Elizabeth Morrison Harbert ( Boynton;
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
, Lizzie M. Boynton; April 15, 1843/1845 - January 19, 1925) was a 19th-century American author, lecturer, reformer and philanthropist from
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. She was the first women to design a woman's
plank
Plank may refer to:
*Plank (wood), flat, elongated, and rectangular timber with parallel faces
*Plank (exercise), an isometric exercise for the abdominal muscles
* Martins Creek (Kentucky), the location of Plank post office
* ''The Plank'' (1967 fi ...
and secure its adoption by a major political party in a
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
.
Harbert was a prolific writer, with publications such as ''The Golden Fleece'', ''Out of Her Sphere'', ''Amore'', and ''The Illinois Chapter in the History of Woman Suffrage''. Her songs included: “Arlington Heights”, “What Have You Done with the Hours?”, “The New America” (lyrics), and “The Promised Land” (lyrics). Her poems included “The Little Earth Angel” and Lines to My Anonymous Friend”. Harbart's essays and lecturers were on topics such as “Before Suffrage, What?”, “Homes of Representative Women”, “The Domestic Problem”, “Men's Rights”, “Conversation and Conversers”, “The Ideal Home”, “George Eliot”, “Lucretia Mott”, “Statesmanship of Women”, “Aims, Ideals and Methods of Women’s Clubs”, “A Woman’s Dream of Cooperation”, “The Message of the Madonna", “Lyric Poets of Russia”, and “An Hour with the Strong Minded.”
Early life and education
Elizabeth Morrison Boynton was born in
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...
on April 15, 1843 (or 1845). She was a daughter of William H. Boynton, formerly of
Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. Along with Manc ...
. Her mother was Abigail Sweetser, a native of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
Harbert was educated in the
women's seminary in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
and in the
Terre Haute Female College, graduating from the latter institution with honors in 1862.
The faculty of
Wabash College
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...
allowed Harbert and three other young women to attend physics lectures taught by Prof. John Lyle Campbell. Although these lectures were substantially repetitions of those required in the college curriculum, the young men were excluded from attending the lectures being provided to the four women. Before he died, Dr. Charles White, President of Wabash College, promised Harbert a diploma upon the completion of her course of study. Not long after, the same four women, and 19 others, petitioned the faculty for permission to be admitted to the college. The faculty responded with regrets, stating that the facilities were inadequate to admit women, although each of the 23 women had progressed far beyond the “preparatory” department. The first US$10.00 Harbert earned as a writer came from ''
The New York Independent'' for an account of this attempt to obtain a college education.
This group of 23 women, under the leadership of the first four demonstrated their indignation and disappointment by creating a public library. For funding, they advertised the presentation of a comedy, entitled “The Coming Woman”, in which they burlesqued themselves and
their unsuccessful efforts to gain admission to Wabash College. In a relentless manner, the male students issued burlesque handbills and posters. In one day, not less than five varieties were issued. The ladies were styled “the Twenty-three Sorry Sisses”, in an attempt to pun upon the word “
Sorosis
Sorosis Club rules in 1869
Sorosis was the first professional women's club in the United States. It was established in March 1868 in New York City.
History
The club was organized in New York City with 12 members in March 1868, by Jane Cunningham ...
”, which latter organization was attracting considerable attention in the East. The adverse criticism attracted an unusually large audience, and with the considerable amount of money which was netted, they purchased the nucleus for a circulating library. Boynton was 20 years old at the time.
In 1891,
Ohio Wesleyan College conferred upon Harbert the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Career
Indiana
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
(1861–65), Harbert cared for
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
soldiers. She published her first book, "The Golden Fleece," in 1867, and delivered her first lecture, in Crawfordsville, in 1869.
Iowa
In 1870, she married
William Soesbe Harbert. After their marriage, they removed to
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, where Harbert published her second book, entitled "Out of Her Sphere", as well as her first song, “Arlington Heights”. Harbert took an active part in the
woman suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
movement. She convinced the
Republican Party of
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
to put into their State platform a woman's
plank
Plank may refer to:
*Plank (wood), flat, elongated, and rectangular timber with parallel faces
*Plank (exercise), an isometric exercise for the abdominal muscles
* Martins Creek (Kentucky), the location of Plank post office
* ''The Plank'' (1967 fi ...
which prepared a platform based on Harbert's presentation. In this way, Harbert became the first woman to design a woman's plank and secure its adoption by a major political party in a
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
.
