Martha Smith Kimball

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Martha Smith Kimball
Born(1870-02-28)February 28, 1870
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
DiedJanuary 30, 1967(1967-01-30) (aged 96)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSmith College
OccupationActivist
Known forContributions to the women's rights movement

Martha Smith Kimball (Feb. 28, 1870 – Jan. 30, 1967) was a women's rights advocate during the 20th century.

Biography[]

She was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on February 28, 1870, to a wealthy family. Her father, Edward Payson Kimball, was a banker. Her mother, Martha J. Thompson, while not employed, was notably descended from at least six significant leaders of the American Revolution.[1]

Kimball grew up in Portsmouth and, after graduating from Smith College in 1892, returned to New Hampshire and promoted women's suffrage in the Portsmouth area for over three decades and held various positions in clubs and other organizations.[2] She was elected president of the N.H. Equal Suffrage Association in 1913.[3] She subsequently toured the United States as a speaker for suffrage, visiting New Jersey among other states. In July 1919 she was an organizer for the first women's School for Citizenship, held at New Hampshire College (now the University of New Hampshire).[4] It was a week-long event designed to educate women from New Hampshire on basic aspects of government, voting, important political issues, and the platforms of the two political parties. She was also chairman of Portsmouth's Woman's Committee on the Council of National Defense.

Kimball, among 29 other women, represented the United States at the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in Paris from May 30 to June 6, 1926. In 1944, she was the president of the League of Women Voters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,[5] though she returned to New Hampshire in 1945 following a farewell party given by the World Affairs Study group, as referenced in the Miami Herald that year.[6] She died in New Hampshire on January 30, 1967, and was buried in her family's plot in Harmony Grove Cemetery.[7]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Brown, Janice. ""New Hampshire Suffragist, Club-Woman, Civic Leader, Social Service Worker: Martha Kimball Smith of Portsmouth"". Cow Hampshire. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  2. ^ Metcalf, Henry Harrison (1919). One Thousand New Hampshire Notables; Brief biographical sketches of New Hampshire men and women, native or resident, prominent in public, professional, business, educational, fraternal or benevolent work. Concord, NH: The Rumford Printing Company. p. 279.
  3. ^ The Boston Herald. 23 May 1913. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ School for Citizenship: A Meeting of Prospective Women Voters. University of New Hampshire Special Collections. July 1919.
  5. ^ Miami Herald. 17 May 1944. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ Miami Herald. 24 June 1945. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "Martha Smith Kimball". Find a Grave. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
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