S01 E05 Nevada: Prospecting For Voters In The Silver State

In this episode on Nevada, Dr. Joanne Goodwin, discusses the struggle for the women’s vote at sites on the NVWT.

We talk about the events and suffragists in the NV votes for women campaign:

• Three prominent men in business and politics organized the first women's suffrage convention in Nevada in 1870.
• Frances Slaven Williamson fully dedicated herself to fighting for women’s suffrage after losing her husband and five children. 
• Sarah Winnemucca was a political activist for the rights of her Northern Paiute tribe and the other indigenous peoples. These focused first on survival rather than the vote.
• Anne Martin traveled to England where she learned about militant tactics of the suffrage movement. She traveled extensively in Nevada to mining sites, ranches, and small towns. She and fellow suffragists descended into mines to speak to working miners.
• Bird Wilson was a lawyer and suffragist who distributed 20,000 copies of her booklet, Women Under Nevada Laws.  She was an innovative marketer and fundraiser for suffrage.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dr. Joanne Goodwin is Professor Emerita of History and Director Emerita of the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada at the Univ. of Nevada-Las Vegas and serves on the NCWHS board. Her interest is 20th century U.S. history with a specialization in women and gender history.

Links to People, Places, Publications

• Nevada and the 19th Amendment (here)
• Nevada Suffrage Centennial (here)
• Visit First Woman Suffrage Convention marker (here)
• Frances Slaven Williamson Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Frances Slaven Williamson marker(here)
• Anne Martin Biographical Sketch (here)
• Felice Cohn Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Felice Cohn historical marker (here)
• Bird Wilson Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the 1907 Esmeralda County Courthouse (here)
• Marjorie Moore Brown Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Marjorie Moore Brown marker (here)
• Delphine Squires Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Delphine Squires and the Mesquite Club marker (here)
• Sarah Winnemucca Biographical Sketch (here)
• Visit the Sarah Winnemucca historical 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 [e-mail]