Illinois
In the winter of 1874, the Harberts removed to
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
. For two years, Harbert served as president of the Social Science Association of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. She also served as vice-president of the Woman's Suffrage Association of Indiana, president of the Woman's Suffrage Association of Iowa, and for twelve years, president of the Illinois Woman's Suffrage Association. She was a member of the Board of Managers of
the Girls' Industrial School of South Evanston, and vice-president of the Association for the Advancement of Women, known as the
World's Congress of Representative Women
The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, May 1893). At 81 meetings, organized by women from each of ...
.
As editor for seven years of the “Woman's Kingdom,” a regular weekly department of the ''
Chicago Inter Ocean
The ''Chicago Inter Ocean'', also known as the ''Chicago Inter-Ocean'', is the name used for most of its history for a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, from 1865 until 1914. Its editors included Charles A. Dana and Byron Andrews.
Histo ...
'', Harbert exerted a widespread influence. For a year, she was also the editor of ''The New Era'', an Illinois-based suffrage newspaper. Her third book, "Amore", went to press in 1892.
Harbert was involved in the cause of woman suffrage and was also interested in philanthropic and charitable enterprises. During the year of the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordi ...
(1893), and the World's Congress, which was popularly known as the
World's Parliament of Religions, Harbert served on several committees, including the Committee of the Woman's Branch of the World's Congress Auxiliary on Government Reform Congresses, and subsequently became Associate Chairman of the Government Reform Congress of the World's Congresses. Harbert and
Charles C. Bonney
Charles Carroll Bonney (1831–1903) was a Chicago lawyer, judge, teacher, author, and orator, best known for serving as President of the World's Congresses at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.
Biography
Charles C. Bonney was born in H ...
served as Associate Chairs of the World's Unity League.
After the death of Bonney, Harbert became the acting chair. Herbert was a charter member of the Illinois Woman's Press Association, a member of the Illinois Press Association, president and director of the National Household Economic Association, and vicepresident for Illinois of the
National Woman Suffrage Association
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement s ...
. The
Woman's Club of Evanston was organized and presided over by Harbert.
On two occasions, Harbert addressed the
Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate, making a plea for an amendment to the Federal Constitution prohibiting the disfranchisement of US citizens on account of sex. She also addressed the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
at a joint session of the Assembly and Senate of that State, upon the same subject. With
Catherine Waugh McCulloch
Catharine Gouger Waugh McCulloch (June 4, 1862 – April 20, 1945) was an American lawyer, suffragist, and reformer. She actively lobbied for women's suffrage at the local, state, and national levels as a leader in the Illinois Equal Suffrage As ...
, of Evanston, and
Helen M. Gougar, of
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
, Harbert went to
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
, where they addressed the
House and Senate in favor of the bill allowing the women of Illinois to vote upon school questions, and secured the passage of the bill.
She made addresses before the Legislative Assemblies of Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. She was one of the two women appointed by the National Woman's Suffrage Committee, as delegates from the US at large to the National Republican Convention that nominated
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
, at which she made an address before the platform committee.
Personal life
There were three children in the family: a son, Arthur Boynton Harbert (1861-1890), and two daughters, Corinne Boynton Harbert (born 1873) and Boynton Elizabeth Harbert (born 1875). Besides the Evanston home, the Harberts had a cottage in
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which they frequented in the summers when they lived in Illinois. In later life, the Harberts relocated to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
where she served as vice-president of the Women's Civic League of
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
...
; vice-president of the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
Women's Press League; and was a member of the Church of the Golden Rule, a
Universalist parish in Pasadena.
Death and legacy
On January 19, 1925, Harbert died in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
.
Her papers are held in the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
and her correspondence with
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...
is held by the
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Ma ...
, in
San Marino, California
San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househo ...
.
Selected works
![Amore by E](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Amore_by_E._B._Harbert.png)
* 1871
''Out of her sphere''* 1883, ''The new America''
* 1892
''Amore''
References
Attribution
*
*
*
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
Buechler, Steven M., “Elizabeth Boynton Harbert and the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1870-1896." ''Signs'', vol. 13, no. 1, 1987, pp. 78–97
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbert, Elizabeth Boynton
1840s births
1925 deaths
19th-century American writers
19th-century American women writers
People from Crawfordsville, Indiana
Writers from Indiana
American suffragists
Ohio Wesleyan University alumni
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century