Ida Husted Harper
Contemporary students of the suffrage movement and women’s studies are indebted to Terre Haute journalist Ida Husted Harper’s exceptional dedication.
Born in Franklin County, IN, on Feb. 18, 1851, the daughter of John and Cassandra (Stoddard) Husted, Ida moved with her family to Munice as a youth and then attended Indiana University. In 1869 – after one year in college – she became principal at Peru High School. She moved to Terre Haute in December 1871 when she wed colorful attorney Thomas W. Harper. The Harpers resided at 672 Oak St. through much of their marriage.
In 1872 Ida launched a career in journalism which brought her enduring fame. Initially, her “letters,” written under the pseudonym “John Smith,” were published in the Saturday Evening Mail. Subsequently, she wrote a regular column, “A Woman’s Opinion,” for the Mail, and submitted work t many newspapers, including the Indianapolis News. In 1883 she also became a regular contributor to the Fireman’s Magazine, later called the Locomotive Fireman’s Magazine, under the editorship of Eugene V. Debs and was placed in charge of the journal’s “Women’s Department.” She also became secretary of the Indiana Woman’s Suffrage Association and was the official hostess for the organization’s important Terre Haute conference in November 1887.
Harper became managing editor of the Terre Haute Daily News in 1889. Despite the fact that Ida earned a reputation as a meticulous housekeeper, cook and seamstress, her extracurricular activities wreaked havoc on her marriage. In 1890 she obtained a divorce and located in Indianapolis, enrolling her 12-year-old daughter Winnifred at the prestigious classical school operated by her close fried May Wright Sewall, a pioneer in education.
In 1896 – when Winnifred enrolled at Stanford University – Ida moved to California, at the request of Susan B. Anthony, to lobby for passage of a state constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. Urged by Anthony to continue to serve as the movement’s public relations secretary, Ida relocated to Rochester, N.Y. In 1898, she published The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, an official biography, in two volumes. In 1908 – after Anthony’s death – she wrote a third volume. In 1903 she united with Anthony to publish volume four of The History of Women’s Suffrage. Volumes five and six of the work were written by Harper in 1922.
Meanwhile, Ida was a prolific contributor to journals such as The Independent and Harper’s Bazaar and newspapers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago. While residing in New York City, she was a department editor of the New York Sunday Star. For many years beginning in 1899, Harper was a delegate to the International Council of Women and the International Suffrage Alliance, attending many European conferences and conventions for both organizations.
Harper was one of few national pioneer suffrage leaders to witness the passage of the 19th amendment. Her last days were spent in Washington D.C., where she died at age 80 on March 14, 1931.
This Wabash Valley Profile was reprinted with permission from First Financial Bank and the Terre Haute Tribune Star.