Page:Woman of the Century.djvu/414

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HUSSEY.
ILIOHAN
409

of New Bedford, a man of similar tendencies with herself. About that time she became acquainted with Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, who had just settled in medical practice in New York. Dr. Blackwell became Mrs. Hussey 's medical adviser, and some years afterwards, in cooperation with her and several other ladies and gentlemen, among whom was the late Cyrus W. Field, she formed a body of trustees for the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. The purpose of that society was to give poor women medical treatment at the hands of their own sex. From that hospital was developed in the course of time a medical college for women. Later Mrs. Hussey's only daughter studied her profession first in the college and then in the infirmary. The family moved to Orange, N. J. As her children grew up, Mrs. Hussey took an active interest in the woman suffrage agitation, and became a member of the executive committee of the American Suffrage Association, and subsequently, on the request of Miss Anthony, she was made vice-president for New Jersey of the National Suffrage Association. She retained those positions during a number of years. In 1876 efforts were made in several large cities to permit the licensing of the social evil, and Mrs. Hussey, always interested in efforts for social purity, was chosen secretary of the committee formed to oppose such evil legislation. When that work had been brought to a successful termination, Mrs. Hussey became interested in the claim of Miss Anna Ella Carroll for a government pension, on account of services rendered during the war and her plans of the Tennessee campaign. Through her efforts considerable sums of money were raised by private subscription, and articles were published in some of the leading magazines on the work of Miss Carroll. During the last twenty years Mrs. Hussey has contributed numerous articles to the " Woman's Journal " and various other reform periodicals, as well as to the papers of her State.


ILIOHAN, Mrs, Henrica, woman suffragist, born in Vorden, Province of Gelderland, Kingdom of the Netherlands, 3rd May, 1850. Her maiden name was Weenink. Her parents were in good circumstances, her father being a successful architect and builder. HENRICA ILIOHAN. The love of liberty and independence seemed to have been instilled into her from birth, and when but a child her eyes were opened to the different education of boys and girls. She showed a taste and aptitude for the carpenter's trade, and her father's workshop had a fascination for her. When she was eight years of age, she could plane a board as well as an older brother. The workmen would often send her home crying by saying she was a girl and therefore could never be a carpenter. She remembers that this happened when she was so young that to her consciousness the only difference lay in dress, and she would earnestly beg her mother to dress her in her brother's clothes, so that she might become a carpenter. The disability of sex became of more and more importance as she thought and studied upon it. She was but eighteen years of age when her mother died. In 1870 her father sailed with his three children for America, arriving in Albany, N. Y., in May. She was fortunate in being the object of one woman's considerate kindness and patience, in her efforts to learn the English language. In trying to read English she noticed for the first time an article on woman suffrage in the Albany "Journal," in 1871, when Mrs. Lillie Devereaux Blake addressed the assembly and asked the question: "Whom do you think, gentleman of the committee, to be most competent to cast a ballot, the mother who comes from the fireside, or the husband that comes from the corner saloon?" This was to the young discoverer a javelin that struck home, and she made inquiries why women did not and could not vote. Very much interested, she read all that was accessible on the subject, and when, in 1877, the first Woman Suffrage Society of Albany was organized, she became an earnest member. With the remembrance of woman's share in the brave deeds recorded in Dutch history, she gained in courage and enthusiasm and began to express herself publicly. Her first appearance on the lecture platform was a triumph. Encouraged by many, she gained in experience and became one of the acknowledged leaders of the society. She was elected four times a delegate from the society to the annual convention in New York City, and worked during the sessions of the legislature to obtain the consideration of that body. Mrs. Iliohan has also done some good work in translation. "The Religion of Common Sense," from the German of Prof. L. Ulich, is a sample of her ability in that direction. In 1887 she removed, with her family, to Humphrey, Neb., where she has since lived. Since she has been identified with Nebraska and with subjects of reform in that State, she has endeared herself to the leaders and the public.


IMMEN, Mrs. Loraine, elocutionist and club leader, born in Mount Clemens, Mich., 3rd August, 1840. Her mother's maiden name was Cook, and her ancestors were related to Captain Cook, the famous navigator. Her father, E. G. Pratt, was a native of Massachusetts, who settled in Michigan in the pioneer days, making his home in Mount Clemens. He was conspicuous in every movement that had for its object the development of the community and the State. The two daughters of the Pratt family enjoyed the advantages of a thorough education. Loraine became a teacher at the age of fourteen years, and she succeeded well in the arduous work of the school-room. She taught in