Lizzie Crozier French
Encyclopedia
Margaret Elizabeth "Lizzie" Crozier French (May 7, 1851 – May 14, 1926) was an American educator, women's suffragist and social reform activist. She was one of the primary leaders in the push for women's rights in Tennessee
in the early 1900s, and helped the state become the 36th state to certify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution
, giving women the right to vote, in 1920. She also founded the Ossoli Circle
, the oldest federated women's club
in the South, and led efforts to bring coeducation to the University of Tennessee
.
Lizzie Crozier was born in Knoxville, Tennessee
, in 1851, one of the five daughters of John H. Crozier and Mary Williams Crozier. Her father was a politician who had served in the Tennessee House of Representatives
from 1837 to 1839, representing Knox County
, and who had represented Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District
in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1845 to 1849. Young Lizzie Crozier grew up in a home full of books and was educated at the Convent of the Visitation
in Georgetown
and later at a private Episcopal
school for young women in Columbia, Tennessee
.
Since John H. Crozier supported the Confederacy
, the Crozier family was forced to move several times during the Civil War to evade encroaching Union forces, but returned to Knoxville in 1867. Around 1870, Lizzie Crozier starred alongside future author Frances Hodgson Burnett
in a performance of She Stoops to Conquer
. In 1872, she married William Baxter French, the cashier
of the wholesaling giant, Cowan, McClung and Company
. Her husband died just 18 months after the marriage, and she was never to marry again. The couple had one child, a son named William Williams French.
, which her grandfather had helped establish in the 1820s, but had been closed since the Civil War. She emphasized public speaking, and published A Manual of Elocution for her students in 1887. She served as the school's principal until 1890, when their lease on the building expired, and she decided to focus on political activism.
In November 1885, Crozier-French initiated the founding of the Ossoli Circle, which was the first women's club
in Tennessee and was to become the first club in the southern United States
to join the General Federation of Women's Clubs
. She was inspired to form the Ossoli Circle after having visited the Sorosis Women's Club
in New York City
. The Ossoli Circle is named for the early 19th-century transcendentalist and feminist Margaret Fuller Ossoli
.
In 1890, Crozier-French founded the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union to promote various social reforms in Knoxville. Shortly after its formation, the group convinced the city to appoint a police matron to oversee female inmates, and ensure they remained separated from male inmates. Knoxville was the first city in the South to appoint such an office. In October 1893, the group established the Mount Rest Home to care for elderly destitute women, and later gained funding for a reformatory and an industrial school.
, conducted a survey and analysis of states' laws regarding the rights of women, and ranked Tennessee in a tie with Louisiana
for last place. Crozier-French described the position of married women in the state as "nothing more or less than that of a slave," pointing out that they had no right to their own property or earnings. In a 1912 speech to the Tennessee Bar Association, she blasted the state's legal bias toward men. She urged them to "not simply alter one law concerning women here and there, but to take the whole bunch and burn it up."
In 1914, Knoxville's city commission enacted an ordinance that essentially allowed prostitutes in parts of the city to operate without fear of arrest. Crozier-French assailed the commission over this ordinance, and engaged in a back-and-forth with Mayor Samuel G. Heiskell over the city's refusal to arrest men who hire prostitutes. During this period, Crozier-French began publishing a magazine, The People, the purpose of which was to expose the corrupt "ring leaders" running the city. She pointed out that the journal was not a guide for "society ladies," stating, "you will not learn from these columns how to butter your bread or hold your fork."
. As the suffragist movement gained momentum in the 1900s, she was elected president of the Tennessee Suffrage Association, and organized a writer's club to help women write letters-to-the-editor to newspapers across the state. In 1913, she engaged in a widely-publicized debate with Rogersville
anti-suffragist Annie Riley Hale at the National Conservation Exposition
at Knoxville's Chilhowee Park
.
After Congress sent the 19th Amendment to the states for ratification in the Spring of 1919, Crozier-French spent much of her time in Nashville
lobbying state legislators. By the time the legislature convened in August 1920 to consider the amendment, thirty-five states had ratified the amendment, leaving it one state short. Crozier-French and her colleagues set up headquarters in the Maxwell House Hotel
in Nashville, and after a marathon lobbying session, the state house certified the amendment on August 19, 1920, and the amendment thus became law.
in Knoxville. She campaigned as a progressive and an advocate for the "weak and unfortunate," and vowed to judge any proposed measure solely on its "righteousness." Her candidacy was unsuccessful.
Lizzie Crozier French died May 14, 1926, in Washington, D. C., after a brief illness. She was in the Washington area to attend a conference of the National Woman's Party
in Baltimore
and to lobby
the U.S. Congress in favor of a support of a bill intended to benefit working women. She is buried in Knoxville's Old Gray Cemetery.
statue
in the Women's Suffrage Memorial in Market Square
in Knoxville, Tennessee
, along with Anne Dallas Dudley
of Nashville and Elizabeth Avery Meriwether
of Memphis
. The sculpture is by Alan LeQuire
.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in the early 1900s, and helped the state become the 36th state to certify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920....
