Spring Afternoon Tea

***Please be advised, due the to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) we have postponed the Spring Tea until Fall. September 13th is only a tentative date***

You are invited to a Spring Afternoon Tea to celebrate the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage, the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Your host will be Esta Barrett, the owner of Indian Hill Manor from 1918 to 1947, who was an advocate for working women. She welcomes noted suffragist Catharine Waugh McCulloch who will share her thoughts on this momentous occasion.Catharine Waugh McCulloch, a lawyer, suffragist, and advocate to women’s rights from Rockford. McCulloch grew-up on a farm north of New Milford and graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in 1882 where she did her thesis on wages paid to women. She went on to earn her law degree and practice law in Rockford before moving to Chicago with her husband.

She was an activist for temperance, women’s suffrage and legal rights for women, and served as the legislative chair of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association from 1890 to 1912. She lobbied for a bill to ensure women’s suffrage for local and presidential elections in Illinois, and drafted legislation to give wives equal guardianship rights over their children.

She was president of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois from 1916 to 1920 and was an active member, legal advisor and frequent speaker for the National American Women Suffrage Association. After the 19th Amendment was passed, McCulloch continued to work for women’s rights with the League of Women Voters.

Cost of the tea is $35. Reservations are limited. To reserve a seat for the tea call Smeja Homestead Foundation, 815-964-6464 or email Smejafdn@gmail.com by April 24th. Payment may be made via cash, check or PayPal –paypal.me/SmejaHomesteadFdn . Payment is due in advance to reserve your seat

Dress in suffragist white and/or yellow appropriate for 1920 if you’d like. White and yellow satin were the suffrage colors.

To reserve a spot, please contact us at 815-964-6464 or smejafdn@gmail.com or register below.