Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Myrtle W. Marble, 1875-1951
Haley Spengler
Iowa State University
Faculty Sponsor: Sarah Chase Crosby
Subject Librarian: Susan A. Vega Garcia
Printer and Publisher of Woman's Suffrage Cookbook, Member of Nebraska Woman's Suffrage Association
Many women were involved in the suffrage movement, including the lesser-known Myrtle W. Marble. Along with her early life and marriage, Marble took part in many activities and organizations, such as the Women's Suffrage Cook Book and the Nebraska Woman Suffrage Association.
According to the 1880 United States Federal Census given by ancestry.com, Myrtle W. Marble was born as Myrtle W. Wosley. She was born in Illinois sometime around 1875 to William and Martha Wosley. Ancestry.com also reveals, through the Nebraska State Census Collection, 1860-1885, that she had three older brothers and two younger sisters. Based on this information, her family moved from Illinois to Nebraska sometime between 1875 and 1885.
The 1910 United States Federal Census given by ancestry.com claims that Myrtle was married to a man named Harmon Percy Marble. F. Andrew Taylor, from the Las Vegas Review Journal, published in 2014, reveals that Harmon and Myrtle lived in Humboldt, Nebraska together and had a daughter named Zora. Taylor also claims that Harmon was a popular photographer of Native Americans and very involved in Indian affrairs, and that, in 1897, the couple "founded a newspaper company called The Humboldt Leader."
According to Nina Martyris, in her article on NPR Iowa Public Radio published in 2015, the first Women's Suffrage Cookbook was published in 1886. History of Women's Suffrage: 1900-1920 edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, et al., states that Marble took part in the cookbook initiative in 1904 by helping to publish and mail the books. Nina Martyris also claims that these cookbooks were used as a fundraiser for the suffrage movement. This was arguably the most influential project Marble took part in because it raised awareness of the issues with discrimination against women and raised money for the suffrage cause.
The Omaha Daily Bee, published on March 17, 1903, states that Marble took part in other suffragist activities. For instance, the newspaper details how she attended the National Women's Suffrage Convention in New Orleans to represent Nebraska. The Omaha Daily Bee, published on February 3, 1907, also states that Marble was a member of the Nebraska Women's Suffrage Association, and in 1907, she attended the Chicago meeting to represent Nebraska.
According to the 1920 and 1940 United States Federal Census given by ancestry.com, Marble and her family moved to South Dakota and Las Vegas. The California Death Index from 1940-1997 from ancestry.com also provides her death certificate, revealing that she died in Los Angeles in 1951. Marble and her family were primarily following Harmon's career; however, Myrtle was also independent in her works as a suffragist.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. "M.W. Marble." 1920 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://search.ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com. "Myrtle W Marble." California Death Index, 1940-1997. Ancestry.com. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://search.ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com. "Myrtle Wolsey." 1880 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://search.ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com. "Myrtle W Marble." 1910 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://search.ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com. "Myrtle Woosley." Nebraska, State Census Collection, 1860-1885. Ancestry.com. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://search.ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com. "Myrtle Marble." 1940 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com. Accessed September 26, 2017. http://search.ancestry.com.
"Leave for Suffrage Convention." Omaha Daily Bee, March 17, 1903. Page 3, Image 3. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1903-03-17/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1789&index=5&rows=20&words=Marble+Myrtle+W&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1925&proxtext=myrtle+w+marble&y=13&x=26&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=.
Martyris, Nina. "How Suffragist Used Cookbooks As A Recipe For Subversion." NPR Iowa Public Radio, November 5, 2015. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/11/05/454246666/how-suffragists-used-cookbooks-as-a-recipe-for-subversion.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady., Susan Brownell Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Ida Husted Harper, ed. The History of Woman Suffrage: 1900-1920, vol. 6. New York: J.J. Little & Ives Company, 1922. https://books.google.com/books?id=rIoEAAAAYAAJ&q=myrtle+w+marble#v=onepage&q=myrtle%20w%20marble&f=false.
Taylor, Andrew F. "One-Time Las Vegas Mayor Documented Native Americans," Las Vegas Review Journal, August 6, 2014. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/downtown/one-time-las-vegas-mayor-documented-native-americans/.
"The Work of the Club Women." Omaha Daily Bee, February 3, 1907, Page 2, Image 2. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1907-02-03/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1789&index=3&rows=20&words=Marble+Myrtle+W&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1925&proxtext=myrtle+w+marble&y=13&x=26&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1.