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COLLECTION Identifier: M-133, reel E35; WRC 649

Papers of Esther McQuigg Morris in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1869-1935

Overview

Documents concerning Wyoming suffrage and one clipping concerning Esther McQuigg Morris, suffragist. These papers are part of the Woman's Rights Collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1869-1935

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. ORIGINALS CLOSED. USE MICROFILM. REQUEST AS: M-133, reel E35.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Esther McQuigg Morris as well as copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

1 folders

Collection consists of an undated clipping about Esther McQuigg Morris and documents concerning Wyoming suffrage.

BIOGRAPHY

Esther Morris, a key figure in Wyoming's woman suffrage movement, was born in Tioga County, New York. In 1841, Morris married Artemus Slack; they had one son. Widowed in 1845, Morris moved to Peru, Illinois, where she married John Morris. In 1869 the family moved to the gold rush camp of South Pass City in the Wyoming Territory. There, Morris helped to influence legislator William H. Bright to introduce a woman suffrage bill, which passed on December 10, 1869, and was signed into law shortly thereafter.

In 1870, Morris was appointed justice of the peace in South Pass City, becoming the first woman to hold that office. The following year, she left office and moved to Laramie. Morris left Wyoming in 1873 and spent some time in New York State. By 1890, she had returned to Wyoming. She lived in Cheyenne until her death at the age of 87.

For further information, see Notable American Women, 1607-1950 (Cambridge, Mass., 1971), which includes a list of additional sources.

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These papers of Esther Morris fill one folder of the Woman's Rights Collection, which was given to Radcliffe College in August 1943 and formed the nucleus of the Women's Archives, later the Schlesinger Library. The material in this folder was prepared for microfilming in May 1989 by Janet Hayashi. It was microfilmed as part of a Schlesinger Library/University Publications of America project.

Related Material:

This material forms part of the Schlesinger Library's Woman's rights collection, 1853-1958 (WRC).

Title
Morris, Esther McQuigg, 1814-1902. Papers of Esther McQuigg Morris in the Woman's Rights Collection, 1869-1935: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01032

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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