Sara A. Underwood

Sara A. Underwood (1838-1911)[1] was a prominent English-born American freethought lecturer and writer, and an active part of the movement for women's suffrage.[2]

Sara A. Underwood
Born
Sara A. Francis

21 July 1838
Penrith, England
Died16 March 1911
Jacksonville, Illinois
Other namesSara A. Francis Underwood
OccupationWriter, lecturer, editor
OrganizationNational Woman Suffrage Association of Massachusetts
Notable work
Heroines of Freethought (1876)
MovementFreethought, suffrage
Spouse(s)Benjamin Franklin Underwood

Life

Sara A. Underwood was born Sara A. Francis in Penrith, Cumbria, moving with her family to Rhode Island while still a young child.[2] She married Benjamin Franklin Underwood on 6 September 1862, the partnership described as 'a union of kindred minds as well as hearts'.[2]

Both Underwoods became well-known figures in freethinking circles and on the lecture circuit over the course of following decades.[1] Towards the end of the 1880s, the couple moved to Chicago to serve as editor and manager (Benjamin) and associate editor (Sara)[3] of the journal The Open Court.[1] The Open Court was 'devoted to the work of establishing ethics and religion upon a scientific basis.'[3]

Work

As a lecturer, Sara A. Underwood became widely known 'for espousing liberal religious thought' for over three decades.[4] Between 1880 and 1886 she was a co-editor of the Boston Index, the organ of the Free Religious Association.[4] She was the editor of the Psychical Science Congress' journal, the Philosophic Journal 1893–95, and chair of the Congress of Evolutionists,[4] part of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.[5]

Underwood spoke and wrote in the cause of equal rights for women,[2] and was treasurer of the National Woman Suffrage Association of Massachusetts.[6][7]

Death

Sara A. Underwood died in a sanatorium in Jacksonville, Illinois in the early hours of 16 March 1911.[2]

References
  1. Andrick, John Michael (2016). A Modern Mecca of Psychic Forces: The Psychical Science Congress and the Culture of Progressive Occultism in Fin-de-Siècle Chicago, 1885-1900 (PDF) (PhD). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  2. "Mrs. Underwood is Summoned". The Quincy Daily Journal. 16 March 1911.
  3. "The Open Court: A Fortnightly Journal". The Open Court. 1 (2). 3 March 1887.
  4. Duniway, Abigail Scott (1897). "WOMAN IN JOURNALISM". "SHE FLIES WITH HER OWN WINGS": THE COLLECTED SPEECHES OF ABIGAIL SCOTT DUNIWAY.
  5. Johnson, Rossiter (1898). A History of the World's Columbian Exposition Held in Chicago in 1893. D. Appleton.
  6. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady; Anthony, Susan B.; Blatch, Harriot Stanton; Gage, Matilda (2017). The History of the Women's Suffrage: The Origin of the Movement (Illustrated Edition): Part I - Lives and Battles of Pioneer Suffragists (Including Letters, Articles, Conference Reports, Speeches, Court Transcripts & Decisions). Musaicum Books.
  7. "Letter : Membership appeal from the National Woman Suffrage Association of Massachusetts, signed by the Standing Committee. [Circa 1882-1885]". Ann Lewis Suffrage Collection.
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