Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920

Biography of Sarah J. Weede, 1847-?

By Thomas Dublin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, SUNY Binghamton

We know very little about Sarah Weede (also Weed) from Baltimore County, Maryland. She was born in Maryland, probably in 1847, with parents and maiden name uncertain. She married Charles T. Weede in 1878 and the 1880 census reports the couple (Charles and Sallie) as residing in the District of Columbia, with Charles noted as a clergyman born in Tennessee. Charles's birth state and occupation are consistently confirmed by additional census links in 1900-1920. All the censuses note the absence of children. The censuses record no occupation for Sarah, either in 1880 or in later census years. She and Charles were both white and they rented their home in all three census years that recorded that information, 1900, 1910, and 1920. They lived in Baltimore County from 1900 to 1920. They lived alone in 1880; in 1900 they had a black male servant living in their household; they were alone in 1910, and then in 1920 Sarah's widowed sister Margaret and niece Leila resided with them. They were both 73 that year and neither could be found in any later federal census.

Baltimore newspaper accounts tracked the Weedes's activities. A March 1900 newspaper story notes that the Weedes resided in the parsonage of the Methodist Church in Hereford. As the minister's wife she lent support to the Ladies Aid Society of the church in 1902. A 1904 story had the couple residing in Winchester, VA. In 1917 the couple. Living then in Kensington, MD, purchased $100 worth of Liberty Bonds to support the U.S. war effort.

Sarah is noted in the Maryland state report in the History of Woman Suffrage, volume 6 as active in suffrage campaigns in that state, but the reference offers no more detailed information. At this point we've not found a death date for Weede or any further details about her suffrage activism.

Sources:

Ida Husted Harper, et al., eds., History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 6 (1922) [LINK].

Federal Manuscript Census listings for Sarah and Charles Weede, District of Columbia, 1880; Baltimore County, 1900-1920. Accessed with HeritageQuest.com.

Search results for "Mrs. Charles Weede" in Baltimore newspapers, 1900-1920. Accessed via Newspapers.com.

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