Biographical Database of NAWSA Woman Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Isabel H. Troendle, 1865-1932
By Theo Britton and Brooke Sapper, students, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
Isabel H. Troendle (née MacDonald) was born November 30, 1865, to Irish immigrant parents in Morrison, Illinois. On September 1st, 1892, Isabel married Victor Hugo Troendle, a wholesale paper merchant from Kentucky. Isabel and Victor remained married for the next 34 years until his death in 1926. During their marriage, the couple lived together at 1636 West 26th Street, Minneapolis, where they raised their two children, Theodora and Victor H. Jr. In the 1910 census, Isabel's occupation was listed simply as housewife.
The earliest mentions of Isabel Troendle in the suffragist movement begin in a September 1915 issue of the New Ulm Review describing the annual convention of the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA). From 1915 to 1920, Isabel Troendle was recorded as the treasurer for the MWSA in their official correspondence. As treasurer, Isabel was less visible than her contemporary, Clara Ueland, who served as president from 1914 to 1919. However, her role as treasurer was central to the operations of the MWSA. Isabel was responsible for receiving checks from the chapters that handled expenses and contributions made for the cause, along with pledges. Additionally, correspondence indicates that she was also responsible for communicating with chapters across the state regarding matters of finance and attendance for MWSA events like the annual convention.
Documentation of Isabel's life post-involvement with the MWSA is scarce. However, limited records indicate that in her later years, Isabel took time for leisure. Her activities included visiting family, international travel, and sightseeing. Isabel Troendle died on August 12, 1932, in San Diego, California. She was buried alongside Victor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
SOURCES:
Certificate of Marriage, Victor H. Troendle to Isabel H. MacDonald, 1 September 1892, Cook County, Illinois.
"Isabel H MacDonald Troendle." Find a Grave. Accessed March 20, 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8023553.
Moeller, Bertha C. Bertha C. Moeller to Clara Ueland, Pinewood, MN, January 6, 1916.
Moeller, Bertha C. Bertha C. Moeller to Isabel Troendle, Ely, MN, February 2, 1917.
Moeller, Bertha C. Bertha C. Moeller to Isabel Troendle, Breckenridge, MN, March 1, 1917
National Archives and Records Administration. Isabel Troendle, Roll 1231 - Certificate: 43417, 26 May 1920.
"Suffragists to Meet on October 7-9." New Ulm Review, September 22, 1915.
Troendle, Isabel. Isabel Troendle to Mrs. George Baudler, Austin, MN, October 13, 1917.
Troendle, Isabel. Isabel Troendle to Mrs. Constant Larson, Alexandria, MN, August 6, 1918.
Troendle, Isabel. Isabel Troendle to Mrs F. Van Houten, Breckenridge, MN, August 8, 1918.
Troendle, Isabel. Isabel Troendle to Mrs. G.H. Gurley, Pipestone, MN, August 8, 1918.
Ueland, Clara. Clara Ueland to Leader, 1915.
Ueland, Clara. Clara Ueland to Marguerite Wells, Minneapolis, MN, January 15, 1917.
Ueland, Clara with Elizabeth W. Harrison, Jane Burr, Ethel Hurd, Isabel Troendle, Maud C. Stockwell. Clara Ueland with Elizabeth W. Harrison, Jane Burr, Ethel Hurd, Isabel Troendle and Maud C. Stockwell to Suffragist, March 6, 1920.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900-Population. Ancestry.com.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910-Population. Ancestry.com.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920-Population. Ancestry.com.