, giving women the right to vote, in 1920. She also founded the Ossoli Circle
Ossoli Circle
The Ossoli Circle is a women's club located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Founded in 1885 as a literary society, the club is a charter member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, and the first federated women's club in the South...
, the oldest federated women's club
General Federation of Women's Clubs
The General Federation of Women's Clubs , founded in 1890, is an international women's organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service...
in the South, and led efforts to bring coeducation to the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
.
Early life
Lizzie Crozier was born in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, in 1851, one of the five daughters of John H. Crozier and Mary Williams Crozier. Her father was a politician who had served in the Tennessee House of Representatives
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...
from 1837 to 1839, representing Knox County
Knox County, Tennessee
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423,874 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville, as it has been since the creation of the county. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee...
, and who had represented Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District
Tennessee's 3rd congressional district
The 3rd Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Tennessee. It currently includes a north-south strip in the eastern part of the state. Current Republican Representative Chuck Fleischmann has served since 2011....
in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1845 to 1849. Young Lizzie Crozier grew up in a home full of books and was educated at the Convent of the Visitation
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School was founded in Washington, DC in 1799 as the Georgetown Academy for Young Ladies. It was also formally referred to as the Convent and Academy of the Visitation. Since 1799, the school has continued for over 200 years as a college preparatory school for women...
in Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
and later at a private Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
school for young women in Columbia, Tennessee
Columbia, Tennessee
Columbia is a city in Maury County, Tennessee, United States. The 2008 population was 34,402 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. It is the county seat of Maury County....
.
Since John H. Crozier supported the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, the Crozier family was forced to move several times during the Civil War to evade encroaching Union forces, but returned to Knoxville in 1867. Around 1870, Lizzie Crozier starred alongside future author Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden , A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester...
in a performance of She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
. In 1872, she married William Baxter French, the cashier
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
of the wholesaling giant, Cowan, McClung and Company
Fidelity Building (Knoxville)
The Fidelity Building is an office building in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Initially constructed in 1871 for the wholesale firm Cowan, McClung and Company, the building was home to Fidelity-Bankers Trust Company during the mid-twentieth century, and has since been renovated for use as office space...
. Her husband died just 18 months after the marriage, and she was never to marry again. The couple had one child, a son named William Williams French.
Early work in education
Fond of learning, Crozier-French travelled widely to attend seminars and classes across the country. In October 1885, with the aid of her sisters, she reopened the East Tennessee Female InstituteEast Tennessee Female Institute
The East Tennessee Female Institute was an all-female institution of higher learning that operated in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, from 1827 until 1911. Originally chartered as the Knoxville Female Academy, the school offered high school and college-level courses to the women of Knoxville and...
, which her grandfather had helped establish in the 1820s, but had been closed since the Civil War. She emphasized public speaking, and published A Manual of Elocution for her students in 1887. She served as the school's principal until 1890, when their lease on the building expired, and she decided to focus on political activism.
In November 1885, Crozier-French initiated the founding of the Ossoli Circle, which was the first women's club
Women's club
Women’s clubs, also known as woman's clubs, first arose in the United States during the post-Civil War period, in both the North and the South. As a result of increased leisure time due to modern household advances, middle-class women had more time to engage in intellectual pursuits...
in Tennessee and was to become the first club in the southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
to join the General Federation of Women's Clubs
General Federation of Women's Clubs
The General Federation of Women's Clubs , founded in 1890, is an international women's organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service...
. She was inspired to form the Ossoli Circle after having visited the Sorosis Women's Club
Sorosis
Sorosis was the first professional women's club in the United States. The club was organized in New York City with 12 members in March 1868, by Jane Cunningham Croly...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The Ossoli Circle is named for the early 19th-century transcendentalist and feminist Margaret Fuller Ossoli
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller Ossoli, commonly known as Margaret Fuller, was an American journalist, critic, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. She was the first full-time American female book reviewer in journalism...
.
Early activism
Crozier-French's travels to northern states exposed her to progressive feminist philosophies, and left her appalled at the state of women's rights in Tennessee, especially in regards to lack of educational opportunities. One of her first initiatives was to convince the state to allow women to attend the University of Tennessee. In 1889, she delivered an "aggressive" speech before the State Teachers' Association in support of a measure calling for coeducation at the university. In spite of the efforts of state superintendent Frank M. Smith, who derided the idea of women attending UT as "simply absurd," the measure passed, and UT began admitting women in 1892.In 1890, Crozier-French founded the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union to promote various social reforms in Knoxville. Shortly after its formation, the group convinced the city to appoint a police matron to oversee female inmates, and ensure they remained separated from male inmates. Knoxville was the first city in the South to appoint such an office. In October 1893, the group established the Mount Rest Home to care for elderly destitute women, and later gained funding for a reformatory and an industrial school.
Women's rights
In the early 1900s, the women's magazine, The DelineatorThe Delineator
The Delineator was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name The Metropolitan Monthly. Its name was changed in 1875. In November 1926, under the editorship of Mrs...
