Portsmouth New Hampshire’s Charity Worker and Suffragist: Sarah Whittier “Sallie” Hovey (1872-1932)

Sallie W. Hovey was the daughter of a prominent New Hampshire minister, and the sister of a navy Ensign who lost his life in the Philippines.  In her own right she worked tirelessly to make sure that the poor and unfortunate of Portsmouth were not forgotten.  One of her passions was to improve the the status of women.   Both her father and brother have monuments to commemorate their actions.  Let this story serve as hers.

Sallie was not New Hampshire’s first suffragist. She was just a babe in arms in 1868 when the New Hampshire Women Suffrage Association was organized.  That group met in Eagle Hall in Concord NH where Nathaniel White and his wife Mrs. Armenia (Aldrich) White, originators of that group, and two of the earliest pro-women’s right ‘agitators’ in New Hampshire, were elected to top positions in 1868–Armenia as President of that group, and Nathaniel appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee.

The Portsmouth, New Hampshire newspaper had several stories over a course of thirty years that mention Sallie’s name, mostly in charity work.  She organized events for the poor, the impoverished and the imprisoned, often as part of her father’s ministry.  The Rev. Emerson Hovey was the rector of St. John’s Church of Portsmouth for twenty-six years.  In 1909 her beloved father died, but he remained living with her mother until she too died in 1927.

In November of 1913 an article in the Portsmouth Herald announced that Sallie Hovey was elected president of the Portsmouth’s Women’s Suffrage Association.  The article goes on to state, “Miss Hovey seems to be well chosen as she has been in Boston and New York in the interest of equal suffrage and thoroughly understands all phases of the question. She is an enthusiastic worker and devotes both time and interest in this cause.”  In 1919 the Register of Women’s Clubs shows Sallie Hovey as president of the Equal Suffrage League of Portsmouth, and that there were 100 members.

The World Almanac for 1916 compiled the qualifications for voting-and for not being allowed to vote-in all of the States with the aid of the various State Attorneys-General. This compilation shows that the following classes of adult citizens are denied suffrage in the different States:
–PERSONS EXCLUDED FROM SUFFRAGE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: Paupers, insane, idiots, felons, women. (a)
[Reprinted from the “Woman’s Journal”, Jan. 8, 1916.]
(a) School suffrage granted certain classes of women subject to various restrictions.

The magazine, Suffragist, reports that on June 7, 1920, Sallie Hovey was among those woman who picketed the Republican National Convention in Chicago, because they believed that the Republican Party had “become responsible for the continued delay in the ratification of suffrage.”  Governor John H. Bartlett of New Hampshire, delegate from his state, stopped Miss Sallie Hovey, New Hampshire member of the Advisory Council of the Woman’s Party to congratulate her on her stand and to whisper that he had personally wired his fellow governor, Clement of Vermont, urging a special session of the legislature in that state.”

Just two months later, the Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution was a great victory for all of the women who worked so hard to promote it.  This amendment prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.  This amendment, however, does not legally make women equal to men. The New Hampshire suffragists’ work was not over.

The Portsmouth (NH) Herald of 12 February 1924 next reports:
Miss Sallie Hovey of this city will be one of the delegation of ten New England representatives of the National Woman’s Party who will call on President Coolidge Thursday noon at the White House and explain their reason for desiring passage at this session of Congress of a resolution for a constitutional amendment to provide that man and woman “shall have equal rights throughout the United States.”

