When Mothers Got Out Of The House: Beginning Of The Women’s Movement

PHOTO: Mrs. Martha J. Buxton, one of the early President’s of the Penacook Women’s Club.

by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr.
Weirs Times Contributing Writer

It is difficult to argue that anyone’s position is more important in society than that of a Mother, and any Mother who conscientiously and lovingly fulfills her responsibilities in that role should be praised.
There was a time when the mothers who helped their husbands establish homes in the wilderness of New Hampshire not only gave birth to and cared for the children, but were workers on the farms that were being carved out of that wilderness. Their identity was closely associated with the names of their husbands and their influence was often manifested through the words and deeds of the same. There were, no doubt, exceptions to the norm and some married as well as single women are remembered for significant accomplishments apart from that of husbands or children. The roles that men and women had in society were clearly distinguishable from each other. But in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s a women’s movement took place that started a progression of events that has led to the more ambitious desires of women of the twenty-first century. Over a period of years The Granite Monthly magazine printed numerous articles about the various Women’s Clubs that were springing up across the State of New Hampshire.
“Our Puritan grandmothers spun and wove, brewed and baked, and reared sturdy, God-fearing men and women. They were shining examples of domesticity. No nobler, but a different type of woman, is the woman of today. The world still exacts fidelity in all domestic and social relations, but it demands more.” So wrote Isabel N. Moore in 1902 in an article about the Penacook Women’s Club.
The 19th century was called “The Women’s Century” according to an article written by Mrs. Sarah E. Hamblen about the Conway Women’s Clubs. The century was so called, she said, “for the reason that women have come to the fore, in various ways, as never before in the annals of history.” She went on to quote an E.L. Didier as writing that “In every walk of life…American women have shown themselves the peers of American men.”
One of the many firsts claimed by the State of New Hampshire is that of having “the first organization for any object in America officered by women, and this society is the New Hampshire Female Cent Institution.” That organization, with such a strange sounding name to us, was begun in the year 1804 and its longer name of “The Female Cent Institution and Home Missionary Union ” might give us a clearer suggestion of what it was all about.
The society was made up of female churchgoers of mostly Protestant churches who agreed to donate one cent a week to be given to missionaries who carried out their ministries within the United States. Their first annual collection in 1805 amounted to five dollars, but by the end of the century it had risen to $4,000. The group was not officially chartered until 1891.
During the Civil War women were moved to do charitable work for the soldiers and their families. It is thought that the cooperative efforts that they engaged in during that War of Rebellion to help others was an important factor that resulted in the formation of women’s clubs around the country, including the Granite State.
In 1868 the Women’s Club of Boston came into being with some members whose names you are likely to recognize. The club, though called a women’s club, and whose officers were all women, included men in its membership. Members included Julia Ward Howe, who was one of its presidents, Mary A. Livermore, Elizabeth Peabody, Louisa Alcott, and some prominent men, among whom was John G. Whittier. Conway, New Hampshire became the home of three Women’s Clubs.
The first started in North Conway in February of the year 1892 with an initial membership of ten, with weekly meetings from the month of October to that of June. It was designed as a combination of social and educational activities, and its first studies were on English history, authors, and current events. The second club was begun in Conway in the year 1894 with twelve women and met fortnightly from November 1st until May 1st. The Centre Conway Women’s Club was also organized during February, but in the year 1899 with twelve members. The women named their club “The Literary Union.”
The first women’s club in Penacook was organized on January 3, 1896 as a “Current Events Club” with 19 charter members. It was intended to be a literary and social organization with membership limited to 50 women. That limit number, however, was changed to 75 during the third year of its existence. The first president of the club was Miss M. Annie Fiske. The Dover Women’s Club was begun in the winter of 1899 with 50 charter members, the higher number than many other clubs likely being the result of a community with a larger population. The stated object of the club was “the study and discussion of subjects of general interest.” The first President was Mrs. Margaret H. Rollins and members could be either active or associate members.
Active members were limited to 150 and were duty bound to engage in some department work. The departments were art, French, history, literature, music, and philanthropy. It was reported about the philanthropy department that “The brave women had an object, and this was a hospital for Dover.”
Dover was then a city of 13,000 people and without a public hospital. One was in the planning stage, but for some reason had been delayed. After conducting a rummage sale to raise money and consulting medical people the women rented a house with which they supplied several beds, hired a matron and a housekeeper, and opened a hospital. One of the first patients was described as a “stranger who pitted his strength and speed against a Boston and Maine railroad train.” You will have to guess what the details involved, but the man eventually died from his injuries. Before that happened, however, he and his kin were said to have been grateful for the hospital bed and nurses’ care provided for him by the Dover Women’s Club. Several other patients were said to have been successfully treated before the club merged its hospital with the new one which was finally built.
The Women’s Clubs provided a reason for mother’s and other women to get out of the house or have a break from their work to pursue educational and social interests. The clubs enjoyed tea times, musical events, plays, and a highlight of the year which was the Gentlemen’s Night when the men were invited and the women wore their best gowns and enjoyed a formal evening with their husbands and friends.