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Profiles of Three Influential County Women
Profiles of Three Influential County Women
Countless women in Montgomery County contributed to promoting the rights of women in various ways through women's clubs, suffrage organizations, social and civic organizations, education, and more. It would be a monumental task to highlight the contributions of all of these women. Here we highlight three Montgomery County women who contributed to the cause of suffrage and women's rights in their own ways. Together, their contributions reflect those of women throughout the county.
Lavinia Margaret Engle (1892 - 1979)
Lavinia Margaret Engle (1892 - 1979)
From Suffrage Leader to the Maryland House of Delegates
From Suffrage Leader to the Maryland House of Delegates
Postcard depicting Forest Glen Railroad Station (no date). Montgomery History Photograph Collection.
Born in 1892, Lavinia Margaret Engle was the daughter of James Engle, a clerk with the U.S. Treasury, and Lavinia Hauke Engle, a teacher and suffrage activist. Lavinia and her family lived in newly established Forest Glen, Maryland. As a young girl, Lavinia met Susan B. Anthony in Baltimore. She recounted the details in her oral history:
“… one year when I was about seven or eight years old, their annual convention [NAWSA] was in Baltimore. And my mother, who was active in the suffrage movement, also a Lavinia, said, ‘I’m going to take you to the convention in Baltimore. Miss Anthony is growing old, and I want you to see her and remember her.’
“… one year when I was about seven or eight years old, their annual convention [NAWSA] was in Baltimore. And my mother, who was active in the suffrage movement, also a Lavinia, said, ‘I’m going to take you to the convention in Baltimore. Miss Anthony is growing old, and I want you to see her and remember her.’
So I tagged along and went to the meeting, and my mother took me up to the chair in which she was sitting and said to her, ‘Aunt Susan,’ as they all called her, ‘this is my daughter, Lavinia.’
So I tagged along and went to the meeting, and my mother took me up to the chair in which she was sitting and said to her, ‘Aunt Susan,’ as they all called her, ‘this is my daughter, Lavinia.’
And she said, ‘Oh, another Lavinia!’ and reached out and drew me over to her and said, ‘And you’ll be another Lavinia who campaigned for woman’s suffrage.’ And I said, ‘Oh, yes, Aunt Susan, I will.’ And she patted me on the head and laughed, and my mother said, ‘Well, I’ll raise her up in the faith, Aunt Susan.’"
And she said, ‘Oh, another Lavinia!’ and reached out and drew me over to her and said, ‘And you’ll be another Lavinia who campaigned for woman’s suffrage.’ And I said, ‘Oh, yes, Aunt Susan, I will.’ And she patted me on the head and laughed, and my mother said, ‘Well, I’ll raise her up in the faith, Aunt Susan.’"
Dr. Anna Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt, NAWSA, 1917. Library of Congress, George Grantham Bain Collection.
Lavinia attended Eastern High School in the District of Columbia. At 17, she entered Antioch College in Ohio, where she earned extra money working as a newspaper correspondent. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in 1912, Lavinia returned home expecting “to either teach or do something in that field.” Instead, at the invitation of Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, she began to take her own place in suffrage history with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
Almost immediately, 20-year old Lavinia was traveling the U.S., promoting suffrage. As an “Organizer” for NAWSA, between 1912 and 1920, she made frequent trips to West Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina, as well as to Texas, New Jersey, and South Carolina, speaking to women’s clubs and organizing suffrage groups. Newspapers around the country chronicled her travels; editors seemed charmed and fascinated by the young, articulate woman.
“A slender slip of a girl, with clear eyes and a youthful face, soft, waving hair showing under the modish chip hat, which matched the lavender crepe gown she wore, fashioned after one of the softly draped styles now so much in vogue. She looked much more like a young woman gowned for an afternoon tea, than a militant suffragette.” [The Pensacola Journal (Pensacola, FL), March 13, 1914]
“A slender slip of a girl, with clear eyes and a youthful face, soft, waving hair showing under the modish chip hat, which matched the lavender crepe gown she wore, fashioned after one of the softly draped styles now so much in vogue. She looked much more like a young woman gowned for an afternoon tea, than a militant suffragette.” [The Pensacola Journal (Pensacola, FL), March 13, 1914]
In the article, Lavinia disputed being called a militant suffragette, stating: “I am not one bit militant. I am not even a suffragist!”
