Katharine Ludington

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Katharine Ludington
An older woman wearing a dark hat, and a dress with a white collar. she has a pendant on a choker at her neck.
Katharine Ludington, from a 1916 publication.
Born(1869-10-16)October 16, 1869
New York City, US
DiedFebruary 9, 1953(1953-02-09) (aged 83)
Old Lyme, Connecticut, US
OccupationSuffragist

Katharine Ludington (October 16, 1869 – March 9, 1953) was an American suffragist. She was the last president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association, and a founding leader of the League of Women Voters.

Early life[edit]

Ludington was born in New York City, one of the seven children of Charles Henry Ludington (1825–1910) and Josephine Lord Noyes Ludington (1839–1908).[1] Her mother was part of the prominent Noyes family.[2] Her father was a banker and a member of the prominent Ludington family of New York and New England.[3] Revolutionary War colonel Henry Ludington was her great-grandfather, and Sybil Ludington was her great-aunt. The library in Old Lyme, Connecticut, is named for her maternal grandmother, Phoebe Griffin Noyes.[4]

Ludington was educated at Miss Porter's School, and studied painting with portrait artist Montague Flagg at the Art Students League in New York City.[5][6]

Board of Directors, National League of Women Voters, Chicago Convention, February 1920; Ludington is standing at the far left of the photo. Others in the photograph include Maud Wood Park, Grace Wilbur Trout, and Carrie Chapman Catt.

Career[edit]

Ludington was a founding member of the Old Lyme Equal Suffrage League in 1914, and president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association from 1918 until it disbanded in 1921, succeeding Katharine Houghton Hepburn.[5][7][8] In 1917 she spoke at a suffrage event in Washington, D.C. She created a library of women's works at the Old Lyme Inn, and held a suffrage study group in her home.[9] Despite her vigorous efforts,[10][11][12] Connecticut did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment until after it became part of the United States Constitution in 1920.[7]

Ludington helped to form and lead the Connecticut League of Women Voters.[13] She continued to be active in civic leadership,[14] and in 1922[6] became the first New England director of the League of Women Voters (LWV).[15][16] She was also head of the LWV's financial committee on the national level,[17] and president of the Connecticut Women's Suffrage Association.[13] She actively supported the establishment of the United Nations.[5][18] She published a pamphlet, "The Connecticut Idea" (1919), and a family history, Lyme — And Our Family (1928).[19]

Personal life[edit]

Ludington died in 1953, aged 83 years, at her home in Old Lyme, Connecticut.[13] She was survived by her younger sister, suffragist Helen Ludington Rotch.[20] Some of her papers are in the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Movement Collection at Western Connecticut State University.[21] Her name is on a plaque honoring Connecticut's suffrage leaders, located in the south corner of the Connecticut State Capitol building.[22][23]

Businessman Charles Townsend Ludington and art collector Wright S. Ludington were her nephews. American Studies professor C. Townsend Ludington is her great-nephew.[24][25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Menard, Micaela. "Biographical Sketch of Katharine Ludington". Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  2. ^ Noyes-Gilman Ancestry: Being a Series of Sketches, with a Chart of the Ancestors of Charles Phelps Noyes and Emily H. (Gilman) Noyes, His Wife ... author. 1907. p. 44.
  3. ^ "Guide to the Ludington Family Papers, 1776-1945, MS.2962". New-York Historical Society Museum and Library. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  4. ^ "Home". Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  5. ^ a b c Lampos, Jim; Pearson, Michaelle (June 16, 2015). "LOOKING BACK: Legacy of Katharine Ludington, and that of her grand home". Shoreline Times. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  6. ^ a b "Miss Katharine Ludington". Hartford Courant. 1926-07-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Wajda, Shirley T. (2020-03-08). "A Day for Women – Today in History: March 8". Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  8. ^ "Suffrage Summary". The Woman Citizen. 1: 476. 1917.
  9. ^ Wakeman, Carolyn (2015-03-26). "Old Lyme Women Oppose Suffrage". Florence Griswold Museum. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  10. ^ Blackwell, Alice Stone (February 21, 1920). "Must Connecticut Owe Its Freedom to Kentucky?". The Woman Citizen. 4: 902.
  11. ^ Blackwell, Alice Stone (May 1, 1920). "Speeding the Emergency Corps". The Woman Citizen. 4: 1195.
  12. ^ "A Trio of Connecticut Workers". The Woman's Journal and Suffrage News. 47: 288. September 2, 1916.
  13. ^ a b c "Katharine Ludington". Hartford Courant. 1953-03-11. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Blackwell, Alice Stone (June 17, 1919). "Launch $100,000 Campaign". The Woman Citizen. 4: 16.
  15. ^ "Miss Katharine Ludington". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1936-04-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Danelle L. Moon. "Treading Water in a Sea of Male Politicians—Women’s Organizations and Lobby Activities in Historical Perspective" Joint Annual Meeting of NAGARA, COSHRC, and SAA (2006).
  17. ^ "U. S. Women's League Official Guest Here". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1926-01-28. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Strauss, Anna Lord (March 21, 1953). "Tribute to Miss Ludington". The New York Times. p. 16 – via ProQuest.
  19. ^ Ludington, Katharine (1928). Lyme--and Our Family. Privately printed.
  20. ^ "Katharine Ludington". The New York Times. 1953-03-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  21. ^ "Connecticut Woman Suffrage Movement Collection". Western Connecticut State University Library. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  22. ^ "CT Suffragists – Connecticut Suffrage Centennial". Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  23. ^ "CT Suffragists". Connecticut Suffrage Centennial.
  24. ^ Townsend Ludington Papers (#4951) 1968-1969, The Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina Library.
  25. ^ "Old Lyme". Hartford Courant. 1985-08-03. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]

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