Martin, Ellen Annette (1847-1916)

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Ellen A. Martin to Jane Addams, May 10, 1907

Ellen A. Martin to Jane Addams, May 13, 1908

Ellen A. Martin to Jane Addams, December 17, 1909

Ellen A. Martin to Jane Addams, April 23, 1910

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Birth Date

1847-01-16

Death Date

1916-03-13

Birthplace

Kiantone, NY

Biographical Text

Ellen Annette Martin graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in law in 1878. In that same year, she passed the Illinois bar and moved to the state. As an early women's suffrage activist, Martin led a group of women to vote in the presidential elections in Lombard, Illinois in 1891. She was able to exploit a loophole in the town of Lombard municipal voting law, which did not restrict from voting for presidential elections based on gender. The legal loophole, which was backed by a country judge, allowed Martin to become the first woman to vote in the state of Illinois.

Martin died in 1916.