Lillian Feickert
Lillian Feickert | |
---|---|
Fresh Pond, New York[1] | |
Known for | First woman from New Jersey to run for United States Senate |
Spouse |
Edward Foster Feickert
(m. 1902; div. 1925) |
Children | 1 |
Lillian Ford Feickert (July 20, 1877 – January 21, 1945) was an American
Personal background
Lillian Ford was born on July 20, 1877, in
On December 6, 1902, Ford married Edward Foster Feickert. They had one child, who died in infancy. Following their wedding, they moved to Plainfield, New Jersey, when Edward became an assistant secretary at the Plainfield Trust Company. In 1908, the Feickerts moved North Plainfield Township, near the foothills of Watchung Mountains. Between 1902 and 1910, Edward had served as assistant secretary and treasurer of the Plainfield Trust Company, followed by his taking the reins of the company as the vice president of the company that would later emerge as the State Trust Company.[1]
Professional background
After arriving in North Plainfield, Feickert began expressing a passion for women's rights, along with an interest in the
New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association
In 1910, Clara Laddey, President of the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association appointed Feickert to serve as the organization's enrollment chairman. She served in this capacity for two years, quadrupling membership with a series of door-to-door campaigns and rallies during this time, and was consequently elected president of the association in 1912.[2][3] Over the next eight years, she sharpened her political skills, as well as her leadership ability, and increased membership to over 120,000 members.[3] Feickert was chosen as the leader of the New Jersey suffrage movement and represented them in attempts to gain the right to vote. After failing to have a state suffrage amendment approved in 1915, she worked harder than ever before and was selected to lead several organizations in their attempt to have the federal suffrage amendment ratified. The state legislature officially ratified the amendment on February 10, 1920.[citation needed]
New Jersey State Republican Party
In 1920, the New Jersey State Republican Party recognized Feickert's achievements and named her vice-chairman of the
As a firm supporter of Prohibition and insistent women's rights activist, the Republican party cut off funding to the NJWRC and failed to re-elect Feickert as vice-chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee in 1925.[3] The New Jersey Women's Republican Club slowly began to fall apart and was eventually replaced by the Women's State Republican Club of New Jersey in 1929. Feickert unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate in 1928 as a pro-Prohibition candidate.[4] She received 26,029 votes out of 574,294 cast in the Republican primary, being defeated by the eventual winner of the general election, banker Hamilton F. Kean.[5]
After her failed attempt at Senate and the defeat of Prohibition, Feickert stepped away from politics. Having divorced her husband in 1925, her remaining years were spent working on her home, reading, and traveling. She died of a
References
- ^ ISBN 0815604181.
- ^ a b "L.F.Feickert". Njwomenshistory.org. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Green Brook Historical Society". Resident Profiles. Heritage Trail. Archived from the original on April 17, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "Famous New Jersey Women". Women Suffragists. Hangout NJ. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
- ^ "Results of the Primary Election Held May 15th, 1928" (PDF). State of New Jersey. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ "Ten Notable Women of Plainfield". Lillian Feickert. Plainfield Public Library. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
Further reading
- Gage, Matilda Joslyn; Stanton, Elizabeth Cady; and Ida Husted Harper (ed.). History of Woman Suffrage: 1900–1920, Harvard University: Susan B. Anthony, pp. 412–433, 1922.[1]
- Gordon, Felice D. After Winning: The Legacy of the New Jersey Suffragists, 1920–1947, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1986.