my newest book, Susan B. Anthony And Justice For All. This is a brand new edition of my easy-reading (grade level 6-8) biography, re-issued just in time for the New York State Centennial of Woman Suffrage. More on the new book soon!

For today, click here to get an overview of the Anthonys.

 

The post Strong-minded people in Susan B. Anthony’s family appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

“Impressively Crafted” Novel Now on Kindle

It’s so rewarding when a professional book reviewer “gets” the book that you’ve worked on for several years. That happened recently when Midwest Book Review praised The Truth About Daniel. And to celebrate, we made the book available on Kindle! Click here to get a copy on your own device. And PLEASE review it. Reviews convince Amazon that it’s worth publicizing.

Here’s what Midwest had to say:

Synopsis:

Jeanne Gehret became acquainted with Susan B. Anthony’s family in 1992 when she docented at the reformer’s house museum. After writing Susan B. Anthony And Justice For All in 1994, she curated an exhibit at the Rochester, NY museum and began portraying Susan in costume. She blogs at http://SusanBAnthonyFamily.com

In “The Truth About Daniel” she turns her talents to writing the first volume of what promises to be an impressively entertaining new series of historical novels called ‘The Dauntless”.

Annie Osborn was fascinated by everything about Daniel Read Anthony including his service as a Civil War colonel who battled slavery; his courage and endurance settling the wild West; and his family ties to Susan B. Anthony, Annie’s own heroine. Nevertheless, she has doubts about his suitability as a husband. Did he risk his life for unselfish reasons or because he enjoyed danger?

From the fiery conflict of Kansas to the prim parlors of Martha’s Vineyard, “The Truth About Daniel” portrays lovers who forge new bonds through their willingness to take chances as author Jeanne Gehret deftly weaves historical strands about D.R. Anthony to delve into his improbable choice of a bride, a socialite half his age from the whaling capital of Martha’s Vineyard.

Critique:

As a novelist, Jeanne Gehret has a genuine flair for deftly creating memorable characters and embedding them into an original and consistently entertaining story. The descriptive writing brings a bygone era in American History to vivid life. An impressively crafted and consistently entertaining read from beginning to end, “The Truth About Daniel” is unreservedly recommended, especially for community library Historical Romance collections and the personal reading list of the dedicated Antebellum romance fan.

The post “Impressively Crafted” Novel Now on Kindle appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Why do young women fall for older men?

You don’t hear much about May-December romances these days. But history is full couples made of young women with older men, especially in centuries when so many women died in childbirth.

That was the case in the family of Anna Osborn. Her father was twice a widower, and his third wife (Annie’s stepmother) was 13 years younger than he. Each wife bore him several children, bringing the total number of Osborn offspring to eleven.

Varying Explanations for Women’s Choices

According to an article in The Guardian, women are genetically programmed to recognize a man with genes strong enough to be attractive and display wealth at an advanced age. According to this theory, evolution favors a strong older man over a younger one.

Or is it more than that? Perhaps it is because older men have more sophisticated tastes, seem more sure of themselves, and are looking for serious relationships, as this more recent article suggests.

In the chapters of The Truth About Daniel concerning  Annie Osborn’s courtship, she evades the clumsy pursuits of Richie, a man her age. Richie doesn’t know enough to douse his cigar in a lady’s presence and still appears boyishly lanky. He dances badly, works for his father, and has done nothing heroic. How can he measure up to Daniel Read Anthony with his war-hardened physique, strong profile, and willingness to save people in a burning building?

When Annie learns that Daniel has also committed himself to the same risky undertaking as she, she falls in love with a man twenty years older her senior. She senses Daniel’s value to society in contrast to Richie’s lightweight existence.

Neither can Richie match Daniel’s experience as a mayor and postmaster. He lacks Daniel’s acquaintance with influential people, notably his sister Susan B. Anthony and her cohort—people that Annie has only read about before.

Unlike Richie and Annie, who have lived their entire lives on an island, Daniel has traveled halfway across the continent. Perhaps the best thing of all is that he’s willing and able to take Annie there.

