Voting & Jury Duty- Chore or Privilege? by Zina Abbott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As if a recent book release, Christmas coming, and a host of other distractions were not enough, I had jury duty this week. Sometimes, people speak and act as though they consider voting, and--especially jury duty--to be a chore, something they would rather not. Yet, the right to those two civic responsibilities were denied women until within the last century and a half. We should not take these privileges lightly.

My experience reminded me of a scene from Marigold, my 2022 book in the Christmas Quilt Brides series. To set the scene, the school board in New Ponca, Oklahoma Territory, where Marigold is a schoolteacher, is trying to convince her to accept less pay than what she was offered and contractually agreed to the previous year. Here is part of the scene:

            “Miss Calloway, you are being paid as much as a male teacher. That is unreasonable.” Scowling, Chairman Duffy ran his palm across the top of his head of thinning hair. “Everyone knows, women only receive one-half to one-third of the pay, depending on experience. The board must also consider the costs of running two separate classes. To pay the salary you received this past year to teach the younger class—”

            “Although I am happy to teach younger students, there is no reason that I must be the one to teach the junior class. I successfully taught all grades last year, including graduating two at the high school level. If cost, not quality of instruction is your primary objective, I will be happy to continue to teach the older students. You can then find a less-experienced female teacher with more limited training to teach the younger grades at the salary you propose.”

            “Miss Calloway, please be reasonable. A man is better suited to teaching the advanced courses of the higher grades and to handle the discipline issues that arise among older students.” Mr. Duffy beat the side of his fist on the table.

            “According to whom, Mr. Duffy? I respectfully disagree with your short-sighted premise. Just because a teacher wears trousers instead of a skirt does not necessarily make that instructor more capable as far as knowing the subject matter. Neither does it make them more organized nor more capable of managing students. Regarding my abilities to handle the more advanced topics and maintain order in the classroom, my experience teaching all of the grades this past year should speak for itself.”

            “Chairman Duffy, I agree with what Miss Calloway said. She has done wonders for our two boys.” A woman in the audience quickly rose to her feet. “Tell them, Henry.” She turned to the man wearing work clothes who sat next to her.

            “Mrs. Smithers, please sit down. We have not opened the meeting to any discussion from the audience. Besides, it is your husband who votes for school board members, not you. You are to allow him to speak for your family.”

            “Sit down, Mabel. Don’t make a scene.” The man seated next to Mrs. Smithers placed his hand on her arm and tugged her downward.

            “Why did you drag me to this backward, uncivilized territory?” Mabel Smithers hissed as she faced her husband. "When we lived in Kansas, not only could I vote for school board members, but I voted for the city taxes and bonds that paid their salaries. The members of the school board were not so quick to dismiss us women.” She turned her head and glared at Mr. Duffy.

 Just like now, issues not covered by federal law were left to the states and territories to decide. So, why did Mabel Smithers claim she had more privileges when she and her husband lived in Kansas? It was because she did.

I wish to quickly review the dates women received certain rights and privileges in four states in which I have set many of my books. For much of this information, I usually refer to my 

well-used copy of The Hidden Half of the Family by Christina Kassabian Schaefer, written to assist in finding female ancestors. The following are some of the dates women received certain rights in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Wyoming - Most who know even a smidgen of history are aware that Wyoming was the first state in which the territorial legislature gave women the right to vote. They were also given the right to be court justices and to serve on juries. The last two privileges were quickly taken away by that same legislature, due to complaints, mainly by husbands who objected to be left with the care of the children and household chores while their wives served. (Boo-hoo-hoo!) It might be all right for their wives to take over feeding the livestock or help with the plowing, planting, and harvesting, but ask a man to cook a meal or change dirty diapers? Absolutely not! (Again--boo-boo-hoo!) It took a long, long time before women were granted the right to serve on a jury again--anywhere.

Other rights and when they were granted in Wyoming:

1869 - A married woman's earnings are her separate property. (Before that, all money earned by a spouse or minor children were under the control of the husband/father. This came from England's common law and was typical throughout the U.S.)

1876 - A married woman's separate property is her separate estate, which she might devise by will.

