INEZ | Happy 130th Birthday!

Inez Milholland at the U.S. Capitol, getting ready to
lead the March 2, 1913 Suffrage March. (Library of Congress.)

August 6, 2016–Today is the 130th birthday of Inez Milholland.

She symbolizes the perseverance and sacrifices required to win equality for women.

She was born in what is now called Brooklyn Heights, to John E. Milholland and Jeanne Torrey Milholland.

• Her father, Derry-born John E. Milholland, was a reporter and labor negotiator when she was born. He was politically involved, and first ran a newspaper in Ticonderoga, N.Y. after attending New York University. Then he worked for the New York Tribune for 12 years and won fame for settling a strike (his brother headed the printers' union). As a committed Presbyterian and Lincoln Republican, Milholland championed the rights of black Americans as well as votes for women. He was the founding Treasurer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
• Her mother, Bostonian Jeanne Torrey, in 1910 wrote an article in The Crisis encouraging black people to join the suffragists. (Facing photo of Jeanne Torrey.) Inez summered in upstate, in Lewis, N.Y.  The Milholland home there was called “Meadowmount”. It includes a mountain, Mt. Discovery, that was renamed Mt. Inez after Inez’s death, although the maps have not been changed (a reason for protest in this centennial year of Inez's death).

Inez’s younger sister, Vida followed Inez to Vassar and joined the suffragist movement with her. Vida later was an opera singer. During her childhood, when she was called “Tubby”, she joined her more famous sister Inez in many activities. John Angus (Jack) was the third and last child of the Milhollands. He attended Harvard College, Class of 1914 and was a drop-kicker on the football team.

Inez Milholland's 130th birthday is on August 6, 2016.

Original faded poster, left. Durable enlarged version, right.

She died on November 25, 1916.  This is the centennial year of her death.

To mark the anniversary, Boissevain Books has prepared a durable enlarged copy of the iconic poster of Inez and is selling it for $30.

To order, go to Boissevain Books and scroll down.