Eleanor Butler Sanders

Eleanor "Ella" Butler Sanders (1849 – 1905) was an American suffragist, and socialite. She founded the League for Political Education. Vassar College has a building named after her.

Eleanor Butler Sanders
Born
Eleanor Rudd Butler

(1849-05-16)May 16, 1849
United States
DiedAugust 5, 1905(1905-08-05) (aged 56)
United States
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery
Spouse(s)Henry Martin Sanders
Children1
Parents
  • Theron Rudd Butler (father)
  • Maria E. Miller Butler (mother)

Biography

She was born with the name Eleanor Rudd Butler, on May 16, 1849.[1] Her parents were Maria E. Miller (1827–1910) and Theron Rudd Butler (1813–1884), an art collector and former President of the Sixth Avenue Railroad Company.[1][2][3] She was the great aunt to Eleanor Butler Roosevelt.[4] Eleanor Rudd Butler married Dr. Henry Martin Sanders, a Baptist pastor, and a board of trustees of Vassar College from 1895 until his death in 1921.[5]

In 1892, Sanders presented a scholarship at a fundraiser for Hampton University, a school that was primarily serving African American and Native American students at the time.[6]

In November 1894, Sanders founded the League for Political Education in her living room on 433 Fifth Avenue in New York City, where she hosted the first group meeting with five other people.[7][8] The other attendees in the first meeting included Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, Catherine Amor Bennett Abbe (1843–1920), Lucia Gilbert Runkle (1844–1927), Lee Wood Haggin (1856–1934), and Adele Marion Fielde.[7] The League initially fought for passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and provided general education on social and political issues. She stayed very active in the leadership of the organization until her death on August 5, 1905.[1][7][9][10]

In 1909, her widower, Henry Martin Sanders donated to Vassar College the Sanders Chemical Laboratory, as a dedication to his late wife.[11] Vassar College was the first women's school in the United States to have a full laboratory.[11]

References
  1. Butler, Henry Langdon (1919). Tales of Our Kinsfolk, Past and Present: The Story of Our Butler Ancestors for Ten Generations, from 1602 to 1919. New York City, New York. p. 79.
  2. Santangelo, Lauren C. (2019-07-08). Suffrage and the City: New York Women Battle for the Ballot. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-085036-4.
  3. "The Funeral of Theron R. Butler". The New York Times. January 23, 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  4. "Out Town Hall". Newspapers.com. New York Herald. 23 January 1920. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  5. Lengen, Karen Van; Reilly, Lisa (2004). Vassar College: An Architectural Tour. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-56898-349-3.
  6. "Fund For The School". Newspapers.com. The New York Times. 28 August 1892. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  7. The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women. Halvord publishing Company, Incorporated. 1924. p. 89.
  8. "Greater City At Last Will Have "Town Meeting Place" For All Civic Discussions, Club For Men and Women". Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 28 December 1919. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  9. "Women in Their Clubs". The New York Times. 1900-03-19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  10. "Women Hear Talks on Taxes; Prof. Seligman, Ernest Crosby, and Thomas G. Shearman Express Views". The New York Times. 1895-03-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  11. "New Physics Lab At Vassar To Be Dedicated By Science Institute, Henry M. Sanders Memorial Now Complete---Dedication Will Attract Noted Scientists From All Over Country". Newspapers.com. The Baltimore Sun. 17 October 1926. p. 66. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
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