Biographical Database of Black Woman Suffragists
Biography of Jane Lawson, dates unknown
By Chelsea Lundquist-Wentz, independent historian
Jane Lawson was one of the 15 black female citizens to sign an 1877 petition to Congress in favor of women's right to vote. The petition reflects the engaged citizenry of her community, Hillsdale, whose black residents regularly engaged in charitable efforts, fundraising, community building and benevolent and literary societies.
Sources
AMOS, ALCIONE M., and PATRICIA BROWN SAVAGE. "Frances Eliza Hall: Postbellum Teacher in Washington, D.C." Washington History, vol. 29, no. 1, 2017, pp. 42-54., www.jstor.org/stable/90007373.
Frederick Douglass Jr. and Other Residents of the District of Columbia. "Petition for Woman Suffrage." Petitions and Memorials, 1813-1968. Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789 - 2011, Record Group 233, National Archives Building, Washington, DC. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/douglass-petition-woman-suffrage
Hillsdale, District of Columbia. Page 3 of The bee. (Washington, D.C.), 10 Nov. 1883. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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