Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill (June 8, 1880 – March 17, 1975) was a stage and screen actor of the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era, a suffragist, and the first woman elected to the Rhode Island Legislature. She also served in the state Senate and, under President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, in the

Federal Bureau of Narcotics The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, with the enumerated powers of pursuing crimes related to the possession, distribution, and trafficking of listed narcotics including cannabis, ...

. She was inducted into the

Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame was established in the State of Rhode Island in 1965. Mission The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Officers The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame is managed by a president, vice president, recording ...

in 2014.

Early life and education

Isabelle Florence Ahearn was born on June 8, 1880 in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsoc ...

, the youngest of thirteen children of Mary J. (O'Connor) Ahearn and Daniel Ahearn. She was raised in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and was educated at the Boston College of Drama and Oratory. She also took physical education classes at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. She married John Aloysius O'Neill in 1907; they had one child who died as an infant. The couple separated after three years but did not divorce for religious reasons.

Stage and film career

O'Neill began her career as a teacher, founding her own Ahearn School of Elocution in 1900, at the age of 20. Her students gave recitals at the Providence Opera House. Ahearn also worked as an actor for nearly two decades (1900–18), taking both lead and supporting roles in primarily

summer stock In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock ...

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

shows in Rhode Island and New York. In 1915, she began to take roles in silent films like '' Joe Lincoln's Cape Cod Stories'' (

Joseph C. Lincoln Joseph Crosby Lincoln (February 13, 1870 – March 10, 1944) was an American literature, American author of novels, poems, and short stories, many set in a fictionalized Cape Cod. Biography Lincoln was born on February 13, 1870 in Brewster, ...

's '' Cape Cod Stories'') made by the Providence-based Eastern Film Corporation.

Career in government

In the 1910s, O'Neill became an active

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

and began to campaign for Democratic candidates in Rhode Island. She eventually left the stage and took her elocutionary skills into a career in politics. In 1922, she was elected to the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

from the 15th Assembly District, making her the first woman to hold office in the Rhode Island Legislature. She stayed in the House for eight years, supporting better protections for women in the workplace, better pay for teachers, and pensions for widows with children. A canny public speaker, she gave speeches in French and Italian to reach a broader cross-section of the electorate. She rose to the position of deputy Democratic floor leader before moving over to the

state Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

in 1932. In 1924, she served as the temporary chair of the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. At the request of President Franklin Roosevelt, she left the state Senate after only two years to serve as the president's legislative liaison to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In 1943, she resigned and returned to her home state, where she took an executive position at the Rhode Island Labor Department. O'Neill retired in 1954 and died in Providence on March 17, 1975. Her papers are held by the

Rhode Island Historical Society The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island. Its offices are located in Providence, Rhode Island. History Foun ...

and include scrapbooks from her years as an actor and elocution teacher, as well as a brief autobiographical sketch.

Honors and awards

The resolution passed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives recognizing March 8, 2007, as "Women's History Day" specifically mentioned Ahearn's accomplishment in becoming the state's first woman legislator "just two short years after women gained the right to vote". In 2011, the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

of Rhode Island created the Isabelle Ahearn O’Neill Award in her memory to honor the state's women leaders. In 2014, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

References

External links