Suffrage in Vermont: Bennington and Beyond


Waloomsack Review, 2020
by Dawn and Raymond Rodrigues

Featured in this article are the following women:

Mary Spargo

In 1909, Mary Spargo came to Bennington with her husband, John, who founded the Bennington Museum. In an attempt to convince Percival Clement to call a special session to consider the Nineteenth Amendment, Mary organized the March of Four Hundred Women on April 21, 1920, to the Vermont State House.  Read more about Mary Spargo.  Read about John Spargo.

Anna Hawk Putnam

Anna Putnam was a child labor reformer as well as a leader of the Fortnightly Club, a women’s club in Bennington.  Also involved in the suffrage movement,  Putnam wrote that despite the “pernicious” maneuverings of some anti-suffragists in the legislature, a great deal of progress was being made in Vermont. Read about Anna Putnam.

Annette W. Parmalee

Because of persistent arguing the cause of women’s suffrage, Annette was called the “Suffragette Hornet.” Born Annette Watson in the village of Washington in 1865, she married Edward Parmalee and moved to Enosburg Falls, Vermont.  Although she was originally drawn to the temperance crusade, in 1907, she joined the Vermont Equal Suffrage Association  and began lobbying the legislature to give women the vote. Read about Annette Parmalee.