Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

People

Location

8 Homer St, Union Springs, NY 13160, USA

Lat/Long

42.838314, -76.69183

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Suffragist Zobedia Alleman once lived at 8 Homer Street, in the Village of Union Springs. Born in New York in 1848, Zobedia Gambee became Zobedia Alleman when she married Dr. Joseph Judson Alleman in 1869. During her life Zobedia was an ardent supporter and active participant of the women’s suffrage movement at both the county and state level. At the time, women in New York State were able to vote for trustees and tax propositions, and in 1910, she served as the Chairman of the School Suffrage Committee for the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. A May 9, 1935 article in the Union Springs Advertiser shares Zobedia’s experience advocating for women’s suffrage:

But is was no causal thing for a woman to ride 11 miles on a beer keg, spend the night in a second rate tavern, and walk a mile the next morning, all for the purpose of recruiting another work to the slender ranks of the suffragists. That however, was only one of the things that Mrs. Alleman did.

The article continues:

Mrs. Alleman delivered a speech a day, five days a week for the length of the campaign. As canvassers they visited farmers in the fields, men in shops and merchants in their stores, and before election propaganda was sent to 18,000 men voters in the county. The night of an election Mrs. Alleman watched returns as they came in at headquarters, and with a grain of salt accepted the reports that women suffrage carried the state by 100,000. At 9 o’ clock headquarters closed, and the women went home. They neither despaired nor rejoiced, for they had learned a great many things during their hard work in the cause.  But they next morning, allowed themselves they liberty of rejoicing that they state had carried woman suffrage by 90,000.

In 1917, women in New York State were granted the right to vote. Only a short time later the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote across the country, was ratified and added to the U.S. Constitution. Zobedia Alleman lived to see her efforts, and the countless efforts of many others, come to fruition. She eventually passed away in 1940 at the age of 92.