Happily Ever After

No novice at the game of courtship, Daniel keeps his wealth to himself until after he is engaged to Annie. As mayor, he may have known too many women who wanted to marry a man for his money. Fortunately, Annie reacts with pleasant surprise, showing that not all young women are looking for sugar daddies.

 

 

The post Why do young women fall for older men? appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

How losses form bonds between lovers

 

This week marks the sinking of the whaling ship Ocmulgee, owned by Annie Osborn’s father. Thirty years earlier, Daniel Read (D.R.) Anthony’s father went bankrupt, causing him to lose his business and have to start over in another city. I believe that the sadness of those troubles may have formed a bond between Annie and D.R..

Read more about the Ocmulgee here.

What Annie Missed

The Osborns’ loss could have had a two-pronged effect. First, Annie’s family may have had less money to pay for her “coming out” to society and attracting a mate who lived closer to their Vineyard home. Second, seeing the repercussion of such a loss may have made her want to get away from herseafaring community. Why else would a captain’s daughter be willing to leave everything familiar to start life anew with Daniel in Leavenworth?

How Loss Shaped Daniel

The Panic of 1837 caused Daniel Anthony Sr. to lose his entire business and bankrupt the family. This prompted 18 year-old Susan to quit her private education and take up teaching, where she learned self-reliance. Like his sisters, D.R. also had to end his private education, but he had fewer years of expert instruction than his older siblings. He finished his education at a normal school and helped his father in the mill instead.

Throughout his several terms as mayor of Leavenworth, he made bids for the post of governor. But he never realized that high position. Would he have achieved his dream if he had had the benefit of a law degree?

 

 

 

The post How losses form bonds between lovers appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Enjoy summer’s last hurrah with Kindle

Grab your Kindle and get ready for summer’s last hurrah.

Either/Or

How will you spend these next few weeks? Are you lolling away your last fair-weather days on vacation like I am? Or are you dutifully working through your list of appointments and chores to make for easy transitions when fall/school sets in?

Either way, it’s time for a good book on Kindle that you can carry anywhere with you. Slip it under your car seat or into your purse or enjoy its light weight on the beach (or in bed). Fortunately, The Truth About Daniel has just become available on Kindle, so get your copy now.

If you’ve been enjoying this blog for awhile, you’ll know that it contains the factual background on Susan B. Anthony’s family, which includes her sister-in-law Annie Osborn, wife of D.R. Anthony (Susan’s brother). Now it’s time to read the book and see how those facts come together into a cohesive story. In The Truth About Daniel, Book One in The Dauntless Series, I’ve taken it upon myself to cull the best from the many amazing stories about D.R. and his long-suffering wife.

A bonus with your Kindle

The nice thing about Kindle books is that they save you money–almost half the price of the paperback book. With your extra change, go have an ice cream on me (even if you have to eat it between appointments).

After you finish the book, please be sure to write a review on Amazon. Even one sentence helps other readers know what flavor of ice cream would best complement their reading experience.

The post Enjoy summer’s last hurrah with Kindle appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Quelling Charlottesville Fury Avoids Historic Mistake

 

 

In Charlottesville young white nationalists tossed verbal grenades against blacks and Jews that quickly exploded into injury and death. Sadly, it coincided with the August 1863 Lawrence Massacre, which I discussed in my last post. Then, a band of racist ruffians killed 180 men and boys. Unlike this month, the 1863 officials made a historic mistake by upping the ante on revenge.

They may have felt justified in attacking Lawrence. After all, the two states had been duking it out on their common border for almost a decade in the escalating conflict over slavery. Those who launched the Lawrence Massacre wanted revenge. And they got it. But like the young demonstrators of Charlottesville, they didn’t bargain for all that they received.

In the wake of Charlottesville, other cities are hastening to remove their Civil War statues to preclude more violence. If what the nationalists really wanted was their statues and their symbolism, they ended up worse than they started.

