Table of Contents
The description links take you a little below the descriptions. Scroll up.
- 1872-1893
- 1893
- 1894
- Change over time in Attitudes toward Woman’s Suffrage
- Pueblo’s Black Suffragists
- Local Office Holders
- Find Your Pueblo Women’s Suffrage Ancestor
Link to Suffrage Centennials. Preparing to celebrate the 2020 national suffrage centennial celebration.
About the Researcher
Professor Judy Gaughan is an Associate Professor of History at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Her main field of research is Roman Law. Her first book was Murder Was Not a Crime: Homicide and Power in the Roman Republic. Her interest in Women’s Suffrage in Southern Colorado started in earnest when she was introduced to Carrie Clyde Holly, first woman state legislator anywhere in the country. Now she is writing a book, Surely the World Moves: Carrie Clyde Holly, An American First.
About the Research
The materials you will find on this webpage primarily illustrate women’s suffrage in Southern Colorado through the eyes of newspapers. These next links are a collection of articles and excerpts from Colorado newspapers (especially Pueblo newspapers) found at coloradohistoricnewspapers.org.
1872-1893
The owners of the Chieftain back in the late 19th century show themselves to be against women having the right to vote and the persistence of women is revealed despute the newspaper’s efforts to quash any information. Colorado Chieftain (now the Pueblo Chieftain) Newspaper Archives excerpts on suffrage from 1872-1893
1893
The year 1893 is the year the women of Colorado achieved their right to vote. Hear voices from across Southern Colorado in support of and against suffrage. Notice how the women organize and how much they need to persuade suffragists from the east to come help out. Southern Colorado Newspapers (organized by county) from the year 1893 on the subject of suffrage
1894
Women in Colorado did not rest on their laurels. Learn the name of the first woman who registered to vote (December 7, 1893) in Pueblo County. See how women taught themselves to be educated citizen-voters. Look how they worked to achieve their political goals (keeping in mind the Chieftain was a Republican paper). Note, too, how after the vote in November of 1894, the women reorganized again to continue their work. Read the Pueblo Chieftain, 1894 (and the end of 1893).
Change Over Time in Attitudes Toward Woman’s Suffrage
Colorado State University-Pueblo student Anna Brownlee provides brief analyses of how the Pueblo Chieftain reported on woman’s suffrage during the three decades that Colorado went from a territory to a state to a state where women could vote, 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s. Also provided in this series of pages is the opportunity to find out a bit about the author and the challenges she faced.
Pueblo’s Black Suffragists
It is often hard to unearth the stories of local suffragists, especially minorities, but we have found some. Read more here about the role of Black women in Pueblo’s women’s suffrage history.
Local Office Holders from and in Southern Colorado
Carrie Clyde Holly
Colorado was the first state to elect women to a state legislature. In November 1894, Carrie Holly of Pueblo County along with two women from Arapahoe county, was elected to the Colorado House. She became the first woman in history to draft legislation, present it to the legislature, argue for its value, and to see that bill become a law. Read more about Carrie Clyde Holly.
Miss L. Smiley
Miss L Smiley, Treasurer, Montrose, CO 1894.