, conducted a survey and analysis of states' laws regarding the rights of women, and ranked Tennessee in a tie with Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
for last place. Crozier-French described the position of married women in the state as "nothing more or less than that of a slave," pointing out that they had no right to their own property or earnings. In a 1912 speech to the Tennessee Bar Association, she blasted the state's legal bias toward men. She urged them to "not simply alter one law concerning women here and there, but to take the whole bunch and burn it up."
In 1914, Knoxville's city commission enacted an ordinance that essentially allowed prostitutes in parts of the city to operate without fear of arrest. Crozier-French assailed the commission over this ordinance, and engaged in a back-and-forth with Mayor Samuel G. Heiskell over the city's refusal to arrest men who hire prostitutes. During this period, Crozier-French began publishing a magazine, The People, the purpose of which was to expose the corrupt "ring leaders" running the city. She pointed out that the journal was not a guide for "society ladies," stating, "you will not learn from these columns how to butter your bread or hold your fork."
Women's suffrage
Crozier-French's suffragist activities began as early as the 1880s, when she spoke to passers-by at Knoxville's Market SquareMarket Square, Knoxville
Market Square is a pedestrian mall located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Established in 1854 as a market place for regional farmers, the square has developed over the decades into a multipurpose venue that accommodates events ranging from concerts to political rallies, and has long provided a...
. As the suffragist movement gained momentum in the 1900s, she was elected president of the Tennessee Suffrage Association, and organized a writer's club to help women write letters-to-the-editor to newspapers across the state. In 1913, she engaged in a widely-publicized debate with Rogersville
Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville is a town in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett and is the second-oldest town in the state. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers....
anti-suffragist Annie Riley Hale at the National Conservation Exposition
National Conservation Exposition
The National Conservation Exposition was an exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, between September 1, 1913 and November 1, 1913. The exposition celebrated the cause of bringing national attention to conservation activities, especially in the Southeastern United States...
at Knoxville's Chilhowee Park
Chilhowee Park
Chilhowee Park is a public park, fairgrounds and exhibition venue in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, located off Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville. Developed in the late 19th century, the park is now home to the Tennessee Valley Fair, and hosts several dozen expositions annually...
.
After Congress sent the 19th Amendment to the states for ratification in the Spring of 1919, Crozier-French spent much of her time in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
lobbying state legislators. By the time the legislature convened in August 1920 to consider the amendment, thirty-five states had ratified the amendment, leaving it one state short. Crozier-French and her colleagues set up headquarters in the Maxwell House Hotel
Maxwell House Hotel
The Maxwell House Hotel was a major hotel in downtown Nashville at which seven US Presidents and other prominent guests stayed. It was built by Colonel John Overton Jr. and named for his wife, Harriet Maxwell Overton. The architect was Isaiah Rogers....
in Nashville, and after a marathon lobbying session, the state house certified the amendment on August 19, 1920, and the amendment thus became law.
Later life
In 1923 she became the first woman to seek election to the city councilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in Knoxville. She campaigned as a progressive and an advocate for the "weak and unfortunate," and vowed to judge any proposed measure solely on its "righteousness." Her candidacy was unsuccessful.
Lizzie Crozier French died May 14, 1926, in Washington, D. C., after a brief illness. She was in the Washington area to attend a conference of the National Woman's Party
National Woman's Party
The National Woman's Party , was a women's organization founded by Alice Paul in 1915 that fought for women's rights during the early 20th century in the United States, particularly for the right to vote on the same terms as men...
in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and to lobby
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
the U.S. Congress in favor of a support of a bill intended to benefit working women. She is buried in Knoxville's Old Gray Cemetery.
Women's Suffrage Memorial
Lizzie Crozier French is depicted in a life-size bronzeBronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
in the Women's Suffrage Memorial in Market Square
Market Square, Knoxville
Market Square is a pedestrian mall located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Established in 1854 as a market place for regional farmers, the square has developed over the decades into a multipurpose venue that accommodates events ranging from concerts to political rallies, and has long provided a...
in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, along with Anne Dallas Dudley
Anne Dallas Dudley
Anne Dallas Dudley was a prominent activist in the women's suffrage movement in the United States...
of Nashville and Elizabeth Avery Meriwether
Elizabeth Avery Meriwether
Elizabeth Avery Meriwether was an author, publisher and prominent activist in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.-Early life:...
of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The sculpture is by Alan LeQuire
Alan LeQuire
Alan LeQuire is an American sculptor from Nashville, Tennessee. Many of his sculptures are installed in the city.LeQuire's father, Virgil, was a physician and researcher on the faculty of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His mother, Louise, was a painter, art teacher, and writer. The...
.
External links
- Lizzie Crozier French Scrapbook — on file at the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection
- Woman Suffrage Movement, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and CultureTennessee Encyclopedia of History and CultureThe Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002...
- Tennessee Federation of Women's Clubs, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and CultureTennessee Encyclopedia of History and CultureThe Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002...
- The Necessity, Beneficence and Beauty of Law. Speech delivered by Lizzie Crozier French to the Ossoli Circle in 1914