And in 1920, she was one of over 54,000 women who claimed her right to vote

Bertha's has a long list of accomplishments, She served as trustee of the BPL, founded the Hemenway House of Cooperative Living, and exercised political influence. In 1911, she prompted Boston's mayor to send a delegation to Chicago to gather information about its playgrounds and schoolhouses.

In 1905, Bertha compiled and published "Three Years with the Poets," a teaching tool for primary students. The following year, she became the first female principal of the new Quincy Evening School, a school serving immigrants

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Bertha was a social worker, educator, and philanthropist who was active in the settlement house movement. The Election Dept Clerk recorded Bertha's occupation as "social worker."

On September 17, 1920, educator, social worker and philanthropist Bertha Hazard claimed her voting rights. 🧵

After the 19th, Boston women still had to clear hurdles to claim their voting rights. Clerks asked for birthplaces, occupations, age (under oath!), marital status, proof of citizenship, and sometimes for women to read lines from the State Constitution. Read more: sites.google.com/view/maryeli...

Many of the women voters in Boston's Lower Roxbury and the South End supported themselves and their families by working at the United Drug Co. factory. Read our blog post, The Cherry Pickers of Lower Roxbury to learn more. sites.google.com/view/maryeli...

Yet one wealthy Boston suffragist was not at all put off by Foley's demeanor. Helen Goodnow met Foley through the MassWoman Suffrage Association. In 1916, they went on a long trip through the South to agitate for women's voting rights, Foley lecturing and Goodnow serving as her volunteer secretary.

Foley was an Irish-American, working-class suffragist, known for her powerful public speaking. Nicknamed the “heckler-in-chief” for her loudness, brusqueness, public tactics, and unwavering support for the working class, Foley often ran up against upper- and middle-class suffrage movement leaders.

Margaret Foley and Helen Goodnow, lifelong partners, went together to register to vote in Boston on August 4, 1920, correctly anticipating that the 19th Amendment would soon be ratified. 🧵 @universalhub.com @hubhistory.com

On September 17, 1920, Maria L. Baldwin, a respected educator and tireless activist for African American and women’s rights, claimed her right to vote. Read more about Maria, her life, and her voter register entry in our latest blog post. sites.google.com/view/maryeli...

As we wrap up Jewish American Heritage Month, we recognize German-born 1920 Boston New Voters and Dorchester residents Hedwig “Haidee” Kaminsky Rosenblum and her widowed mother Emilie Neumann Kaminsky. Image from The Boston Globe, May 5, 1902, pg. 3

We have found 622 Scandinavian born women who registered to vote in 1920. Many of them were clustered in Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and Roslindale. Check out the map we made showing where they lived: sites.google.com/view/maryeli...

Most of these immigrants boarded trains to the midwest, but some stayed on the East Coast. Single women often settled in cities where they worked as domestic labor. The 1920 census shows 1000 thousand Danish born residents, about 1800 Norwegian born, and over 6700 Swedish born residents in Boston.

At the end of the 19th century, Scandinavian immigration to the US increased. While earlier waves of Scandinavian immigrants had often been farming families, a wave of starting in abt 1890 was primarily single men and women. We wondered, did these newly arrived women register to vote in 1920? 🧵

By 1917, Sanger had moved into 518 Broadway, the family home of her friend Dr. Grace Cross. Cross, an obgyn, was active in the suffragist movement. In 1919, while attending a New York suffrage parade, she was beaten by the NYC police and the National Guard, returning to Boston with multiple injuries

Sanger appears to have been interested in women's rights for decades. A proud alumna of South Boston's Shurtleff School, she helped raise funds to put a bust of Lucy Stone in the school in 1896.

As early as 1897, Sanger listed herself in city directories as a reporter, and her obituary says that she started working at the Globe in 1900. Many of her pieces covered culture and society, like this piece on championship terriers.

On August 6, 1920, Elizabeth Cheney Sanger of 518 East Broadway in #SouthBoston walked into Boston City Hall to register to vote. She gave her occupation as journalist at the Boston Globe. Intrigued, researcher Jocelyn Gould uncovered a fascinating story behind the line in the ledger.🧵

In addition to residents, at least 2 employees (a laundress and a housekeeper) claimed their voting rights. Hotel Puritan opened in 1909, combined operations with neighboring Hotel Somerset in the 1950s, eventually closing its doors in 1972.

“The Distinctive Boston House” proclaims this early ad for the Hotel Puritan, in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. At least 21 women who lived at this hotel registered to vote in 1920, immediately after receiving their voting rights from the newly-ratified 19th Amendment!

For Medical Lab Worker Week, we are focusing on 1920 Boston New Voter Ethel M. Howard (Wetmore), listed in the registries as performing Laboratory Work at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, now part of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Image from the MIT Museum

During #NationalSocialWorkMonth, we recognize Mobile, Alabama-born Bertha Hazard. She was the compiler of the poetry book “Three Years with the Poets”, published in 1905, intended as a teaching tool for primary students. Image from the Internet Archive

On National Dentists Day, we recognize 1920 New Voter Dr. Fenecia L. Leonardi (later Campagna), who registered to vote on October 13th, 1920. #BostonHistory Image: The Boston Globe Sun, May 28, 1916

We have a website [sites.google.com/view/maryelizaproject/]! Our website brings together all of our work and resources: links to the dataset and research materials, the story of our project and our team, and maps and data visualizations. We'll also update the site with any upcoming events!

Sixty-seven of the new 1920 Boston women voters were born in Minnesota, including Minneapolis-born sisters, stenographer Dorothy Whidden (later Abbott) and Marjory (Whidden) Battilana. Image from the Minnesota Streetcar Museum via Minnesota Digital Library. #BostonHistory

As some of us return to school after Winter Break, we recognize the three new voters listed as teachers at Dorchester’s Audubon School in 1920. Roxbury-born Anna L. Fitzsimmons was a 1894 graduate of Roxbury High School who registered to vote on October 6th, 1920. Image: Historic New England

The new voter registries list 273 new voters born in Providence, Rhode Island, including sisters Housewife Rose L. (Boughan) Shiels (1866-1929) and Mary J. Boughan (1873?-1935). The registries list Mary J. Boughan as a clerk working for the Saxony Worsted Mills in Newton, Massachusetts.

On #NationalViolinDay, we are recognizing 1920 Boston new voter, violinist Sarah Weenona (or Sara Winona) Lander (1888-1964), who registered to vote on October 5, 1920.

Today’s #VoterOfTheDay is South Boston's Helen F. Merrill (later Hopkins), who registered to vote in Boston School Board Elections on November 27, 1918. In 1907, she earned a third-year diploma from South Boston High School. Image: @bpl.boston.gov #BostonHistory #WomensHistory #WomensSuffrage