This is the last that I can find of Sallie Hovey in connection with suffrage.  In 1930 she had moved to a bungalow home on Adlington Road, in Eliot, York County, Maine.  Two years later she died, and an obituary was published in the Portsmouth NH Herald:

Portsmouth Herald: January 30, 1932, Portsmouth NH, Saturday; page 4
Funeral Services are being held today at St. John’s Church at 12 o’clock for Miss Sallie W. Hovey, one of an old and prominent family of Portsmouth, with Rev. Maxwell Ganter officiating. She was the daughter of the late Rev. and Mrs. Henry Emerson Hovey and during the formers long rectorate of St. John’s church, Miss Hovey assisted her father in parish work. She visited the poor and sick, she brought children to baptism and later to confirmation. She saw that the hungry were fed and the sorrowing, comforted. She was dearly loved by all those who knew her.
     She had an extremely brilliant mentality and for many years was a great student of philosophy and psychology. She studied extensively the works of Nietzsche, Kant, Marx, Metchnikoff and other great philosophers. She wrote a very clever book on the philosophy of life which received high praise from many cities. she wrote some fiction and several essays.
     During the latter years she lived in an attractive home that she built in Eliot as she desire solitude and seclusion for her study and literary work. Her library is large containing many valuable works and she possessed a collection of 2000 original and rare book plates.
     She was the eldest of five children of the Rev. Henry Emerson and Mrs. Hovey, the others being Mrs. William Marston Scabury of New York, Mrs. Austin Kautz of Washington and the late Scudder Klyce, former of Winchester, Mass., and the late Ensign Emerson Hovey who was killed in action in the Philippines and after whom the U.S.S. destroyer Hovey was named.
     Miss Hovey was taken ill during the early part of the week. Her sister Mrs. Seabury came on at once and has been with her during these last sad days. She will be buried in the Hovey plot in Lowell, Mass, after the services here.

Strangely there is no mention in her obituary of her work on behalf of suffrage.  Surely one of her sibling had written these paragraphs, or someone who had known her well enough to comment on her personal collection of bookplates. Her sisters had married well, and perhaps they were anti-suffrage, as many rich women of the day were.

I also did not see Sallie’s name listed at the family plot in the Lowell Cemetery, as referred to in the obituary.  So whether she was buried there but her name not inscribed, or buried elsewhere, it is not known.   Sallie Whittier Hovey, and all of the women of New Hampshire who worked to insure that women of today can vote deserve at the very least to be remembered.

————————
H O V E Y  Genealogy
Ancestors of Sallie Whittier Hovey
Much of the early Hovey genealogy is taken from “The Hovey Book”
————————
Daniel Hovey, b. 9 Aug 1618 in Waltham Abbey in Essex Co. England, son of Richard Hovey a glover of that place.

Sergt. John Hovey,  son of Daniel Hovey, b. 1642, d. 1695.

Ensign Luke Hovey, son of John Hovey, b. 3 May 1676 in Topsfield MA, d. 31 Oct 1751, age 75. His remains lie buried in the ancient burial places in West Boxford MA. He lived in Topsfield MA until 1700 when he settled in Boxford MA. He married 25 Oct 1698 to Susannah Pillsbury, dau of Moses & Susannah (Worth) Pillsbury. She was b. 1 Feb 1677 in Newbury MA, and d. 22 Dec 1767, age 90 in Boxford MA
—————
Children of Ensign Luke & Susannah (Pillsbury) Hovey:
1. Susannah Hovey, b. 25 July 1699 Topsfield; m1) Aaron Brown; m2) William Lakeman
2. Dorcas Hovey, b. 10 May 1701 in Boxford MA; m. Capt. John Foster
3. Hannah Hovey, b. 18 July 1703 in Boxford MA; m. Samuel Hale
4. Elisabeth Hovey, b. 3 Oct 1705 in Boxford MA; m. Benjamin Kimball
5. Luke Hovey, b. 18 May 1708 in Boxford MA
6. Abigail Hovey, b. 6 July 1710 in Boxford MA
7. Joseph Hovey, b. 17 July 1712 in Boxford MA
8. Mary Hovey, b. Boxford MA; m. William Woster
9. +Abijah Hovey, b. 9 Dec 1719 in Boxford MA.