1882 - A married woman is granted femme sole status to administer her separate estate.

1857 Kansas and Indian Territories Map

Kansas - 

1858 - A married woman may devise a will.

1859 - A woman's property rights are written into the territorial constitution. A married woman is guaranteed control over her separate earnings and separate estate.

1861 - Kansas drafts the first state constitution to give a married woman equal control of her children and marital property.

1861 - Women may vote in school elections.

1862 - In intestacy, a widow has the right to choose dower (1/3 of the estate not subject to paying husband's debt for duration of her life) or one half of her husband's estate, absoluteley, both real and personal.

1868 - A married woman may sue and be sued, "carry on any trade or business, and perform any labor or services, on her sole and separate account; and the earnings of any married woman, from her trade...shall be her sole and separate property, and may be invested by her in her own name. "The widow of a deceased husband, or husband of a deceased wife, are 'entitled to the same rights or portions in the estate of the other.'"

1887 - Women may vote in city and bond elections.

1912 - Kansas women receive complete suffrage.

 

What about the state in which my heroine, Varinia Jewell, lived: Colorado? It was actually one of the earlier states to receive complete suffrage.

Colorado - 

1874 - A married woman may devise a will.

1876 - (year of statehood) A married woman's separate estates is property that is held prior to and after marriage. Her separate earnings are also her separate estate.

1893 - Colorado women receive complete suffrage by amendment to the state constitution.

 

Now, let's take a look at Oklahoma, which became a territory separate from Indian Territory  May 2, 1890. Oklahoma did not  become a state until November 16, 1907.

Marigold was set in 1894. Beulah was set in 1896. The following was the timeline of rights granted to both Native Americans and women of other ethnicities in Oklahoma Territory/Oklahoma:

Oklahoma -

1890 -  Organized as Oklahoma Territory; the eastern portion of Oklahoma is Indian Territory under the jurisdiction of Arkansas; the Oklahoma Panhandle is opened for settlement.

- Oklahoma Territory law follows that of Nebraska.

- Indian Territory law followed that of Arkansas.

1918 - Oklahoma women receive complete suffrage.

Considering that Oklahoma Territory followed Nebraska law, here is what applied to women living there after Oklahoma Territory was separated from Indian Territory:

1867 - Women may vote in school elections.

1881 - All property owned by a woman at her marriage "shall be and remain her sole and separate property free from the disposal or debts of her husband."

Missed that when I researched Marigold. My resource is quiet regarding women's rights concerning their children or voting for school bonds, but, evidently, they could vote in school board elections. Maybe at the school board meeting dealing with trying to reduce Marigold's salary, Mr. Duffy should not have been so quick to dismiss Mabel Smithers. 

Beulah was released last Friday and is now available as an ebook and at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It will soon be available in paperback. To find the book description and current purchase options, 

please CLICK HERE

 

 

My other Christmas romance for 2023 is  

Vinegar Pie by Varinia. 

It is available as an ebook, including at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It is also available in paperback. To find the book description and purchase options,

please CLICK HERE

How Bicycles Influenced 1890s Fashions by Zina Abbott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1890’s were known as the “Gay Nineties” for more than one reason. One was the direction taken in women’s fashions that allowed them greater freedom of movement. As the new decade approached, the stiffness and fussiness typical of the Victorian Era eased. Much of this was due to the technologies that developed, as well as women’s involvement in those technologies.

1895 Women on bicycles- Victoria and Albert Museum, the Ashton Collection

Perhaps the innovation that had the greatest influence on the change in women’s fashions was the drop-frame safety bicycle. The 1890s became an era of great dress reforms which allowed women the opportunity to ride bicycles more comfortably, and therefore, created the need for appropriate clothing.

 

Keep in mind, in the late 1860s, after the end of the Civil War, fabric was in shorter supply, so the hoop skirts wider than the Mississippi River became narrower, with a slight protrusion in back. That protrusion developed into the bustle, which, by the mid-1880s, often stuck out on a woman's rear like a small mountain. All during this, the ladies were contained in a stiff corset that squeezed their inner organs and often prevented breathing easily. It definitely restricted movement.

