Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Dorothy Quigley, 1887-1969
By Sabrina Heggan, student, Rosemont College
Dorothy (Dorothea) Dean Armstrong was born in Pennsylvania in August 1887 to Lewis Descaret Armstrong, a paper mill owner, and Ida Kelly Armstrong. She was orphaned at 13 and became a wealthy heiress in 1905 when she married Richard Shaw Quigley, a local oil refinery manufacturer and state legislator. They had three children.
Quigley was active in the Clinton County Woman Suffrage Association. In 1917 she served on the resolutions committee of the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association. She was elected district chair of both Clinton County and of Congressional Districts 15 and 21, positions she held until the passage of women's suffrage. After Pennsylvania ratified the 19th Amendment in June 1919, Quigley turned her attention to the newly formed Pennsylvania League of Women Citizens (later League of Women Voters), where she served as a director during its first year. Quigley was featured, along with her children, in a photo spread announcing the formation of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the League of Women Citizens in The Woman's Journal. She was also appointed to the Pennsylvania Republican Women's Committee.
For more than five decades, Quigley was a prominent civic leader in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. During the First World War, as a county suffrage leader, Quigley was active in Women's Liberty Bond campaigns. During the Second World War she supported civil defense programs, the American Red Cross, and served as a nurse's aide at Lock Haven Hospital. She was an active fundraiser for land conservation and served as a trustee for the Clinton County Historical Society. She was also a faithful attendant at weekly mass at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
Her other hobbies included horticulture, collecting antiques, and fishing. Quigley was fascinated with the Pekingese dog breed, cared for many Pekingese dogs, and judged dog shows. She was known for her 1964 book The Quigley Book of the Pekingese, which she dedicated to Ch. Jai Son Fu, a champion of the Orchard Hill kennels. While mostly an owner's guide for breeding and kennel operation, it also discusses her transformation from a novice breeder to an experienced and respected judge. In 1965, Quigley received a certificate of honorable mention from the Dog Writers Association of America.
In 1969, Quigley died at the Lock Haven Hospital at the age of 81.
Sources:
"Deaths and Funerals," The Express (Lock Haven, PA), Aug 30, 1969, 4.
Harper, Ida Husted, et al., eds., History of Woman Suffrage: 1900-1920. Volume 6. (1922) [LINK].
"Mrs. Quigley's Book Honored," The Express, Feb 20, 1965, 20.
"Quigley Book of Pekingese' Reflects Experience at Orchard Hill Kennel," The Express, Jan 7, 1965, 15.
Treasury Department, Report of National Woman's Liberty Loan Committee for the Victory Loan Campaign, April 21st to May 10, 1919. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1920.
"Women Voters Hear Plans for Better Schools," Pittsburg Press, Nov. 19, 1920, 1.