COVER STORY
Honoring Ellen Martin
I can’t let Women’s History Month go by without taking a moment to honor Ellen Martin.
Every year, I am newly inspired by the brave woman lawyer who led a group of women to vote in Lombard in 1891 – nearly three decades before the 19th Amendment recognized American women’s right to vote.
Martin was a smart, savvy attorney who had graduated from the University of Michigan law school in 1875 and was admitted to the Illinois bar the next year.
As a woman working as a lawyer in the 19th century, Martin had spent much of her career advocating for women’s rights. She noticed that the Lombard village charter had accidentally included gender-neutral language. It read, “All citizens of said state of Illinois, above the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been actual residents of said town of Lombard ninety days next preceding any election held under the provisions of this act, shall be entitled to vote at any such election.”
When Martin read the charter language, she saw her chance. She rounded up more than a dozen of her women friends, and they marched together to the village polling place. Together, she and her friends made history – even though the village leaders quickly rewrote the village charter after they realized their mistake.
This year, I’ve been thinking about the 14 women who joined Ellen Martin at the polling place. It must have taken so much fortitude to stand firm beside Martin as she argued with the election judges, showing them the charter language and demanding their ballots. So let’s honor them today as well.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune in 1891, the other women who voted were Miss Margaret Towne, Mrs. N. Cushing, Mrs. S. R. Thurston, Mrs. C. B. Vance, Mrs. H. S. Rand, Mrs. J. H. Patterson, Miss Maria Reade, Mrs. Isaac Claflin, Mrs. Cynthia Williams, Mrs. H. B. Rand, Mrs. W. R. Plum, Mrs. B. R. Reynolds, Mrs. C. L. Towne, and Mrs. H. W. Plum. (You may know Mrs. W.R. Plum better as Helen Plum, the namesake of Lombard’s public library – and the person who first brought lilacs to the village!)
Their story reminds us that courage is contagious, and that when we stand up for what we believe in, our courage can change the world.
To commemorate Ellen Martin and the bold, patriotic women who went to vote in 1891, the Lombard Historical Society will present a documentary film, “All Citizens”, by local filmmaker Tim Frakes, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, at the Carriage House, 23 W Maple St. The program is free, but registration is required as space is limited. You can click here to register.