Barbara Blackman O'Neil

Barbara Blackman O'Neil (September 3, 1880 – December 2, 1963) was an American suffrage leader in St. Louis, Missouri. She was born in 1880.[1] Her father was George Blackman.[2] She attended Washington University, where she studied art.[1] O'Neil was elected the second president of the Equal Suffrage League.[3][1][4] She later became president again following the resignation of Mrs. John L. Lowes.[5]

Barbara Blackman O'Neil
BornSeptember 17, 1880 (1880-09-17)
DiedDecember 2, 1963(1963-12-02) (aged 83)
EducationWashington University in St. Louis
OccupationSuffragist
FamilyBarbara O'Neil (daughter)

She spoke in defense of Jane Addams and against the National Women Suffrage Association adopting an amendment that would prohibit any officer or member from participating in a major political party in 1912. She was elected to the board of directors of College Suffragist, part of the National Women Suffrage Association, at that time.[6] She led the Equal Suffrage League to try to get suffrage to go to Missouri voters in 1914, but when the state senate tabled the discussion, she and Mrs. Walter McNab Miller, the state Equal Suffrage League president, started a petition campaign. The measure failed at a rate of nearly 3 to 1 statewide.[7] At the 1916 National Democratic Convention, when thousands of women took to the streets to draw attention to suffrage, O'Neil stood at the end of a "golden lane" of women representing states with full suffrage, where she was dressed as a "spirit of liberty."[1][7]

Personal life and death

A portrait of O'Neil painted in 1902 by F.L. Stoddard hung in the office of the mayor of St. Louis for many years.[8] She married David O'Neil, a businessman[9] and poet, in 1903.[10] They had four children: David Blackman, who died as a child; George Blackman; Horton; and Barbara, a film and stage actress.[9][1] O'Neil and her husband moved from St. Louis around or after 1919, first to Europe, then to California, and eventually Cos Cob, Connecticut.[11][1] O'Neil died on December 2, 1963 at age 82. She was buried in Greenwich, Connecticut.[11][12]

References
  1. "Biographical Sketch of Barbara Blackman O'Neil | Alexander Street Documents". documents.alexanderstreet.com. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  2. Martyn, Marguerite (1915-05-26). "Suffrage Tea: Know what That Is? No, You Don't Drink It -- You Hear It". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Proquest.
  3. Leonard, John William (1914). Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada. American Commonwealth Company.
  4. "Suffragettes Elected: Mrs. D.N. O'Neil Named as Local President". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1912-05-06. Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Proquest.
  5. Addams, Jane; Stanton, Elizabeth Cady; Harper, Ida Husted; Shaw, Anna Howard; Fawcett, Millicent Garrett; Pankhurst, Emmeline; Blackwell, Alice Stone (2018-03-21). The Women of the Suffrage Movement: Autobiographies & Biographies of the Most Influential Suffragettes. e-artnow. ISBN 978-80-272-4281-8.
  6. "St. Louis Women Lead Fight for Jane Addams; win". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1912-11-24. Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Proquest.
  7. Corbett, Katharine T. (1999). In Her Place: A Guide to St. Louis Women's History. Missouri History Museum. ISBN 978-1-883982-30-0.
  8. "Portrait Puzzle Cleared". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1939-10-29. Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Proquest.
  9. Marquis, Albert Nelson (1912). The Book of St. Louisans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of St. Louis and Vicinity. St. Louis republic.
  10. "Society". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1903-06-07. Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Proquest.
  11. "Mrs. David O'Neil Funeral; Led Suffrage Movement". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1963-12-05. Retrieved 2020-01-05 – via Proquest.
  12. "Deaths". The New York Times. 1963-12-04. Retrieved 2020-01-06 – via Proquest.
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