Maine: From Muddy Roads to Voting Booths

In this episode, Anne Gass, independent historian and author, discusses the suffrage struggle at sites in Maine.

We talk about the events and activists in the ME voting rights campaign:

• Florence Brooks Whitehouse was a suffrage leader who traveled to D.C. to picket at the White House.
• Mabel Derricks, Edith Johnson, and Blanche Dymond–members of the Black community in Bangor–signed a petition in 1917 advocating for women’s suffrage.
• Lucy Nicolar Poolaw of the Penobscot nation combined her musical career with activism for the rights for her community and was finally able to vote in 1967.
• Camille Lessard Bissonette who immigrated from Quebec to work in the Lewiston mills, became a journalist for the local French-Canadian newspaper and advocated for women’s suffrage.
• Augusta Hunt fought for women’s suffrage as well as other important rights including women’s rights for custody of their children. 

About our Guest:

     Anne Gass is an independent historian and the author of the non-fiction book Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine’s Fight for Woman Suffrage, published in 2014. Anne is Whitehouse’s great-granddaughter. Her most recent book is We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip, a historical novel based on the true story of an epic cross-country road trip that took place in 1915. In 2015, a century later, Anne spent two months retracing the original route.  Anne describes herself as a "women's rights history activist" and speaks regularly on suffrage and women’s rights history. She recently led an effort to install seven roadside markers across Maine honoring women (and one man!) who fought for women’s voting rights. She serves as Chair of Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. 

People, Places, Publications:

Maine & the 19th Amendment (here)

Maine Suffrage Trail (here)

Francis Brooks Whitehouse Biographical Sketch (here)

Francis Brooks Whitehouse marker (here)

Black Matriarchs of Bangor Biographical Sketch and marker (here)

Lucy Nicolar Poolaw Biographical Sketch and marker (here)

Camille Lessard Bissonette Biographical Sketch (here)

Camille Lessard Bissonette marker (here)

Augusta Hunt Biographical Sketch (here)

Augusta Hunt marker (here)

CM Marihugh is a public history consultant and currently conducting independent research for a book on commemoration of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. She has an M.A. in Public History from State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Learn more about:

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion? Get in touch! Send an e-mail to NVWTpodcast@ncwhs.org