Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Elizabeth Skinner (Jackson), 1887-1962
By Denise Ireton, National Votes for Women Trail, with Killian O'Donnell, NVWT State Coordinator, and Ann Pfau, NVWT Researcher
Elizabeth Skinner was born January 6, 1887, in Hillsborough County, Florida, to Lee Bronson and Mary Eleanor (Bruce) Skinner. Her father was considered a pioneer citrus grower in Florida. She grew up in Dunedin and graduated from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. She earned an AB degree in sociology. She was an educator, teaching sociology at Florida Southern College and serving as dean for women. She was active in the First Presbyterian Church throughout her life.
Among her many civic engagements, Skinner was a state organizer for the women's suffrage effort in Florida. A resident of Dunedin, she was active in the community through many organizations, including the Pinellas County Women's Club, the Dunedin Women's Club, and the Dunedin Library Association. She served on the legislative committee of the county women's club, which corresponded with her vice presidency in the Florida Equal Suffrage Association (FESA).
In November 1918, Skinner spoke before the Florida Equal Suffrage Association conference in Daytona on the "Right and Power of Petition." She presided over the Equal Suffrage Conference held in Tampa in January 1919. In March, she solicited support for the suffrage amendment in Florida, and she travelled throughout Florida giving lectures and speeches in support of the cause. These efforts were part of a push to put suffrage before the Florida legislature in April 1919, and she went to Tallahassee to be part of the lobbying effort with the suffrage association to convince legislators to support the federal amendment. She returned to Dunedin, despite the failed effort, and reported on the lobbying work to the county women. This meeting, along with numerous other club and suffrage meetings, happened at Library Hall.
After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, Elizabeth Skinner continued her advocacy for women through the League of Women Voters, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and the General Federation of Women's Clubs, serving as president for the Florida GFWC.
Elizabeth Skinner married Charles Jeter Jackson on October 21, 1927. He worked for the YWCA and was a widower with one daughter. Her wedding announcement mentioned that she was a past president of the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs, was serving on the Child's Code Commission of Florida, and was vice-president of the national YWCA. They lived in Tampa in 1930. By 1935, she had returned to Dunedin, living with her parents, and the 1940 US Census listed her as divorced and living in Lakeland. In 1947, she ran a successful campaign to become a county school trustee in St. Petersburg, Florida. She later returned to Dunedin, where she died in March 22, 1962. She was buried in Dunedin Cemetery. The Elizabeth Skinner-Jackson Park in Dunedin was named for her.
CREDIT: "Miss Elizabeth Skinner," photograph, Tampa Times, February 1, 1919. Newspapers.com.
CREDIT: Florida Southern College, 1944, ancestry.com
SOURCES:
*Note on sources: All newspapers articles found with Newspapers.com.
"Compliment to Miss Skinner," Fort Myers News Press, March 8, 1919.
Earman, Joe. "Suffragists," Palm Beach Post, March 25, 1919.
"Elizabeth Skinner and Jacksonville Man Wed Tomorrow," Tampa Tribune, October 21, 1927.
"Executive Meeting of County Women's Clubs at Dunedin," Tampa Bay Times, May 8, 1919.
"Federation of Women's Clubs Meet Thursday," Tampa Bay Times, December 1, 1918.
Find a Grave, Elizabeth Jackson Skinner, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14519234.
Florida, State Census, 1935. Ancestry.com.
"Florida E.S.A. Asks Clubs' Support," The Tampa Times, March 22, 1919.
"Florida Federation of Women's Clubs," Orlando Sentinel, October 22, 1922.
"Florida Federation of Women's Clubs," Miami Herald, April 17, 1921.
Harper, Ida Husted, editor. Chapter IX: Florida, in History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 6, National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922. [LINK]
"Meeting of Woman's Club at Dunedin," Tampa Bay Times, May 5, 1919.
"Mass Meeting Aids Suffrage Move in City," Tampa Bay Times, April 2, 1919.
Miss Elizabeth Skinner, Ocala Evening Star, March 22, 1919.
"Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson, Pioneer Civic Worker, Educator, Dies at Dunedin," Tampa Tribune, March 24, 1962.
"Mrs. Elizabeth Skinner Jackson," Tampa Bay Tines, November 2, 1947.
"Organizers Due in Pensacola This Week to Fire Opening Gun of State Campaign," Pensacola News Journal, March 14, 1919.
"Pinellas Clubs Meet at St. Pete," Tampa Times, March 29, 1919.
"Pinellas County Woman's Club Meets Next Week," Tampa Bay Times, May 1, 1919.
"Preparing for Suffrage Convention," Tampa Tribune, October 10, 1919.
Skinner, Elizabeth. "Florida E.S.A. Asks Clubs Support, March 22, 1919.
"Suffrage Conference at Daytona," Orlando Sentinel, November 21, 1918.
"Suffrage League Holds Meeting at Clearwater," Tampa Bay Times, January 19, 1919.
"Suffragists Busy," Palm Beach Post, April 10, 1919.
"To Hold All Day Suffrage Rally," Miami Herald, March 19, 1919.
"U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Florida Southern College; Year: 1944. Digital images. Ancestry.com
U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, "Elizabeth S. Jackson, Dunedin, FL," March 26, 1952. Ancestry.com.
United States Census, 1900, 1910, 1930, 1940. Ancestry.com.