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Shakespeare Club discusses Women of Fredonia

Mary Croxton

The Fredonia Shakespeare Club met recently at the Darwin Barker Museum hosted by Judi Lutz Woods. President Woods presided with 13 members present and welcomed them to the 131st year of the club.

The topic for the year is “Women Artists, Authors, Designers and Entrepreneurs.” Mary Croxton presented her paper on “Women of Fredonia.” Her paper is summarized as follows:

So much of what we know about history is through the art of letter writing. This presentation was about letters from and to some early women of Pomfret. Some of the letters are actual and others based on historical information from the Censor and information obtained from Barker and Reed libraries.

We start out with a letter from Celia Cole to her sister Charlotte in Massachusetts. Celia lives in the wilderness of Western New York in 1812. I quote from her letter about her incredible bravery.

“Can you believe war has actually been declared with the British? They flaunt their greater gun power on the water and actually have taken our American fishermen off their boats and indentured them in their Navy. Alas, I hesitate to tell you of the challenges we face here at the mouth of Canadaway. Many a small boat in a storm unable to make it back to Chadwick’s Bay seeks safe harbor, as do the salt boats delivering goods to our settlements when they cannot outrun the British schooners. … While plowing my field this week I spied activity on the water and knew a small salt boat was being harassed by the British. Quickly I freed Millie, our horse, from the plow, mounted her, skirt’s a flowing and raced along the road to Canadaway to gather the Militia. We alerted forty men who quickly responded with muskets all, placing themselves in secluded places along the creek to surprise the British pursuing the salt boat in their tender. The fight was brief, the ambush a success, and the British with one wounded took to oars back to the mothership and off toward Buffalo. A victory for us, dear sister, and for America the first naval battle of the war right here by our homestead.” Fondly, Celia Cole.

Moving forward to 1851 there is an obscure announcement in the first New York Daily Times. Married….In Trinity Church, Fredonia, on the inst., Rev. T. P. Tyler, JOHN M. GRANT, Esq., of Jamestown, to SARA, daughter of Hon. JAMES MULLETT of Fredonia. We learn from this letter that John Grant is a cousin to Ulysses S. Grant and that Sarah is the daughter of a prominent judge and legislator of Fredonia, New York; Hon. James Mullett. What makes this unique is that it is the first wedding announcement of the New York Daily Times, now known as The New York Times. Generations later the pictures of the two newlyweds are in a home of a great- great- granddaughter in New Haven, Connecticut. A New York Times reporter made an interesting story out of the short announcement of their marriage. The story is told in a letter from Sara Mullett Grant to her parents.

Our next letter was from Mr. McKinstry, owner of the Censor, and former Post Master of Fredonia, appointed by Abraham Lincoln and first President of the Village of Fredonia; to Miss Pemberton, newly appointed Post Master. “Fredonia is fortunate in the happy solution of her post office contest. Miss Pemberton, you have good reason to be proud of the fact that you are a woman, and that a good fat salary is better than the barren honor of being able to vote.” Years later she was voted out of office when women were still not able to vote. The letter was taken word for word from the Censor.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was invited to speak to the Fredonia Normal School in 1870. How proud we are of this fact because even the lecture platform at the nearby Chautauqua Institution denied her the privilege of speaking there. Elizabeth Cady Stanton reinforces in this letter back to the students of the Normal School the most important aspects of her speech. “Our forefathers promulgated the great truth that all men are created free and equal and that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. No man can justly represent another,…No man can justly represent a woman. All men cannot represent all women. Class after class has been given a share in the government, till it is conceded that men’s rights are not safe, unless protected by the ballot. Woman suffrage has the whole theory of our government in its favor.” Stanton summed up the letter saying; “the great organ of humanity will never give out its full harmony till all its keys are struck. Woman must have the vote. I leave you with this knowledge…woman’s suffrage is the only live issue at present.” The letter was adapted from the lecture “Open the Doors” found in the Censor.

Our last letters were from Lucy Washburn, born in Fredonia on April 23, 1848. She was educated at the Fredonia Academy and became the last student there to read a graduating essay in 1867. Miss Washburn taught at the Fredonia Normal school, the Hampton Normal School, and San Jose State. She taught Booker T. Washington at the Hampton Normal School in Virginia and remained a lifelong friend. One of her correspondence read was to Booker T. Washington. The other letter from Miss Washburn was to Ezra Cornell asking him to please consider admitting women to his University. Miss Washburn did attend Vassar College and Cornell.

Lucy Washburn was instrumental in helping with the transition from Fredonia Academy to the Fredonia Normal School. She was a pioneer women educator in part because of the dedication to education in Fredonia.

The members were called to tea by Woods with Nicki Schoenl assisting.

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