100 Years Ago: Montana Women Gained Right To Vote

Voters will head to the polls next week. All races and all genders will take their right to vote for the politicians who will hopefully stand up for their beliefs. This year it is a special year, a year that marks when Montana women gained the right to take their stand in the voting polls. The vote passed on Nov. 3, 1914, with 53 percent versus 47 percent of the male voters approving women’s right to vote.

While stories of the women’s suffrage movement surround around Washington D.C. and state capitols, even Valley County was touched by the suffrage movement. While women in this part of the state had a much harsher life than the elite, they still exercised their right to vote in a world where their priorities remained keeping the house and children in order.

While some women weren’t given much freedom, the vote has given them a voice. Records show that between 1901 and 1914, 900 single women showed up to homestead. These women had to be 21-years-old, single, divorced, or widowed and a U.S. citizen to file for 160 acres. The women here had a harsh life and did what they could to survive.

In the Valley County News paper, dated Oct. 23, 1914, the ads for those running for congress and county attorney directed towards a one gender audience. John Slatterly was running for County Attorney, John Evans and Tom Stout were in the running for Congress. “Vote for men who will stand for the public interests that you stand for,” was a statement underneath the candidates photo.

The same newspaper reported on Nov. 6, 1914, that the majority of county voters also approved women’s right to vote. The Glasgow Courier dated on the same day reported that the votes were 950 to 889, marking 61 percent in approval.

Another candidate who ran that year for state representative was nominated on the democratic ticket. He didn’t advertise much, but went much on his name and his reputation. John Willis. After the state historical society directed me to a Mrs. John Willis, it took a lot of elbow grease and footwork to track down Valley County’s history involving the suffrage movement.

Local historian Mary Helland explained that women here lived different lives, they often died from exhaustion. They fought to keep their families alive and during the peak of the suffrage movement in Montana were during the time that homesteaders were flooding into Glasgow and Valley County. They were looking for a way to start production on their farms. They came on trains in search of the American dream and ended up facing much harsher realities.

The water, rich in iron, changed the color of their hair, the lack of amenities had large families living in small shacks trying to endure the harsh winter. But Mrs. John Willis and her husband were part of the elite. John Willis was friends with Theodore Roosevelt. They met in North Dakota and John Willis guided him through rough hunting territories.

Records on Mrs. Fern “John” Willis were fairly limited. Records show that she was born in Iowa. John Willis was a farmer and a foreman, as well as a known politician and insurance agent. The farm was located somewhere north, near the Canadian border, and they had a house located in Glasgow.

A daughter, Bessie, can be found in articles dating back as far as 1904 in the Glasgow area. The daughter seemed to entertain extravagant parties according the Montana Citizen and the North Montana Review. A note that she resigned her position in the post office in January of 1911 gives the inclination that she was of age at the time. In the Valley County Independence dated in January 1912, it’s noted that John Willis was heading to New York for business in insurance and that he was “one of the best posted insurance men in the country.”

The small clips in various papers show a family that had money and connections. The year 1913 was a busy year for the Willis family. The Valley County Independence noted the marriage of Bessie Willis at their house in north Glasgow, she was married to a Mr. Arnot, and he was noted as a cashier at the Glasgow National Bank. The date was Feb. 14, 1913. County records showed the birth of a son in April 1913, but no notice was found of his birth in local papers.

News of Fern Willis’ activities starts to show up in 1913. The Glasgow Courier noted on Sept. 26, 1913, that she attended a meeting in Butte, along with several women suffragettes. She was elected the recording secretary for the group. Miss Jeannette Rankin was elected the president of the association. Rankin is a well known and famous Montana woman who was known for leading the movement. She was also known for her votes against the world wars, and for being the first women in political office. Rankin had a brother who owned land in Hinsdale.

The Glasgow Courier reported that she left, along with her husband and another couple, along with Mrs. T.J. Hocking for Los Angeles and would spend several months there on Jan. 23, 1914. Clearly the couple were probably off to do some campaigning and make connections during the trip.

The family sort of disappears from the news for a time. Fern Willis shows up on Sept. 26, 1914 in the Suffrage Daily News. Her photo was displayed, along with a note that she is the chairman of the Valley County Suffrage Central Committee and president of the Political Equality League of Glasgow. Clearly she was fighting for the right to vote.

Speculation could be made on what they met and discussed and where meetings were held, but the local papers did not report much of the movement. It wasn’t until the Valley County News reported the impact of women voters in Oct. 5, 1915 that local residents or perhaps reporters took notice. The headline “Women Get Interested” reported that the women influence the vote after attending a meeting about substituting oil for coal at the power plant. There was talk of efficiency in the electric plant. The vote came in 66 for and 73 against from women voters, with a total vote of 121 and 92 against.

The Glasgow Courier reported something similar a few days later. The paper noting that a large number of women turned up to vote. The article reported that oil engines had to be replaced and generators had to be ordered, a bond was passed for $18,000, with the full cost adding up to $21,760.

It’s hard to know if Fern Willis was involved and that perhaps the organizations she was in charge of attended the meetings and swayed the vote. But it’s not hard to speculate on the high probability that was the case. While Mrs. John Willis may have been behind her husband in the spotlight, she did leave a trail behind. Her trail allows Valley County residents, who have been here for a few generations, know that there was in fact local action for the right to vote for women.

Stories from locals are still passed on today about the right to vote. Sierra Dawn Holt, who writes for The Glasgow Courier from time to time, explained that their family jokes about a grandmother who rode by wagon all the way to town with her husband to vote. It was a few days ride into town. After they stocked up on supplies and voted, they headed back to the ranch that the family still lives on today. When the husband asked the wife who she voted for, he finds that she voted for the opposite of who he voted for. He joked about how they drove all the way to town, just to cancel out a vote.

Another previous local Jeanette Anderson, explained that her grandmother, an Emma Johnson, was allowed to vote and her grandfather thought that would mean he got two votes for his household. She said that her grandmother was often quiet, but she told her granddaughter behind closed doors that she voted for whomever she wanted to at the polls. The man would hand her a note with the names he wanted her to vote for, but she secretly held the power.