EMILY PARMELY COLLINS: SUFFRAGIST WHO STARTED FIRST WOMEN’S EQUALITY CLUB IN AMERICA HAILED FROM S. BRISTOL

BY BETH THOMAS, BRISTOL AND SOUTH BRISTOL HISTORIAN

“From the earliest dawn of reason, I pined for that freedom of thought and action that was then denied to all womenkind.” - Emily P. Collins, Reminiscences travelled with fellow Bristol resident, Irena Joyner Totman, to nurse their sons back to health in Virginia. Irena was paid $10 per year for the right to tend to the medical needs of local residents. She seemed to receive the same respect as the local male doctor.

Atrue daughter of the American Revolution, Emily Parmely Collins was born on August 11, 1814 in Bristol, NY (now South Bristol) and lived there for 40 years. Her father, James, initially served in the Revolutionary War as a drummer boy. Later as a soldier, he helped evacuate New York with Washington’s troops, fought at the battle of Trenton and skirmishes along the Delaware River, and survived Valley Forge. It is not surprising that his spit re of a daughter, the youngest of eleven, would become one of the country’s rst su ragists.

Coming from such tough stock and being surrounded by a highly educated family with diverse interests and talents, Emily was appointed teacher of district number 11 in Burbee Hollow, Bristol, NY at age sixteen “at a salary paid to a man.” In 1832, she travelled to Michigan with her pioneer brother and taught in a log schoolhouse near Port Huron for a short time.

Early in 1848 upon her return to Bristol, she began her life of activism by writing a “letter of approval and encouragement” to Elizabeth Blackwell on becoming the rst woman enrolled in a modern medical school. A er attending the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, Collins returned to Bristol excited to organize the rst su ragists’ club in the world.

According to Alice Stone Blackwell in the New York Tribune on August 5, 1914, Emily Collins, while a patriot nurse, was taken prisoner and shut in a church with her wounded son and other Unionists, but she was able to sneak information to the Union Army.

When Collins lived in Rochester in the late 1860s, she wrote brief newspaper articles and joined other pioneer su ragists in petition to the Legislature asking that women be granted the privilege of voting. She also attended a meeting of Rochester’s Female Moral Reform Association, an organization to reclaim and reform prostitutes. She warned the group that their e orts would be “futile as long as women were made a subject class…” and proclaimed that “…only by enfranchising women and permitting her a more free and lucrative range of employment would it be possible to suppress this ‘social evil.’” e Woman’s Equal Rights Union (also called the Equal Su rage Society or the Equal Rights Association) met on October 19, 1848. ese 15-20 women met in alternating women’s homes every other week to discuss and exchange ideas. Soon a er its formation, the group dra ed a petition, signed by 62 men and women, and sent it to the NY State Legislature, where it was laughed o as “absurdly ridiculous.” e S. Bristol club met for over a year before disbanding due to bad weather and di culty meeting, but they continued to petition the legislature, and a Bristol women’s club has continued by several names to the present day.

She agitated that meeting’s audience and later audiences with her views against the conservatism of organized religion. She said churches and clergy “are striving to rivet the chains still closer that bind, not only our own sex, but the oppressed of every class and color.” She even believed liquor should be exclusively manufactured and sold at cost by the government, and industrialists should practice cooperation versus competition.

At this time, Collins wrote to Sarah C. Owen, a Rochester activist in October 1848, requesting a copy of the su rage petition, saying “We will engage to do all we can, not only in our town, but in the adjoining ones of Richmond, East Bloom eld, Canandaigua, and Naples…”

Both of Collins’ sons participated in the Civil War, one as a surgeon and the other, who had just graduated from law school when the war broke out, was wounded while a Captain of the Calvary. Collins

Collins continued her su ragist work in Louisiana with Elizabeth Lisle Saxon and then in Hartford, Connecticut, where Collins wrote extensively for the Hartford Journal and organized and became president of the Hartford Equal Rights Club with the help of Frances Ellen Burr. In 1907, two years before her death at age 95, Collins received a telegram of appreciation from the Convention of the National American Woman Su rage Association. She was mourned by a large circle of friends from the United States, England, and Australia.

How incredible it is to know a woman from S. Bristol played such an important role in the su ragist movement! Happy Women’s History Month! Ever forward toward equality for all humankind.

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Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan? (Family Features) When a home fire occurs, you have very little time to get out. A working smoke alarm doubles your chances of survival, yet more than twenty percent of American homes are without them. Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs teamed up to address this problem by providing vital fire safety information to families. Make a Plan Installing smoke alarms on every level of the home and developing a plan of escape can give your family precious minutes to get out and get to safety. Draw a floor plan of your home and sketch exit routes out of every room. Make sure you have a fire escape ladder long enough to reach the ground from upstairs rooms. Assign an outside meeting place, so you can quickly locate each other

PREPARE COOLING SYSTEMS FOR WARM WEATHER

INSPECT CONDENSATE DRAINS. Energy.gov also suggests making sure condensate drains, which take moisture pulled from the air away, are functioning properly. If they’re clogged, they may not be effective at reducing humidity in a home, and they may even leak.

DID YOU KNOW?

One of the ways homeowners can keep their lawns looking lush and green is to aerate the turf when the need arises. Aerators perforate the soil with small holes. These holes allow air, nutrients and water to penetrate all the way to the roots, helping them grow deep and strong. Deep, strong roots are essential to healthy, lush lawns. While aeration can help many lawns, not every lawn will necessarily need to be aerated. Lawns that get heavy use, such as those that are often played on by children or pets, will likely benefit from periodic aeration. Feeling the lawn also can help homeowners determine if it needs to be aerated. Lawns that dry out quickly or feel spongy may be overcome with thatch, which can prevent lawns from getting the air, water and nutrients they need to thrive. Lawncare professionals recommend aerating lawns that contain thatch that is more than one-half inch. Thatch also can foster grub infestations, providing another benefit to removing it and aerating a lawn. When to aerate depends on the type of grass. Homeowners should consult with a lawncare professional about the best time to aerate their particular lawns, but it’s generally recommended that cool-season grasses be aerated in early spring or fall, while it’s best to aerate warm season grasses in late spring.

By Sam Mazzotta

In Cats, Ear Infection Can Have Subtle Symptoms

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: My cat Chester seemed perfectly healthy, but when I brought him in for his annual checkup, the veterinarian said that he has an ear infection. I didn’t notice any behavior or odd symptoms previously. I gave Chester the expensive eardrops he was prescribed, and he seems just ne. Was the vet just making up the infection? -- Jeanine C., Bu alo, New York

DEAR JEANINE: Cats are really good at hiding the symptoms of an illness. I’m glad you brought Chester in for his regular checkup, because those are very helpful in determining hidden acute problems like an ear infection, and noting potential problems (for example, if his weight is getting higher than normal, or he’s developing arthritis).

Now that Chester has been treated, keep an eye out for signs of the infection recurring. Look, listen and smell (yes, smell!) around his ears periodically and note certain behaviors. Hold Chester on your lap and shine a little ashlight into each ear.

A healthy ear is pale pink, with little to no earwax visible and no debris.

Trouble signs include: A strong odor from the ear; lots of earwax buildup; debris or discharge that looks like co ee grounds; or discharge that is yellow or black. You (or the vet) may see redness or swelling of the ear ap or in the ear canal.

Ear infections cause behavioral changes, too. Some of them are subtle: Chester may shake his head a er you scratch around his ears, or he may tilt his head more in one direction than another. More serious symptoms include loss of balance, disorientation, hearing loss or even facial paralysis.

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