Lillian Ascough (May 14, 1880 – December 1974) was an American suffragist. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, she served as the Connecticut chair of the National Woman's Party (NWP) and as the vice president of the Michigan branch of the NWP. At the August 1918 demonstration at Lafayette Square, Ascough was sentenced to fifteen days in jail. Then, in February 1919 she participated in the watchfire demonstrations and was again arrested and sentenced to five days in jail. She was a speaker in the

Prison Special The "Prison Special" was a train tour organized by suffragists who, as members of the Silent Sentinels and other demonstrations, had been jailed for picketing the White House in support of passage of the federal women's suffrage amendment. In Feb ...

tour (so named due to the speakers voicing their experiences as political prisoners) of the U.S. during February and March 1919.

Education

Ascough studied in Paris and London for stage concerts but left her education in order to become a suffragist.

Suffrage Special

Ascough joined fellow suffragists

Abby Scott Baker Abby Pearce Scott Baker (July 24, 1871 – May 13, 1944) was an American suffragist and women's rights advocate. She served as Political Chair of the National Woman's Party, and played a key role in putting the NWP in the media spotlight in the m ...

, Harriot Stanton Blatch, Lucy Burns, Agnes Campbell,

Anna Constable Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, Sarah T. Colvin, Edith Goode, Jane Goode,

Florence Bayard Hilles Florence Bayard Hilles (1865–1954) was an American suffragist, one of the founders of the National Woman's Party. Biography Hilles was born in 1865, the daughter of Thomas Francis Bayard. She was a munitions worker in World War I, and assist ...

Julia Hurlbut Julia Hurlbut (1882–1962) was an American suffragist known for her participation in the picketing of the White House by the National Woman's Party in 1917. Life Born in 1882 in Morristown, New Jersey, Hurlbut served as the vice chairman of th ...

, Caroline Katzenstein, Dorothy Mead,

Ella Riegel Ella Riegel (1867 - January 20, 1937) was an American suffragist and women's rights activist. Riegel was a graduate of the first class of Bryn Mawr College and would remain associated with the college the rest of her life. Biography Regel was bo ...

, Elizabeth Rogers, Townsend Scott,

Helen Todd Helen MacGrgeor Todd (April 1, 1870 – August 15, 1953) was an American Women's suffrage, suffragist and Labor rights, worker's rights activist. Todd started her career as an educator and later became a factory inspector. She wrote about Child la ...

, and Marjory Whittemore on the Suffrage Special tour, during which the women spoke publicly, distributed literature, and sold copies of ''

The Suffragist ''The Suffragist'' was a weekly newspaper published by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913 to advance the cause of women's suffrage. The publication was first envisioned as a small pamphlet by the Congressional Union (CU), a new ...

''. This tour is credited with arousing interest in federal suffrage among many voting-age women.

July 12 Connecticut rally

Ascough joined a rally in Hartford and Simsbury, Connecticut to appeal to

President Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

to grant women the right to vote. A telegram written by the protestors was sent to Wilson, and published on July 13, 1918, in the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'': There Ascough was documented declaring that Senator Brandegee's mind belonged to an earlier generation and compared it to an antique, "interesting to observe, but not for present day use."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascough, Lillian 1880 births 1974 deaths American suffragists Activists from Detroit People from New York City