Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Julia McAlmont Warner, 1860-1927
By Renee Pinkston, Ph.D. Candidate, Heritage Studies, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR
Educator at Arkansas Female College, Woman's Political Equity League
Julia McAlmont Warner was born on September 1, 1860 in Hornellsville, New York and died at her home near Little Rock, Arkansas on December 30, 1927. Her parents were Truman Warner and Myra Cordelia McAlmont Warner, both born in New York. Her mother was well-known for establishing The Arkansas Female College in 1872 and for being an early supporter of women's suffrage in Arkansas. In 1877, Warner began her career teaching at The Arkansas Female College, at the age of seventeen. She was fluent in several languages, including Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian.
In 1911, after the organization of the Political Equality League in Little Rock, prominent women in the political sphere, including Warner, gathered at a public meeting to discuss the demand for women's suffrage in Arkansas. After the public meeting, the group of women requested a hearing for March 16, 1911 on the topics of women's suffrage and political rights. The hearing request was later approved and subsequently laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Woman's Political Equality League. Warner served as the first chairman and the first treasurer of the league at its inaugural meeting in 1911.
It was during this same time, in 1911, that equal suffrage resolutions were introduced into the Arkansas House of Representatives. However, these introductions were not taken seriously as they were rumored to be a joke. When it became known that a bill was introduced and not further acted upon, women suffragists, with Warner at the forefront, appealed for a hearing for the same bill. Although their first attempt at a meeting was not possible because the chairman of the judiciary committee could not be located at the specified meeting time and location, the women still persevered and were finally granted a hearing on March 11, 1911.
Under the auspices of the Woman's Political Equality League, the first National Suffrage May Day was observed in October 1914 on the front steps of the Old State House in Little Rock. At this rally, Warner was invited to give a speech asking for the right of suffrage for Arkansas women, alongside several other prominent female and male suffragists and community figures.
Warner was also active in other social and cultural groups and associations. She was a co-founder of the Mayflower Society and the Alliance Française. She was a charter member for the Daughters of the American Revolution and a member of the Colonial Dames. Warner died in 1927 and is buried in her mother's grave in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, AR.
SOURCES:
Harper, Ida Husted, el al., eds. History of Woman Suffrage. Vol VI (1900-1920). N.p: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922. [LINK]
Arkansas Women's Suffrage Centennial Project Virtual Exhibit. University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture. http://ualrexhibits.org/suffrage/ (accessed February 05, 2019).
Baker, Max L. and Fred O. Henker. “John Josephus McAlmont.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1707, accessed February 5, 2019.
Taylor, Paula Kyzer. “Women's Suffrage Movement.” The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4252, accessed February 5, 2019.
Arkansas State Archives. Arkansas Female College Collection Finding Aid. http://archives.arkansas.gov/research/browse-archival-collections.aspx?id=3397#toc. Accessed February 5, 2019.
Find A Grave. Memorial Page for Julia McAlmont Warner (1 Sep 1860- 28 Dec 1927). Find A Grave Memorial No. 102374225. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102374225/julia-warner. Accessed February 5, 2019.
Arkansas State Archives. “Wednesday's Wonderful Collection – Arkansas Female College Records, SMC.1.4.” From the Vault (blog). March 23, 2016. http://arkansasstatearchives.blogspot.com/2016/03/wednesdays-wonderful-collection.html
City directories for Little Rock, Arkansas (1900-1930), Ancestry.com website
Image 1. Women's Suffrage Rally on the Steps of the Old State House, 1914. Miss Julia McAlmont Warner is labeled as 5. From the Arkansas Women's History Collection, Suffrage AHC2120, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas (http://cdm16790.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16790coll14/id/6/rec/3).
Image 2. Arkansas Female College 1889 class. Miss Julia McAlmont Warner is pictured to the right of the column, looking to her right. From the Arkansas Women's History Collection, AHC1711, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas, (http://cdm16790.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16790coll14/id/12/rec/1).