Crowds on Pennsylvania Avenue, 1913. Photographer G.V. Buck. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
On March 3, 1913, Lavinia joined 470 other Marylanders and women from around the country and world to march along Pennsylvania Avenue in the District of Columbia. During the parade, there were widespread reports of marchers being shoved, poked, jeered at, and blocked along the way by rowdy crowds of men. Marchers accused the District police of being “indifferent” to the attacks. Subsequently, a U.S. Senate Committee held a hearing to “to investigate the conduct of the District Police Department in the District of Columbia in connection with the Woman’s Suffrage Parade on March 3, 1913.”
Although Lavinia did not testify or submit written testimony for this hearing, other Maryland women did, which gives us a glimpse into what Lavinia and her peers may have experienced.
“Our division was marching five abreast, and at many points we had to go single file, and while in this congested district we were shoved, jostled, pushed, hooted, jeered, and many smutty propositions, severally and individually, were directed to us unremittingly, and many of the insults came from the lips of police officers who were standing not more than 10 to 20 feet apart along the line, acting like schoolboys on the playground during a holiday …” [Mrs. Sarah Brown, Baltimore]
“Our division was marching five abreast, and at many points we had to go single file, and while in this congested district we were shoved, jostled, pushed, hooted, jeered, and many smutty propositions, severally and individually, were directed to us unremittingly, and many of the insults came from the lips of police officers who were standing not more than 10 to 20 feet apart along the line, acting like schoolboys on the playground during a holiday …” [Mrs. Sarah Brown, Baltimore]
During World War I, Lavinia continued to work with NAWSA in the U.S. by helping to establish the Women’s Overseas Hospitals (frequently referred to as Suffrage Hospitals), which were entirely staffed by women, in France.
After the war, Lavinia herself traveled to Europe as a volunteer with the Young Men's Christian Association’s (Y.M.C.A.) Canteen Service, helping to run canteens in Belgium, France, and occupied Germany. When the 19th Amendment passed in June 1919, presumably Lavinia was still in Europe.
Following her return to the U.S., Lavinia continued her work and travels throughout the country with the newly formed League of Women Voters, promoting the ratification of the 19th Amendment and educating women to become informed voters.
“Every woman who is interested in the intelligent use of her vote is invited to hear Miss Lavinia Engle speak at the Women’s Club tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock.” [Daily Banner (Cambridge, MD) January 17, 1921]
“Every woman who is interested in the intelligent use of her vote is invited to hear Miss Lavinia Engle speak at the Women’s Club tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock.” [Daily Banner (Cambridge, MD) January 17, 1921]
Pamphlet published by the Women's Oversea Hospitals, U.S.A.: of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1919; digital image accessed at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries.
Throughout the 1920s, Lavinia worked with the League of Women Voters, focusing not only on voter education but also social and educational legislation. In the summer of 1930, Engle stepped down from her position as director and announced her candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates. She was quoted as saying:
“In addition to measures of state-wide import I have a deep and sincere interest in the local problems in which we of Montgomery county are facing. In the past ten years we have undertaken a broad program of rural and suburban development. Our locations at the gates of the national capital gives us peculiar responsibilities and definite advantages.” [The Sun (Baltimore, MD), July 2, 1930]
“In addition to measures of state-wide import I have a deep and sincere interest in the local problems in which we of Montgomery county are facing. In the past ten years we have undertaken a broad program of rural and suburban development. Our locations at the gates of the national capital gives us peculiar responsibilities and definite advantages.” [The Sun (Baltimore, MD), July 2, 1930]
Lavinia M. Engle, ca. 1976. Montgomery History Photograph Collection.
That November, Montgomery County voters elected Lavinia as the first woman in the county (and the second in the state) to the Maryland House of Delegates. She served in this role for four years, during which time she also worked on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential campaign, chairing the speaker’s bureau. When her term with the House of Delegates ended, Lavinia began her Federal government career under the Roosevelt administration working for the newly created Social Security Board. Lavinia remained in the Federal government in various roles until her retirement in 1964. During this time, she kept close ties with the League of Women Voters. She died in 1979 at the age of 87.
Lucy Wright Trundle (1889 - 1960)
Lucy Wright Trundle (1889 - 1960)
From Tango Teas to the Montgomery County Board of Education
From Tango Teas to the Montgomery County Board of Education
Lucy Wright Trundle was born in 1889 in Forest Glen, Maryland, the daughter of Dr. George H. Wright, a physician, and Jesse Waite Wright, a suffragist who, at the age of 23, testified beside Susan B. Anthony before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate.
Lucy's parents operated Carroll Springs Sanitarium, a “homeopathic institution,” conveniently accessed by the B&O Railroad, that promised “Invalids, convalescents and rest and quiet seekers will find superior facilities amid charming surroundings …” [Evening Star (Washington, DC), June 8, 1900]
Sunday Herald and Weekly National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), May 24, 1891. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
The Wright family was prominent in District of Columbia and Maryland social circles, with their activities frequently reported upon in the society pages.
“Mrs. Dr. G.H. Wright gave her daughter Lucy, who was five years old on September 29, a birthday party, when there were over twenty children present, all about Lucy’s age. The little ones had a delightful time together, and brought many handsome presents to their playmate.” [Evening Star (Washington, DC), October 9, 1894]
“Mrs. Dr. G.H. Wright gave her daughter Lucy, who was five years old on September 29, a birthday party, when there were over twenty children present, all about Lucy’s age. The little ones had a delightful time together, and brought many handsome presents to their playmate.” [Evening Star (Washington, DC), October 9, 1894]
Lucy attended school in the District and following her graduation went to Germany to study music at the Berlin Conservatory. She returned to the U.S. in 1910 and graduated from the Washington College of Music in June 1911.
As a trained musician and dancer, Lucy frequently performed at society events and for women’s clubs. In 1913, she organized a “suffragist dancing class” at the new Suffrage Association club on G Street in the District of Columbia (which was managed by Lavinia Hauke Engle, mother of Lavinia Margaret).
“A suffragist dancing class has been determined as an added attraction for the new club house which the local suffragists will open at 1306 G Street about the first of the month. It will be in charge of Miss Lucy Wright, who has exhausted the studios of this country and Germany in search of the latest dance novelties.” [Washington Times (Washington, DC), December 26, 1913]
“A suffragist dancing class has been determined as an added attraction for the new club house which the local suffragists will open at 1306 G Street about the first of the month. It will be in charge of Miss Lucy Wright, who has exhausted the studios of this country and Germany in search of the latest dance novelties.” [Washington Times (Washington, DC), December 26, 1913]
Lucy also tapped into the craze surrounding tango teas.
“Miss Lucy Wright, of Forest Glen, Md., will direct a series of tango teas for the benefit of the suffrage fund at the local and interstate headquarters every Monday afternoon from 2 to 5 o’clock. Plans for a series of evening dances are being perfected.” [The Washington Post (Washington, DC), January 11, 1914]
“Miss Lucy Wright, of Forest Glen, Md., will direct a series of tango teas for the benefit of the suffrage fund at the local and interstate headquarters every Monday afternoon from 2 to 5 o’clock. Plans for a series of evening dances are being perfected.” [The Washington Post (Washington, DC), January 11, 1914]
Sheet music cover, 1915. Accessed at Arizona State University Library Digital Repository.
“What are the tango teas that everyone is talking about and that the world is raving over?” asked one columnist. [The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA), February 7, 1914]
“What are the tango teas that everyone is talking about and that the world is raving over?” asked one columnist. [The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA), February 7, 1914]
Just as it sounds, they were events where women could learn to tango while having tea service. The events were widely popular and, according to one Brooklyn newspaper, were adopted by suffragists to compete with the anti-suffrage movement. [Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, NY), March 7, 1914]
Just as it sounds, they were events where women could learn to tango while having tea service. The events were widely popular and, according to one Brooklyn newspaper, were adopted by suffragists to compete with the anti-suffrage movement. [Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, NY), March 7, 1914]
In 1915, Lucy married Americus Dawson Trundle and moved to Poolesville, where Trundle worked in farming. The couple had four children and remained in Poolesville for the next several years before moving to Forest Glen into the home of Lucy’s parents.
Lucy was active in the Poolesville Women’s Club and was later named to the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Federation of Woman’s Clubs. In May 1920, after years of lobbying efforts by women’s clubs throughout the county, Maryland’s Governor appointed Lucy to the County Board of Education, the first woman to hold this position. Lucy served on the Board of Education until 1925. During her tenure, she frequently spoke at women’s clubs.
Washington Herald, December 11, 920. Library of Congress Chronicling America.
Following her time on the school board, Lucy continued community service through the Montgomery County Federation of Woman’s Clubs, the PTA, and the League of Women Voters. She also remained active in Montgomery County social circles. She died in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1960.
