Nell Mercer
Nell Mercer (1893–1979) was a member of the Silent Sentinels picketing Woodrow Wilson's White House for women's suffrage.
Nell Fidelia Mercer | |
|---|---|
 Mercer circa 1910-1920 | |
| Born | January 24, 1893 North Landing, Virginia |
| Died | 1979 (aged 85–86) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Business owner, Suffragist |
| Spouse(s) | Clifton N. Phillips (m. 1929) |
Life
Mercer was born in North Landing, Virginia on January 24, 1893.[1] She grew up in Norfolk, Virginia where she became a member of Norfolk branch of the National Women's Party. A member of the Silent Sentinels picketing Woodrow Wilson's White House for women's suffrage, she was arrested in February 1919 for her participation in a watchfire demonstration and sentenced to five days in jail.[2] In 1926, Mercer was a delegate to the Tenth Congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in Paris, France.[1]
Mercer owned a small hardware store in Norfolk, Virginia.[3]
She married Clifton N. Phillips in 1929. They had no children and the marriage ended in divorce. Mercer died in 1979.[1]
References
- Thompson, Taylor. "Biographical Sketch of Nell Mercer". Online Biographical Dictionary of Militant Woman Suffragists, 1913-1920. Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party: Nell Mercer". Library of Congress. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- Adams, Katherine H.; Keene, Michael L.; Koella, Jennifer C. (2011-12-12). Seeing the American Woman, 1880-1920: The Social Impact of the Visual Media Explosion. McFarland. ISBN 9780786489039.
- Doris Stevens, Jailed for Freedom (New York: Boni and Liveright, 1920), 365.
- "Suffragists Burn Wilson in Effigy" New York Times February 10, 1919