Elizabeth Fisher Read (1872 – December 13, 1943) was a scholar and Women's Suffrage activist, and one of

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

's most dear friends.

Early life

Elizabeth Fisher Read was born in

New Brighton, Pennsylvania New Brighton is a borough in north-central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Beaver River northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Histor ...

, in 1872. She graduated from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

and

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

Career

In the 1910s, Read was a Women's Suffrage activist and represented the ideology of the ''

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

'', financially independent, politically active, and socially emancipated. She was active in social and political causes and was an influential figure in the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

in New York City. Read was a practicing lawyer; she was the director of research for the American Foundation of which her partner, Lape, was director. Read wrote a book on international law, ''International Law and International Relations'' (1925), translated and edited a book on the World Court, and helped Lape edit a book on expert medical testimony. In 1923 she collaborated with Lape and

Gustav Frenssen Gustav Frenssen (19 October 1863 – 11 April 1945) was a German novelist. He wrote patriotically about his native country and promoted ''Heimatkunst'' ( regionalism) in literature. Biography Frenssen was born in the village of Barlt, in the D ...

to ''Klaus Hinrich Baas: The Story Of A Self-made Man...''.

Personal life

Read lived with

Esther Lape Esther Everett Lape (8 October 1881 – 17 May 1981) was a well-known American journalist, researcher, and publicist. She was associated with the Women's Trade Union League and was one of the founders of the League of Women Voters. Her life-partn ...

, educator and publicist, in Greenwich Village, at 20 East 11th Street, where today a plaque said Eleanor Roosevelt lived here when she was first lady. The building was actually owned by Lape. Roosevelt rented an apartment for a time. Nearby, at 171 West 12th Street, lived other lesbian couples involved in the Woman's Suffrage movement and of the close-knit circle of friends of Roosevelt:

Marion Dickerman Marion Dickerman (April 11, 1890 – May 16, 1983) was an American suffragist, educator, vice-principal of the Todhunter School, and a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. Birth and early life Born in Westfield, New York, she studied for two y ...

and

Nancy Cook Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

Molly Dewson Mary Williams (Molly) Dewson (1874–1962) was an American feminist and political activist. After graduating from Wellesley College in 1897, she worked for the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. She became an active member of the National ...

and Polly Porter,

Grace Hutchins Grace Hutchins (August 19, 1885 – July 15, 1969) was an American labor reformer and researcher, journalist, political activist and communist. She spent many years of her life writing about labor and economics, in addition to being a lifelong ded ...

and

Anna Rochester Anna Rochester (March 30, 1880 — May 11, 1966) was an American labor reformer, journalist, political activist, and Communist. Although for several years an editor of the liberal monthly '' The World Tomorrow,'' Rochester is best remembered as a ...

Eleanor and friends at Salt Meadow (8511114962)

Read was Eleanor Roosevelt's friend. They first met in 1920 when Roosevelt became the director of the League of Women Voters' national legislation committee. After 1921, she was her political and feminist mentor, became Roosevelt's personal attorney and financial advisor. With her life partner, Lape, and others, she was part of Roosevelt's support network of female friends. Read and Lape also owned a country house, Salt Meadow, Westbrook, Connecticut, where Roosevelt was often a guest. In 1972, after Read's death, Lape donated Salt Meadow to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The estate is currently the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. Refuge staff are working on a National Register of Historical Places submission for the former Salt Meadow estate that will recognize the same-sex relationship of Lape and Read. Elizabeth Fisher Read died in New York on December 13, 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Elizabeth Fisher 1872 births 1943 deaths American women lawyers American feminists Lesbian feminists LGBT people from Pennsylvania People from New Brighton, Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni