My mother –Wilma Buckman Kearns– was born within a week of that historic day in November 1920 when ALL American women voted for the first time. Wilma’s mother, Edna Buckman Kearns, was a New York State suffragist who had spent more than a decade of her life, working full time on Votes for Women. And instead of being able to fulfill the hopes and dreams of the suffragists, my own mother would face the Crash of 1929, the Great Depression, World War II, and raising children during the 1950s and 1960s. It was a difficult time to be a strong independent woman. It took me years to fully appreciate the strong shoulders on which I stand. Wilma played a key role in preserving her mother’s suffrage campaign wagon. She passed away in November of 1997.
Archives

The suffrage campaign wagon used by Edna Buckman Kearns.
Suffrage Wagon News Channel
- A video about the suffrage campaign wagon everyone's been hearing about. youtube.com/watch?v=4do9HZ… #wmnhist 1 day ago
- July 1, 2013 will be the "Spirit of 1776" Wagon Day in New York State. suffragewagon.org/?p=7319 #wmnhist 2 days ago
- What was suffrage activist Edna Kearns doing on June 27, 1913? Grassroots organizing, that's what. suffragewagon.org/?p=7312 #wmnhist 5 days ago
- 100 years since suffrage wagon "Spirit of 1776"left Manhattan. Celebrate with video. Ode to wagon. youtube.com/watch?v=SBXBu3… 6 days ago
- Visit Seneca Falls, NY: Cradle of the women's rights movement in the US. suffragewagon.org/?p=7306 1 week ago
- Kenneth Florey's book on suffrage memorabilia now available. #wmnhist suffragewagon.org/?p=7297 1 week ago
Important Links
- Alice Paul Institute
- Chick History
- ElectWomen
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton Hometown Association
- Equal Rights Amendment
- Her Hat Was in the Ring
- League of Women Voters
- Long Island Suffrage Movement
- Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation & Home
- National Archives Online
- National Constitution Center
- National Women's History Museum
- National Women's History Project
- New York State Museum
- NYC Women's History Walk
- Organizing Toolbox: Video
- Sewall-Bemont House and Museum
- Songs of the Suffragettes- Recording
- Stanton and Anthony Papers
- Suffrage Memorabilia
- Suffrage Wagon News Channel
- Suffragist Elisabeth Freeman
- Suffragist Oral Histories
- Susan B. Anthony House
- The Women's Museum
- Turning Point Suffragist Memorial
- Women's Heritage Trails
- Women's History Carnival
- Women's Rights National Historic Park (Seneca Falls, NY)
- Womens Enews
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As I grow older, I realize more about what my mother was up against, and my grandmother too!