Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Lucy Philenda (Mrs. E.V.) Spencer, 1847-1915
By Michael Caplan, History and Political Science Undergraduate
University of California, Santa Barbara
Educator, Vice President of California State Suffrage Association, Member-National Woman Suffrage Association, Paralegal/Attorney, Notary Public
Mrs. Lucy Philenda Spencer was born Lucy Philenda (L.P.) Montgomery on August 11, 1847 in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. One of seven children to Thomas Montgomery (1816-1897) and Matilda Lorena Todd (1820-1874), Lucy Philenda moved to Lassen County, California with her considerable family as a young teen. There she met New York native turned promising local attorney Ephraim Van Buren (E.V.) Spencer (1836-1904), marrying him on April 7th, 1867 in Susanville, CA. They had three children: Iva Grace Spencer (1869-1958), Gladys Matilda Spencer (1872-1957), and Ephraim Montgomery Spencer (1874-89). Iva Grace would marry future Congressman John E. Raker and Gladys would become the first female Superior Judge of Lassen County after the passing of her husband in 1936. E.V. Spencer enjoyed a distinguished career in the law and politics of the Northern California region. He was elected as the first District Attorney of Lassen County in 1864 and later elected again in 1871, in addition to serving one term as State Assemblyman (1895-97). E.V. Spencer served as the Lassen County Superior Judge and thereafter was often designated Judge Spencer in newspaper records. L.P. Spencer demonstrated passion for administrative professions, serving as an educator, training as a paralegal in her husband's law firm, and eventually serving as a practicing attorney after the death of her husband. In March 1891, Governor Markhain appointed Mrs. Spencer the first female Notary Public in the State of California, choosing her over many illustrious San Francisco women jostling for the honor as chronicled in the Chico Weekly Enterprise.
Mrs. Spencer and her husband were active in Republican party politics early on in their marriage and played principal roles in the California suffrage movement from at least the 1880s until the eventual passage of votes for women. Given the moniker of "mother of the suffragettes," both for her matronly appearance and political aptitude, Mrs. Spencer was the unceasing champion of the California crusade for suffrage. In 1895 during the tenure of Assemblyman Spencer, the couple dually led the attempt to pass AB 470-a bill that would have granted women the right to vote-but failed to garner the necessary support during a legislative conference committee. The Marysville Daily Appeal described Mrs. Spencer as "the most able and indefatigable worker for the bill." In 1896, following the failure to attain suffrage through the California Legislature, the Spencers took a leading role in the struggle to "compile 20,000 signatures to have suffrage placed on the California ballot." Amendment 6 was defeated by California voters but the determination of Mrs. Spencer so shortly after legislative efforts had failed illustrated her profound commitment to the cause.
In the years after the death of her husband, E.V. Spencer, L.P. Spencer exhibited the same enthusiasm for the cause of women's suffrage, traveling widely to give speeches on the subject and maintaining substantial involvement in organizing efforts as Vice President of the California State Suffrage Association. In the critical year of 1911, Mrs. Spencer's profile as "one of the most active workers in the suffrage movement" expanded. In the weeks before the statewide referendum on suffrage, Mrs. Spencer gave speeches and "corner street talks" across the region including Sacramento and Amador. She penned a letter to the editor in the Sacramento Union protesting the characterization of her comments on the opposition to women's suffrage and arguing forcefully that you "could not find one bad man that was working for suffrage." On October 10, 1911 California women were granted the right to vote by a narrow margin that was likely made possible by the efforts of suffragists such as Mrs. Spencer in rural counties.
The consistency and commitment displayed by L.P. Spencer had a considerable effect on the history of women's suffrage in California and her legacy should foremost be marked by that accomplishment. On April 20, 1912 in the aftermath of the suffrage vote, Mrs. Spencer co-founded the Monticola Club, a women's service organization that still exists in Susanville. On March 8, 1915 at the age of 67 and after a lifetime of civic engagement, Lucy Philenda Spencer passed away in her adopted hometown of Susanville, CA. Well remembered in Susanville, Mrs. Spencer is also commemorated for helping to establish the first public and first law library in the town. To this day during the annual History Day celebration in Lassen County, the character of "Philenda Spencer" gives important talks to visiting children on the effort to secure women's suffrage.
Sources:
Gladys Spencer Burroughs: https://wlh.law.stanford.edu/biography_search/biopage/?woman_lawyer_id=10143
History Day Celebration: https://www.susanvillestuff.com/gallery-lassen-county-third-graders-celebrate-local-history-2/
History of Women's Suffrage in California: https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/women-get-right-vote/history-womens-suffrage-california
Lassen County Obituary: http://genealogytrails.com/cal/lassen/obit2.html
Lassen County Archives: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/lassen/history/1882/illustra/lassenco279ms.txt
Legacy in Susanville: https://www.susanvillestuff.com/celebrating-100-years-of-california-womens-right-to-vote/
"Lucy Philenda Montgomery." Ancestry.com, www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/110355379/person/250086761799/facts?_phsrc=Geo31&_phstart=successSource.
Monticola Club: https://www.susanvillestuff.com/from-the-files-of-the-lassen-historical-society-the-monticola-club/
"Mother of Suffragettes Has Peach-Blown Cheeks." Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA). 7 Feb 1911, p.2. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Mother of Woman Suffrage in State Dead." Placer Herald (Auburn, CA). 13 Mar 1915, p.2. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Mrs. E.V. Spencer Talked on Woman Suffrage." Truckee Republic (Truckee, Nevada). 7 Oct 1911, p.1. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Mrs. Spencer Comes To Aid Local Suffragists." Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA). 23 Sep 1911, p.11. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Mrs. Spencer of Susanville Secures Coveted Honor." Chico Weekly-Enterprise (Chico, CA). 20 Mar 1891, p.1. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Noted Suffragist Speaker To Be Here." Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA). 3 Oct 1911, p.6. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
Spencer, Lucy Philenda. "Mrs. E.V. Spencer Explains Her Attitude on Amendment." Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA). 3 Sep 1911. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Women's Suffrage Meeting." Amador Ledger-Dispatch (Amador, CA). 25 Aug 1911, p.4. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.
"Women Will Not Vote." Marysville Daily Appeal (Marysville ,CA). 17 Mar 1895, p.1. California Digital Newspaper Collection, UCR Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research.