Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Emma S. Pierce 1879-1977
By Beth Twomey, librarian, North Dakota State University
Chairman, Treasurer, and Vice-President, Votes for Women League
Emma S. Pierce (nee Swart) was also known by the first name Euvea. She was born December 16, 1879, the only child of Charles and Sandie Swart. She married Joseph A. Pierce in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1909. They did not appear to have had any children.
Pierce was a member of the North Dakota Votes for Women League and filled multiple roles of increasing responsibility over the years. She was also chairman of the financial committee and in that role traveled to suffrage meetings around the state to report on finances. Beginning as an assistant treasurer in 1914, by 1917 she was elected to be the first Vice-president while remaining chairman of the finance committee. After her vice presidency, she served as chairman of the press committee. She was described as a "prominent suffragist" in the Bismarck Tribune.
In the summer of 1914 she undertook a two week campaign along with Mrs. Mary Weible along the train lines making speeches, handing out informational literature, and helping other communities organize voting leagues of their own.
Pierce died May 23, 1977 at the age of 97 in Hennepin, Minnesota.
SOURCES:
Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
The Bismarck tribune. (Bismarck, N.D.), 22 Sept. 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042243/1917-09-22/ed-1/seq-5/
The Bismarck tribune. (Bismarck, N.D.), 26 March 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042243/1917-03-26/ed-1/seq-5/
Minnesota Department of Health; St Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2017
Registration State: North Dakota; Registration County: Cass; Roll: 1819407
Year: 1920; Census Place: Fargo Ward 4, Cass, North Dakota; Roll: T625_1332; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 15
The Bismarck tribune. (Bismarck, N.D.), 24 Sept. 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042243/1917-09-24/ed-1/seq-5/
The Bismarck tribune. (Bismarck, N.D.), 26 Sept. 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042243/1917-09-26/ed-1/seq-5/
Grand Forks daily herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.), 21 Sept. 1914. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89074405/1914-09-21/ed-1/seq-6/