Martha Callanan was a woman's suffrage advocate, newspaper publisher and philanthropist. She was born in Albany County New York and moved to Des Moines, Iowa with her husband James C. Callanan in 1863 and her home soom became the unofficial headquarters for the local women's suffrage movement. In 1870 Callanan became a charter member and president of the Polk County Woman Suffrage Association. When Susan B Anthony and

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...

visited Des Moines, they stayed at the Callanan home. In 1876 she was elected president of the Iowa Women's Suffrage Association succeeding her husband James Callanan. She served in that position for four terms. She was editor of ''The Standard'', a suffrage paper published in Iowa. Callanan was also active in the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

and was one of the founders of the Home for the Aged in Des Moines (which was renamed the Martha Callanan Home after her death). She was the second president of the

Des Moines Women's Club The Des Moines Women's Club, founded in 1885 as the Woman's club movement in the United States, women's club movement swept through the United States, today serves the Des Moines community by providing scholarships, support for the local arts comm ...

. Callanan suffered an accidental death in 1901 after her carriage overturned. Her will bequeathed $20,000 () to the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

, which she had developed an interest in following a cross-county lecture tour by

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callanan, Martha 1826 births 1901 deaths American suffragists American women's rights activists American temperance activists Burials at Woodland Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa) People from New York (state)