By Michaela Lamczyk and Faith Wynn-McClendon
Undergraduates, Illinois Wesleyan University,
and Jennifer Banks, University of Strathclyde
Effie Boutwell was born on August 25, 1878 in Webb City, Missouri (Jasper County) to Daniel Webster and Emily Victoria Boutwell. Effie resided in Topeka, Kansas and took part in a suffragist group to support a cause she cared deeply about. She was a member of the National Woman's Party, the Labor Party in Topeka, the Good Government Club, and the Shawnee County Political Sciences club. On April 1, 1917, Effie lead the Socialists group during a meeting of the Shawnee County Political Sciences club, where they discussed their opinions about when "political parties cease to secure responsible government, and execute the will of the people, they should exist no longer; therefore the need for a new combination of forces that will voice a program that the times demand." In 1896, Effie married Harry W. Lohrman in Topeka, Kansas and had one child named Edrie. However, the marriage did not last long. The couple divorced and Effie then married William W. Main in 1912.
Effie expressed her opinion on various civic issues and spoke out forcefully against the draft in the early days of WWI. Woman's suffrage was another issue of importance to Effie and when she traveled to Washington D.C. in late 1917 or early 1918, she became involved with the National Woman's Party (NWP).
On Tuesday, August 6, 1918, Effie B. Main participated in the NWP protest in front of the White House, in which nearly 100 women marched down the streets carrying the colors of the Party on large banners. Others that participated included suffragists Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Hazel Hunkins. All the women who were arrested were given a choice by authorities to either pay $5-$10 fine or serve 10-15 days in prison. All the women, including Effie, refused to pay their fines and therefore served time.
Effie B. Main entered the District of Columbia Correctional system on August 15, 1918. Rather than send the women to facilities currently in use for prisoners, the District of Columbia reopened an old men's workhouse which had been condemned and abandoned since 1909. The building was damp, lacking in ventilation, and reportedly infused with sewer gases. Confinement in these conditions quickly led the women to develop illnesses and they promptly launched a hunger strike. Within two days some women were removed and hospitalized. Five days later Effie was released along with the remaining women.
While in prison, Effie along with 12 other women participated in a hunger strike on August 17, 1918. After being released, Effie was awarded the prison bar brooch. The prison bar brooch was significant to the National Woman's Party because it acknowledged the effort women made in the name of suffrage. "The sterling silver 'Jailed for Freedom' pin was used exclusively by the National Woman's Party, and suggests its origins in that group: a small cadre of trained, disciplined, militant women, set apart from mainstream suffragists, who were willing to picket the White House and to go to prison for the right to vote."
Topeka newspapers reported simultaneously on Effie's incarceration and her husband's decision to seek a divorce. William W Main stated his desire for divorce was due in part to the dishonor he felt her arrests brought to his name. William officially sued for divorce in September 1918. However, this suit was dropped, in part, so that William could avoid the draft by maintaining his status as a married man. In July 1920 William again pursued divorce. In this filing he claimed that Effie threw a rock at him, charged him money to prepare his meals, and belonged to an unnamed group conspiring to overthrow the US government. In her response to a divorce she did not want, Effie only asserted to charging her husband for meals. She defended this action by explaining that out of a $50 per week paycheck, her husband only provided $12 a week to run the household and meet personal needs. She explained the additional money was necessary to cover expenses and that if he would raise her allowance, she would discontinue meal charges. This time the divorce went through.
After the divorce, Effie moved to Kansas City, Kansas and married Robert Roussell in March 1922. Robert was from Australia and a citizen of Great Britain. Under the laws at that time, Effie lost her US citizenship when she married Robert. The couple divorced August 18, 1926, and then remarried August 30, 1927. On November 30, 1940, Robert became a US Citizen and Effie was repatriated.
On March 31, 1950, Effie passed away at the home of her daughter, following an illness of two years. She was 72 years old. Her burial site is in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas.
Sources:
"Begin Hunger Strike." Alexandria Gazette [Alexandria, VA] 17 Aug. 1918: n. pag. Chronicling America. Web. 8 Mar. 2017.
Dorei Jones, Linda, and Janice Dean LeMaster. "Effie May Boutwell Roussell (1878 - 1950) - Find A Grave Memorial." Effie May Boutwell Roussell (1878 - 1950) - Find A Grave Memorial. N.p., 14 Aug. 2009. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
Gillmore, Inez Haynes. Story of the Woman's Party. Place of Publication Not Identified: Nabu, 2010. 357-60.
"Women In Political Discussion At Club." The Topeka Daily Capital 1 Aug. 1917: 24.
National Women's History Museum, "Jailed for Freedom," accessed online at https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/votesforwomen/tour_02-02t.html.
Additional sources (February 2022):
Kansas, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1865-1984," digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 January 2022), Effie B. Roussell, Application to Take Oath of Allegiance to the United States Under the Act of June 25, 1936, As Amended, and Form of Such Oath; National Archives at Kansas City NAI Number 650185; Record Group Number: Rg 21.
Kansas, Kansas Historical Society, "Marriage Records - Various Counties- Vol. 1 (1829-1867)," abstracts of marriage records, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 January 2022), Boutwell - Palmer 1865.
1880 US Census, Jasper County, Missouri, population schedule, Webb City, enumeration district (ED) 73, p. 12 D, dwelling 79, family 93, Daniel W Boutwell; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 January 2022); National Archives T9.
1895 Kansas State Census, Shawnee County, population schedule, Mission Township, p. 19, dwelling 11, family 9, D.W. Boutwell; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 6 January 2022); Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas
1900 US Census, Dickinson County, Kansas, population schedule, Enterprise City, enumeration district (ED) 32, p. 3A, dwelling 52, family 52, Effie Lohrman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 January 2022); FHL microfilm 1240478.
1905 Kansas State Census, Shawnee County, population schedule, p. 23, line 3, Effie M Lohrman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 January 2022); Kansas State Historical Society Roll: ks1905_150.
1910 US Census, Shawnee County, Kansas, population schedule, Topeka Ward 3, enumeration district (ED) 163, p. 3 A, dwelling 49, family 53, Effie M Lohrman; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 January 2022); FHL microfilm 1374470.
1915 Kansas State Census, Shawnee County, population schedule, Soldier Township, page 14 (stamped) 279 (penned), line 28, Effie Main; digital images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org: accessed 21 January 2022); Kansas Historical Society
1920 US Census, Shawnee County, Kansas, population schedule, Topeka Ward 5, enumeration district (ED) 179, p. 12 A, dwelling 268, family 278, Effie U Main; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 January 2021); National Archives T625_551.
1930 US Census, Shawnee County, Kansas, population schedule, Ward 6, enumeration district (ED) 89-36, p. 8A, dwelling 208, family 209, Effie B Roussell; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2022); FHL microfilm 2340458.
1940 US Census, Shawnee County, Kansas, population schedule, Topeka, enumeration district (ED) 89-42A, p. 4B, dwelling 97, Effie Roussell; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 January 2022); National Archives Roll: m-t0627-01260.
"Notice," The Topeka Plaindealer, 25 December 1903; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 22 January 2022).
"Marriage Licenses," The Jeffersonian Gazette, 18 December 1912; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 22 January 2022).
"Kansas, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1865-1984," digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 January 2022), Effie B. Roussell, Application to Take Oath of Allegiance to the United States Under the Act of June 25, 1936, As Amended, and Form of Such Oath; National Archives at Kansas City NAI Number 650185; Record Group Number: Rg 21.
District of Columbia Department of Corrections [USA]. Register September 1917-August 1918 Washington Asylum Jail. MAIN, EFFIE B, page 471, prisoner #905. Lucy Burns Museum. 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, Virginia.
Stevens, Doris. (1920) Jailed for Freedom. New York: Boni and Liveright. pp 273-74, 364.
Database entry, Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 January 2022), Effie May Boutwell Roussell, memorial #40672694.
"Woke Them Up!," The Topeka State Journal. 11 May 1917; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 22 January 2022).
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"To Investigate Mrs. Main" The Topeka State Journal. 20 July 1920; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 22 January 2022).
"All of Jailed Suffragists Reported Ill" The Washington Herald. 18 August 1918; Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com: accessed 22 January 2022).