Upping the ante on revenge

The Missouri ruffians’ satisfaction, like that of the marchers in Virginia, must have been short-lived. On August 25, 1863, General Ewing retaliated by issuing the infamous Order No. 11, which authorized the depopulation of the Missouri farmland where the Confederate raiders resided, foraged and took shelter. Not only that, but Union soldiers burned the very land. They, too, got worse that they gave.

Who started it?

In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act (drafted by Senator Stephen Douglas and President Franklin Pierce) decreed that the Kansas Territory could decide by popular vote whether it entered the Union as a slave or free state. Whenever a vote was taken, proslavery Missourians squatted on the land and stormed the ballot boxes.

In response, eastern abolitionists (including D.R. Anthony) emigrated to the territory, founding an abolitionist stronghold at Lawrence. Anthony later led Jennison’s Jayhawkers to defend Kansas and conduct counter-raids on Missouri.

You could say that the ill-conceived Kansas-Nebraska Act began the border wars in Kansas and Missouri, which escalated into a nationwide Civil War. Let us hope that our legislators respond more wisely than Stephen Douglas and Franklin Pierce in laying down decisions with far-reaching effects. And that those involved in Charlottesville realize that violence begets violence, and that everyone loses.

As a nation, we should treat Charlottesville as a warning and do what we must to heal before it escalates into a tragedy on the scale of the Lawrence Massacre and Order No. 11.

Click here to read more about the artist and painting above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Quelling Charlottesville Fury Avoids Historic Mistake appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Defenseless town massacred

A band of 400 proslavery ruffians–many teenagers–led by a madman named Quantrill conducted the Lawrence Massacre in 1863 in Kansas on this day.  Most of the the town’s men were off fighting for the Union. As a result, 180 died and the town became ashes.

Personal Experience

Daniel Read Anthony knew the town of Lawrence like his own child because he helped to establish it. Therefore, he suffered its loss. In this excerpt from The Truth About Daniel, he visits just a few days after the attack:

Early on their fourth day in Lawrence, D.R. and Chas rode by the homestead of Martin Townsend, a farmer from Vermont who had settled in ’fifty-four. They found him pouring water from a bucket into a stone trough for a pair of oxen.

 

“Marty!” D.R. hailed him before swinging down from the saddle.

 

As the man turned, D.R. took in his friend’s face covered with grime and a four-day stubble. He asked Townsend how he had escaped.

 

“The day before the raid, I took my team a few miles outside of town to help my cousin. On my way home, I saw the town on fire and heard that Quantrill was singling out men old enough to bear arms. So I hid in the ravine where raiders wouldn’t go.

 

“I felt like a coward leaving my wife and children inside, but how would they have farmed if I turned up dead?” His house was ablaze, he said, but he was relieved to see his family out front. He gestured to a crude tent partially supported by a scorched tree. “We all survived, thank God, but this is all I have left of my home.”

 

D.R. wanted something to do, but there were no tools, not even an extra bucket.      “Apparently Quantrill’s raiders didn’t come to fight, but to murder and steal.”

“They never would’ve gotten away with it if so many of our men weren’t off to war.”

 

“So what happened when the army finally did come?” asked Chas.

 

Townsend leaned on his shovel and gestured toward the road. “The ruffians turned tail and ran south. Cavalry followed them right through town and out again.”

 

D.R. pictured how he would’ve handled the operation. The Jayhawkers and the Seventh Kansas were trained to grip their horses with their knees and shoot with both hands at once. Having faced Quantrill’s raiders in Missouri, he knew many of them to be teenagers with no training at all. At least the army will have extracted its toll on them, he consoled himself. Hopeful of a good report, he asked, “How many did Quantrill lose?”

 

Townsend sighed deeply. The anger blazing from his eyes contrasted with his dusty face. “One,” he replied.

 

“One!” roared D.R. “They caused all this damage and got away with only one casualty? What the hell was the army doing?”

Next time: Read how the Lawrence Massacre of 1863 fueled a Union retaliation.

