Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Eva Sardeson Jerome, 1875-1966
By Antoinette West, undergraduate student, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh Wisconsin.
Eva Sardeson was born in Argyle, Wisconsin, on September 13, 1875, to Petra Rossing and Joseph Sardeson. Eva had four siblings: Bertha A., Amos Cornelius, Frederick William, and Olive Josephine. In 1886, the Sardeson family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1899, Eva graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and began working as an English teacher.
On August 7, 1907, Eva married Charles Waldron Jerome. Charles and Eva had three children together: Bourne Jerome (1910-1978), Ida Petra Jerome (1912-2008) and Murray Jerome (1913-1969). The Jerome family lived in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. After marrying Charles, Eva resigned her teaching position and began devoting her time and energy to political and social service organizations. She fought for women's suffrage, joining the League of Women Voters of Minneapolis, and serving as the corresponding secretary for the Minnesota Suffrage Association. She also fought for racial and employment equality, supporting organizations including the Congress of Racial Equality, the Joint Committee for Employment Opportunity, and the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Throughout the early twentieth-century she also supported a variety of other organizations, including: Children's Home Society of Minneapolis, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, American Missionary Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
In 1927, Charles died, and shortly thereafter Eva briefly resumed her teaching career before becoming a social worker for the Children's Home Society of Minneapolis. She retired in 1938, but continued her involvement with political and social organizations until her death on September 3, 1966. The Minnesota Historical Society holds the Charles W. and Eva S. Jerome and Family Papers. These papers include correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, and newspaper clippings, many relating to Eva's political and social work.
Sources:
"Biographical Note," Charles W. and Eva S. Jerome and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/P0854.xml (accessed Nov 2017)
Harper Husted, Ida, ed. The History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 6: 1900-1920, New York: J.J. Little & Ives Company, 1922. [LINK]
Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 16 November 2017), memorial page for Eva Sardeson Jerome (1875–3 Sep 1966), Find A Grave Memorial no. 89606241, citing Forest Hill Cemetery, Owatonna, Steele County, Minnesota, USA ; Maintained by Mookie (contributor 47515129)
"Teachers Banquet Committee: Thankful for Pension Legislation and Will Show Appreciation," The Minneapolis Tribune. 9 June, 1909, p.7.
McKusick, Mrs. H.N, "Clubs: Officers of the Association," The Minneapolis Tribune. 23 October, 1910, p. 27.
Lee Bros. "Eva Rossing Sardeson, University of Minnesota graduate."
Minnesota Society Collections Online. Identifier no. por 25936 r1, 1899, http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10787721&return=brand=cms
"Eva S. Jerome: in the Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002," Ancestry.com. Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001.Original data: State of Minnesota. Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002. Minneapolis, MN, USA: Minnesota Department of Health.
"Murray Jerome Lewis: in the Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002," Ancestry.com. Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Original data: State of Minnesota. Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002. Minneapolis, MN, USA: Minnesota Department of Health.
"Eva R. Sardeson: in the 1880 United States Federal Census," Year: 1880; Census Place: Argyle, Lafayette, Wisconsin; Roll: 1433; Page: 12D; Enumeration District: 200. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints