Kate Cooper Austin (July 25, 1864 – October 28, 1902) was an American journalist and advocate of

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

causes.

Early life

Born Catherine Cooper on July 25, 1864, in

LaSalle County LaSalle County is located within the Fox Valley and Illinois River Valley regions of the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 109,658. Its county seat and largest city is Ottawa. LaSalle County is part of the O ...

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 ...

Austin moved with her family to Hook's Point,

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 ...

, when she was six. At the age of 11, Austin lost her mother and had to raise her seven brothers and sisters. Due to having a bitter taste of life, Austin learned how to read as it became one of her amusements.

Career

It was in Hook's Point, Iowa, that she married a young farmer, Sam Austin, in August 1883. Around the same time, her father discovered ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

'', an anarchist/

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

journal published by

Moses Harman Moses Harman (October 12, 1830January 30, 1910) was an American schoolteacher and publisher notable for his staunch support for women's rights. He was prosecuted under the Comstock Law for content published in his anarchist periodical ''Lucifer ...

. Austin and her entire family were influenced by Hamon's writings, but it was the

Haymarket Riot The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in ...

of 1886 and the ensuing reaction that brought Austin to anarchism. A member of the American Press Writers' Association, Austin wrote for many working-class and radical newspapers. She also contributed to ''Lucifer'' and to anarchist periodicals such as ''The Firebrand'', ''

Free Society ''Free Society'' (1895–1897 as ''The Firebrand''; 1897–1904 as ''Free Society'') was a major Anarchism, anarchist newspaper in the United States at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries."''Free Society'' was the pri ...

'', ''Discontent'', and ''The Demonstrator''. Austin's interests included sexual reform and the economic status of working people. In 1897 and 1899,

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

visited Austin at her home in

Caplinger Mills, Missouri Caplinger Mills is an unincorporated community in northern Cedar County, Missouri, United States. Several homes are located in the community, along with an old mill. It is on the Sac River. Caplinger Mills was settled in 1849. The community was ...

, where she gave several well-attended lectures.

Personal life

In 1890, Austin and her husband, Sam Austin, both moved to

, about twenty miles away from the nearest railroad station. Austin did not feel any type of isolation, as country life was her ideal. Since Austin joined the American Press Writers Association, her work increased as she came in contact with many well known radical writers and lecturers of her time, keeping her busy reading and writing. She enjoyed it, as it was an important part of her education. Austin died of consumption on October 28, 1902, in

Kingman, Kansas Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Kingman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,105. History Kingman was laid out in 1874. Like Kingman County, it was named for Samuel A. Kingman, ch ...

, leaving behind nine children aged between 19 and 10. Austin's body was sent back to Caplinger Mills, as a funeral was held for her with the largest crowd that ever attended a funeral in that district. Austin is buried north of Caplinger Mills in Hackleman Cemetery.

References

External links

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

", an unpublished 1901 essay by Austin at

Wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...

"An Open Letter to James F. Morton, Jr."
, ''Free Society'', Vol. IX. No. 24, Whole No. 366 (June 15, 1902). 2–3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Kate 1864 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American women journalists 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American women writers Activists from Illinois Activists from Iowa Activists from Missouri American anarchists American feminists American women non-fiction writers American women's rights activists Anarcha-feminists Anarchist writers Anarcho-communists Free love advocates Journalists from Illinois Journalists from Iowa Journalists from Missouri People from Cedar County, Missouri People from LaSalle County, Illinois