Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Katherine Tipton Hosmer, 1867-1940
By Jessica Cole, student, Colorado State University
Katherine Tipton Hosmer was born on December 9, 1867, in Peoria County, Illinois. Her father, Judge F. M Tipton, served as the attorney of Trinidad County, Colorado. Katherine Tipton married George E. Hosmer on August 1, 1889. George was also born in Illinois, to George W. and Harriet Hosmer, who were New York natives.
Both Katherine and George were active in the printing business. George Hosmer undertook a print apprenticeship in Kansas, and they later moved to Colorado. In 1887, when they arrived in Springfield, Colorado, George created the Springfield Beacon. He also worked for the Denver News and Daily Advisor. George purchased the Adviser as well as the Herald after his move to Fort Meyers, Colorado. Katherine did not shy away from journalistic and editorial roles in her career. She became the first woman to hold the position of city editor of the Colorado Daily Newspaper. Katherine Hosmer's short stories and articles were published in the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Times.
Outside of her journalistic and print work Hosmer was active in the Colorado suffragist movement at least as early as 1913. By November 1913, Hosmer was the chairwoman of the printing committee in the Denver Women's Press Club (DWPC). Founded in 1898, the DWPC was originally headed by Minnie. J Reynolds, another leading suffragist. Through the DWPC, many women were given the opportunity to publish, but also work for women's rights, even after the Nineteenth Amendment passed. In 1918, Hosmer was elected president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage League. This role elevated Hosmer into an important role in the fight for women's rights.
Away from the suffrage movement, Hosmer enjoyed music, and was an active member in the Tuesday Musical Club, and sang in the Trinity Choir. She and George had two children, a boy named Joe. B Hosmer, who was born in 1890, and a daughter Katherine, born in 1907. Joe attended the University of Missouri and later Harvard. Their daughter, Katherine, became a teacher and Joe joined the military and went on to fight in World War One. Katherine and her family were members of the Methodist Church and Democratic society. In her later life Katherine and George moved to Fort Meyers, Florida. Here Katherine was an active member of the Bay View Club. Katherine died December 9, 1940, five years before her husband George.
Sources
Leonard, John William. Women's Who's Who of America 1914-1915. New York: American Commonwealth, 1915, p. 405 [LINK]
"Colorado News Notes." Weekly Ignacio Chieftain, 8th year, no. 37 (March 22, 1918).
"Women's Club Elects Mrs Coatigan." Aurora Democrat, vol. 4 no. 29 (May 9, 1913).
Stone, Wilber Fiske. History of Colorado. Vol. 4. Chicago: S. J Clarke Publishing, 1919, p. 552-554
"Denver Women's Press Club," Colorado Encyclopedia. Accessed April 14th 2017. https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-woman's-press-club.
"Sarah Katherine Tipton Hosmer" Find A Grave Memorial. Accessed April 14th 2017. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=41940896.