Read more about this fateful day in Lawrence at

 

 

The post Defenseless town massacred appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Town Where Susan B. Anthony Was Convicted

 Ontario County is celebrating woman suffrage  at a fine exhibit in Canandaigua, NY,  the town where Susan B. Anthony was convicted for voting. It runs until April 1, 2018. In addition to great details about the women who campaigned hard for New York State suffrage, it also contains several beautiful period gowns and a reproduction of a bloomer costume. (To my surprise, the bloomer outfit was calico!)

The exhibit shows how the various cities and towns in New York State voted on its own woman suffrage amendment in 1917, three years before the federal amendment passed. I’m sorry to say that Rochester, the city where Susan lived her last 40 years, voted no. Thank goodness that neither she nor Mary Anthony were living in that year. Fortunately, the majority of the state endorsed the amendment, and it passed.

Susan’s Trial in Ontario County

Susan B. Anthony’s 1873 trial for “voting illegally as a woman” occurred in Ontario County. The museum that houses this exhibit sits just a few blocks away from the courthouse where the judge denied her a trial by jury and found her guilty.

Starting at the museum, I walked downhill past the courthouse toward the shopping district. Browsing the stores, I wondered whether these same buildings lined Canandaigua’s main street when Susan attended her trial. Since it’s about 30 miles away from her Rochester home, she probably stayed overnight . That evening, did she lodge with a friend or keep her nerves to herself in a hotel? Where did she take her meals during the days when her trial was in session?

The courthouse (pictured above during the 19th century) was considerably smaller in 1873 than it is now. I can imagine the number of carriages parked around it as people jammed the courtroom to hear Susan’s lawyer* and the district attorney square off. Even former president Millard Fillmore attended.

After receiving the guilty verdict, Susan stayed in town for a couple more days to witness the trial of the voting inspectors who allowed her to register and cast her ballot. I hope she got at least a glimpse of the beautiful lake at the bottom of the hill. When the inspectors were found guilty and jailed for a week, she made sure they had plenty of visitors and good food to pass the time.

*Henry Selden defended Susan. Interestingly, when Frederick Douglass had to flee Rochester because he was suspected of supporting John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, he borrowed Selden’s horse. Shows just what a good guy Selden was.

The post Town Where Susan B. Anthony Was Convicted appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.

Dauntless Book Two, New Character

I am being teased by an elusive character who wants a role in Book Two of The Dauntless Series, and I don’t know what to do with her yet. Perhaps you will have a clue.

I imagine her in Leavenworth–a wild-haired woman dressed in lumpy, mismatched layers. One day she is sitting on a bench watching trains go by. Later she leans against the wall of the general store. One afternoon she enters an empty cafe and gets fed. No money changes hands. A couple weeks later, when she asks for a handout in a different restaurant, the owner tells her to come back after the rush hour. Everyone recognizes her but no one really knows her.

I smell tobacco on her clothes (a disgrace for 19th century women). I hear her humming under her breath and repeating snippets of the conversations around her. She makes pithy observations to herself. When she discovers that Annie has married Daniel, she takes an immediate dislike to both of them. I call her Iris.

Iris is a nuisance. I try to write about Annie, but Iris fills my field of vision. I need to deal with her, but I don’t have enough information. Yet.

How Elusive Character is Connected to the Story

At the end of The Truth About Daniel (Book One of the Dauntless Series), the new Mrs. Anthony leaves her familiar world with a husband she barely knows. When he confesses that there have been other women, she is disappointed but not surprised–after all, he is 40 and she is 20.

I have a feeling Iris wants to tell Annie Anthony something about Daniel’s past, but the message must be teased out of the cryptic one-liners of a wandering mind.

How did Iris get this way? Does Daniel have something to do with her disturbed condition?  Is her hatred of him justified? Or is someone trying to use Iris to destroy Daniel?

If you have any clues about Iris, chime in on the comment section of this blog. Or email me at Jeanne@Verbalimagespress.com. Your insights might give my overworked imagination a rest. Or your inspiration may find its way into Book Two!

 

 

The post Dauntless Book Two, New Character appeared first on Susan B. Anthony Family.