Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Harriet Houser, 1866 - ?
By Rebecca Durgin, Graduate Student, Smithsonian-Mason MA in the History of Decorative Arts
Harriet Houser -- Indiana State Suffrage Association Endorsement Committee Officer
Harriet S. Eikenberry was born in April 1866 in Indiana to Solme Eikenberry and Sarah A. Eikenberry. Harriet was the third child out of four that included an older brother, Leonard W., an older sister, Catherine, and a younger brother, Joseph J. Based on the 1870 United States Federal Census, the Eikenberry family was residing in Democrat, Indiana when Harriet was just four years old.
Harriet married Wesley Houser in June of 1887 in Indiana when she was 21 years old. Two years later, Harriet gave birth to their only son, Clyde S. Houser. In the 1900 United States Federal Census, Harriet is listed as Hattie Houser. The Houser family resided in Eel, Indiana. During this time, the United States Federal Census also listed a fourteen-year-old girl named Minne Mcintire as a member of the Houser household.
In the 1910 United States Federal Census, Harriet is listed along with her husband and son, as residing in Logansport, Indiana. Both Wesley and Clyde were wage earners for the family; Wesley's occupation is listed as a superintendent at a saw mill and Clyde working as a clerk in a hotel. At that time, Harriet was forty-four years old.
Indiana had its own statewide suffrage association. At the Indiana State Convention that was held in Logansport, Indiana on June 28, 1912, Harriet was elected as an officer of the Endorsement Committee. The group started a publicity campaign that hung up "Votes for Women" signs, handed out free reading, and provided speakers to come to talk about the issues. These campaigns would last until World War I. In 1914, Harriet was the president of her local chapter of the Equal Suffrage Association and was also a state organizer. She was an active member and planned multiple events in Logansport and statewide. During a suffragist demonstration in Logansport, Harriet read the Suffragist's Declaration of Independence to the crowd. In February 1915, Harriet met with the Equal Suffrage Association and the event that was held included lectures and a musical program. The next month, Harriet attended the Mississippi Valley Suffrage Conference in Indianapolis.
After 1916, there is not much mention of Harriet's involvement with the suffrage movement or her personal life in any of the local newspapers. Harriet's son, Clyde, along with his wife moved to Miami, Florida in 1928. In the June 5, 1929 edition of the local newspaper, The Logansport Press, it mentions that Harriet spent the day with Mr. David Whitley and Mrs. Fred Pershbarker. This is the last mention of Harriet in Logansport, and there were no death records found at this time.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census. accessed December 14, 2017.
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed December 14, 2017.
Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census. accessed December 14, 2017.
Ancestry.com. Florida, Passengers Lists, 1893-1963. accessed February 26, 2018.
Ancestry.com. Indiana, Marriages 1810-2001. accessed January 3, 2018.
Harper, Ida Husted, ed. The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume 6: 1900-1920. (New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1922). LINK to IN report
Logansport Journal Tribune. Thursday, October 1, 1914, p. 3. https://pharostrib.newspaperarchive.com/logansport-journal-tribune/1914-09-15/page-3/.
Logansport Journal Tribune. Thursday, February 4, 1915. p. 3. https://pharostrib.newspaperarchive.com/logansport-journal-tribune/1915-02-04/page-3/.
Logansport Pharos Reporter. Friday, May 1, 1914. p. 7. https://pharostrib.newspaperarchive.com/logansport-pharos-reporter/1914-05-01/page-7/.
Logansport Pharos Reporter. Thursday, March 11, 1915, p. 10. https://pharostrib.newspaperarchive.com/logansport-pharos-reporter/1915-03-11/page-10/.
Logansport Press. Wednesday June 5, 1929. p. 2. https://pharostrib.newspaperarchive.com/logansport-press/1929-06-05/page-2/.