CELEBRATE THE CENTENNIAL OF WOMEN GAINING THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN NEW YORK STATE ON NOVEMBER 6, 1917
FIND LOCAL AND FAMILY SUFFRAGISTS

There are bound to be Suffragists in your area. Thousands of people across New York State formed grassroots organizations to bring male voters to the realization that women should have the right to vote. You can find them in your communities. Honor these brave people who worked tirelessly to obtain the vote for women.
You will find it exciting, interesting, rewarding and meaningful to discover these courageous people who fought so hard to “Give Women the Vote”.

PLACES TO GO:
1. Contact the County Historical Society
2. Contact the Town Historical Society
3. Ask the Town Historian (They love to share)
4. Visit the Local Library-They house historical documents
5. Ask librarians if they know of any suffragists
6. Talk to people you think might know of suffragists
7. Follow up on any leads
8. Find a book on the history of your area and who wrote it. You may find this by using the web and/or interlibrary loan
9. Read the book chapters that maybe useful on the web
10. On the web try different key words and various combinations of words-use your imagination for example: Make up the possible name of a suffragist society or club
11. Try the Library of Congress data base using key words
12. Research the Fulton History Project. It indexes hundreds of old newspapers around NYS
13. Explore old digitalized NYS newspapers at http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org articles contain info about suffragists, events and provide names which can then be followed up
14. Search in NYS Library Suffrage catalog and request files with suffrage connections
15. Access on line university archives.
16. Investigate museum archives especially women’s museums
17. Seek specialized local libraries-a letter will reveal names
18. Search your own home attic-relatives papers-those related to you
19. Ask family members-amazing what you will find.

It is a thrilling adventure finding these people who gave so much of themselves so that we can have the vote. Their stories will capture your interest and your heart.

Happy Successful Researching!
Bonnie and Nancy Mion-AAUW -LI Suffragists Committee Chair