Jessie Ross Thomson (1848 - 1932)
Jessie Ross Thomson (1848 - 1932)
Women's Club Founder and Suffragist
Women's Club Founder and Suffragist
Jessie Ross Thomson (also spelled as Thompson in some sources) was born in 1848 in Berry’s District, Montgomery County. She was the daughter of Richard Lorman Ross an attorney and farmer and Louisa Taylor Ross, daughter of a District of Columbia attorney. Jessie's mother died in about 1858, and the 1870 census shows 21-year-old Jessie living with her paternal aunt, Ellen Middleton, in the District. That same year, Jessie married William J. Thomson, who was in the U.S. Navy. The couple had two sons.
In 1899, Jessie, who was now living back in Montgomery County, obtained a divorce from her husband on the grounds of “abandonment.”
“Mrs. Jessie Ross Thomson has obtained an absolute divorce in the Circuit Court from her husband, Paymaster William J. Thomson, United States Navy. Mrs. Thomson is also to receive $600 a year alimony from her husband … The ground of the divorce was abandonment.” [Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD), April 20, 1899]
“Mrs. Jessie Ross Thomson has obtained an absolute divorce in the Circuit Court from her husband, Paymaster William J. Thomson, United States Navy. Mrs. Thomson is also to receive $600 a year alimony from her husband … The ground of the divorce was abandonment.” [Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD), April 20, 1899]
Jessie moved to Garrett Park, MD prior to 1910 and lived with relatives on Kenilworth Avenue. In 1913, she started Garrett Park’s Civic Study Club. A long-time Garrett Park resident and later president of the club, Harriett (Hattie) Defandorf recalled that the club began as “a class to study woman suffrage” with the intent to study “civics in earnest.” [Montgomery County Story, August 1973]
In 1914, the Civic Study Club was accepted into the Montgomery County Federation of Woman’s Clubs as well as the State and General Federations. That same year, Jessie was named president of the Just Government League of Montgomery County.
Washington Herald, December 10, 1916. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
From 1913 through 1917, Jessie continued to serve as the President of the Civic Study Club and a school trustee for Garrett Park. During her tenure as President of the Just Government League of Montgomery County, the league expressed its disapproval of “militant” methods of other suffragists.
“That the Just Government League of Montgomery County is not in sympathy with the methods of the woman suffragists who are picketing the White House developed at a meeting of the executive board of the league at the home of the President, Mrs. J. Ross Thompson [sic].” [Source: Washington Times (Washington, DC), January 22, 1917]
“That the Just Government League of Montgomery County is not in sympathy with the methods of the woman suffragists who are picketing the White House developed at a meeting of the executive board of the league at the home of the President, Mrs. J. Ross Thompson [sic].” [Source: Washington Times (Washington, DC), January 22, 1917]
As a result, Jessie joined others in creating the Woman’s Suffrage League of Maryland, for which Jessie served as President for two years. Her role was recognized in Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton's History of Suffrage.
Image excerpt from Google e-Book version of History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 4.
When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, Jessie used her position to encourage suffragists do their part in supporting the war effort by exercising “domestic efficiency.” In a letter to fellow clubwomen, she wrote:
“The ill wind of war has blown you the opportunity to demonstrate to the men of Maryland your fitness for fellow citizenship. It is an opportunity blown to your very doors, indeed to your very kitchens, for now has come the supreme test of your National loyalty. Every woman in our organization, whether she supplies her table from a luxurious smokehouse on a Maryland farm, or markets with a basket in a village grocery store, or only knows her pantry through casual interviews with her servants, can answer this test. The answer is domestic economy practiced with all the courage, all the energy and all the loyalty that every true suffragist feels for her United States.” [Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), May 13, 1917]
“The ill wind of war has blown you the opportunity to demonstrate to the men of Maryland your fitness for fellow citizenship. It is an opportunity blown to your very doors, indeed to your very kitchens, for now has come the supreme test of your National loyalty. Every woman in our organization, whether she supplies her table from a luxurious smokehouse on a Maryland farm, or markets with a basket in a village grocery store, or only knows her pantry through casual interviews with her servants, can answer this test. The answer is domestic economy practiced with all the courage, all the energy and all the loyalty that every true suffragist feels for her United States.” [Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), May 13, 1917]
She suggested steps women could take, such as adding at least one meatless meal per week, ensuring meals do not exceed three courses, and practicing “general economy in food and dress.”
In 1920, Jessie was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Federation of Woman’s Clubs, representing the Woman’s Suffrage League. She died 12 years later in Warsaw, NY, where her son resided. She’s buried near other family members at Rock Creek Cemetery in the District of Columbia.
Source for page header image - Leaders Of Women's Suffrage Statue (portrayed in this statue are Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony). Photographer Ken Kistler. Accessed at PublicDomainPictures.net.
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