Big-wheeler bicycles 1887

Although horses and horse-driven conveyances still dominated in the more rustic West, toward the end of the 1880s, bicycles and—for the ladies with their more restrictive clothing—tricycles became available. 

 

These were probably seen more in the East and possibly the around the larger cities (read: roads that weren’t a dust bowl in the summer and a muddy swamp in the rainy season) in the West.

Photographer unknown. Staff of the Mechanics Institute Reference Library, 1895. Photograph. Toronto: Toronto Public Library

However, Western society in Europe and North America began to move away from the stiff, moralistic, Victorian Era. Women were enjoying new levels of independence as opposed to the Victorian Era (and back through time) belief that they should restrict their interests and activities to those involved in being a homemaker. During the decade, the number of women employed outside of the home almost doubled. The “New Woman” was an intellectual, young female. 

 

1898 Women in bathing costumes--ooh! Look at those bare legs!

As more and more began working outside the home, they began to pursue interests in cycling and participating in sports (as opposed to always being the admiring audience to the wonderfulness of men’s sporting activities).

1895-1900 students Atlanta Univ. George

In order to do this effectively, women needed clothing that was less restrictive. The introduction of electricity in clothing manufacturing produced a boon in the ready-to-wear market.

 

Less restrictive it did become, as heavily boned corsets so stiff and tightly laced they were strapless gave way to straight front corsets, also known as health corsets, athletic corsets, hygienic corsets, and sanitary corsets. They did not have the heavy boning, but were buttoned in the front and held in place with shoulder straps.

1896 Charvet Avertisement

 

Dresses focused more on mobility, with free-flowing skirts and leg-o-mutton sleeves. The “mutton sleeve”—the vertical puff at the shoulders—developed to allow greater freedom of movement in the arms. This style reached its peak in 1895. By the end of the century, it gradually diminished.

Skirts were bell-shaped, gored to fit smoothly over the hips. Gone were the multitude of heavy petticoats. This allowed for more self-expression and a more natural silhouette for women’s bodies.

These skirts also allowed for greater mobility. They made it possible for women to ride the drop-frame safety bicycle instead of being restricted to the tricycle of the previous decade.

Along with the floor-length that used for everyday wear, to appeal to the athletic woman, a “walking skirt”—a skirt that fell to just above the ankles—also came into style. For younger girls, the walking skirt fell to just below the knees.

On occasion, such as bicycle riding, women set their skirts aside and wore what were formerly referred to as bloomers. This was a bold move, and it was not universally approved due to the controversy surrounding women wearing pants.

1895 Bicycle Suit

Text on image:

Gertrude. "My dear Jessie, what on earth is that bicycle suit for!"

Jessie. "Why, to wear, of course."

Gertrude. "But you haven't got a bicycle!"

Jessie. "No, but I've got a sewing machine!"
 

In this era, they were also known as "rationals" or "knickerbockers." The entire outfit, including the jacket, was known as a “bicycle suit.”

 

So, hail, hail to the 1890s new woman with her greater freedom of movement, her greater selection of choices, and her greater health—all largely made possible by the adaptions made in clothing styles so she could more comfortably ride the humble drop-frame safety bicycle.

~o0o~

One of my two 2022 romances set in the 1890s was Joshua's Bride, set during the 1893 Cherokee Land Run. Although neither Rose Calloway nor her sister, Marigold, wore bicycle suits or rode bicycles during the land run, there were those who did. The sisters, who rode the train to where they wished to claim land, wore walking skirts.

To find the book description and purchase options for Joshua's Bride, 

please CLICK HERE.

Marigold Calloway has her romance in 1894 after she is already on the two city residential lots she claimed during the land run. Having spent her life as a schoolteacher, she definitely fits the description of the modern woman who works outside the home. The streamline skirts and looser clothing of the era suit her just fine.

To find the book description and purchase options for Marigold, 

please  CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/1890s-fashion-changes

https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1890-1899/

https://recollections.biz/blog/achieving-the-gibson-girl-s-silhouette/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890s_in_Western_fashion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aestheticism

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