Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 1.djvu/137

Rh Mrs. Gage spoke with great enthusiasm and warmth. I think it must have been almost her first effort, to be followed by years of persistent work by voice and pen, to secure a wider field of labor for her sex, and to spur dull woman to do for herself; to make use of the means within her grasp; to become fit to bear the higher responsibilities which the coming years might impose

Her dear voice is almost silent now, still she lingers as if to catch some faint glimpse of hoped-for results, ere she drops this mortal coil.

Very truly yours,

On May 27, 1852, another State Convention was held in Massilon. We give the following brief notice from the New York Tribune:

The third Woman's Rights Convention of Ohio has just closed its session. It was held in the Baptist church, in this place. and was numerously attended, there being a fair representation of men. as well as women; for though the object of these, and similar meetings, is to secure woman her rights, as an equal member of the human family, neither speaking nor membership was here confined to the one sex, but all who had sentiments to utter in reference to the object of the Convention — whether for or against it — were invited to speak with freedom. and those who wished to aid the movement to sit as members, without distinction of sex. All honorable classes were represented, from the so-called highest to the so-called lowest — the seamstress who works for twenty-five cents a day; the daughters of the farmer, fresh from the dairy and the kitchen; the wives of the laborer, the physician, the lawyer, and the banker, the legislator, and the minister, were all there — all interested in one common cause, and desirous that every right God gave to woman should be fully recognized by the laws and usages of society, that every faculty he has bestowed upon her should have ample room for its proper development. Is this asking too much? And yet this is the sum and substance of the Woman's Rights Reform — a movement which fools ridicule, and find easier to sneer at than meet with argument.

Before they separated they organized "The Ohio Woman's Rights Association," and chose Hannah Tracy Cutler for President.

The first annual meeting of this Association was held at Ravenna, May 25th and 26th, 1853. In the absence of the President, Mrs. Caroline M. Severance presided. The speakers were Rev. Antoinette L. Brown, Mrs. Lawrence, Emma R. Coe, Josephine S. Griffing, Martha J. Tilden, and many others. Emily Robinson presented an able and encouraging report on the progress of the work. Mrs. Severance was appointed to prepare a memorial to the Legislature, which was presented March 23, 1854, laid on the table and ordered to be printed. This document is found in the June number of The Una, 1854, and is a very carefully written paper on the legal status of woman.