Post by Doris McCraw
aka Angela Raines
As Colorado made its journey to statehood, the women's suffrage movement took note. They noted that they might get suffrage into the constitution of a new state.
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| Dr. Alida Avery |
The Colorado Woman Suffrage Association was formed in early 1876. One of the early presidents of the association was Dr. Alida C. Avery, who moved to Denver in 1874, leaving her nine-year teaching job at Vassar. The goal of the association prior to 1876 was to have universal voting rights included in the state constitution.
Dr. Avery was the second woman medical school graduate to practice medicine in Colorado. The first was Dr. Eliza Gillette by a few months.
Dr. Avery spearheaded the collection of petitions for the Constitutional Convention to ensure women wouldn't be excluded.
Eliza P. Routt
Eliza Pickerell Routt was the wife of John Routt, Colorado Territory's last governor and the state of Colorado's first governor.
The Routts had moved to Colorado Territory in March of 1875 after John's appointment as governor by President Grant.
Eliza, like John, was a proponent of women's suffrage and involved in the above-mentioned Association.
Although women did not get universal voting rights in the 1876 constitution, they were granted the right to vote in school board elections. In 1877, the fight continued, and in 1893 Colorado became the first state to guarantee women the right to vote in its constitution.
For further reading on these two women:
Dr. Alida Avery: Colorado's Women's Hall of Fame
Eliza P. Routt: Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
Until next time
Stay safe - Doris