 Abijah Hovey, son of Luke & Susannah (Pillsbury) Hovey, b. 9 Dec 1719 in Boxford MA. He m1) 21 March 1744-5 to Lydia Graves of Haverhill MA. She d. 28 Nov 1760 in Lunenburg MA. He m2) 3 Dec 1761 in Lunenburg MA to Lydia Ingalls of Andover. She d. before 1793. He married 3d) by 1793 Mary Ann Faulkner. He died while she was still his wife, in the winter of 1794-5 at the age of 75. His will was proved 3 March 1795.
———-
Children of Abijah & Lydia (Graves) Hovey:
1. Sarah Hovey, b. 19 Nov 1746; m. John Farwell
2. +Solomon Hovey, b. 7 Nov 1748 in Boxford MA
3. Dorcas Hovey, b. 24 June 1751 in Lunenburg MA
4. Lydia Hovey, b. 17 Aug 1753 in Lunenburg MA; m. Amos Putnam
5. Miriam Hovey, b. 8 Oct 1758 in Lunenburg MA; m. James Patterson
6. Abijah Hovey, b. 16 Oct 1760 in Lunenburg MA; d. 29 Nov 1760

Solomon Hovey, son of Abijah & Lydia (Graves) Hovey, was b. 7 Nov 1748 in Boxford MA, d. 19 Sep 1825, age 76. He m. abt 1780 to Jerusha Wyman of Burlington. They lived in Lunenburg MA. She was b. 20 Feb 1754, and d. 28 June 1831, age 77.
————
Children of Solomon & Jerusha (Wyman) Hovey:
1. Solomon Hovey, b. 14 Aug 1781 in Lunenburg MA
2. Abijah Hovey, b. 20 June 1783 Lunenburg MA
3. Ruth Hovey, v. 18 Oct 1784, d. 18 June 1786
4. +William Hovey, b. 27 Dec 1785 Lunenburg MA
5. Joseph F. Hovey, b. 18 June 1787; m. Sally Randall
6. James Hovey, b. 10 March 1789 Lunenburg MA, d. umn
7. Jerusha Hovey, b. 29 Jan 1791 Lunenburg MA; m. Thomas Goodhue

William Hovey, son of Solomon & Jerusha (Wyman) Hovey, was b. 27 Dec 1785 in Lunenburg MA and d. 19 Feb 1852, age 67 in Cambridge MA. He lived in Lunenburg MA and married 10 Apr 1810 to Sally Howe, dau of Isaac and Hannah (Fay) Howe. She was b. 24 Sep 1792 in Northboro MA and d. 15 Dec 1874, age 82 at Cambridge MA
———–
Children of William & Sally (Howe) Hovey:
1. William Hovey, b. 3 Dec 1812 in Cambridge MA
2. Sarah Fuller Hovey, b. 9 June 1815; m. Leonard F. Markham
3. +Charles Hovey, b. 17 Nov 1817 in Acton MA
4. Albert Henry Hovey, b. 5 Oct 1820 in Acton MA

Charles Hovey, son of William & Sally (Howe) Hovey, was b. 17 Nov 1817 in Acton MA; d. 4 May 1886 in Lowell MA. He m. 7 Dec 1843 in Dover NH to Catherine Smith, daughter of Colonel Joseph & Mary (Emerson) Smith. She was b. 15 Sep 1824 in Dover, Stafford Co. NH and d. 6 Aug 1907 in Lowell MA.
——————-
[Joseph Smith m. Mary Emerson [dau of Nehemiah & Mollie (Whittier) Emerson] 24 Oct 1810 in Haverhill MA] Nehemiah Emerson (1749-1832) was a minute man at the Lexington Alarm; an ensign 1777 and 1780 commanded a company. He was at Bunker Hill, the Buroyne compaign and Valley Forge. His commission and epaulets are in the possession of the family. He was born in Haverhill MA where he died.
——————-
See extensive bio of Charles Hovey
——————-
Children of Charles & Sally (Howe) Hovey:
1. +Henry Emerson Hovey, b. 23 Nov 1844 in Lowell MA; d. 6 Aug 1909 in Portsmouth NH
2. Alice Hovey, b. 22 Oct 1847; d. 14 March 1850 Lowell MA
3. Kate Smith Hovey, b. 21 Jan 1849; m. 17 Nov 1870 in Lowell to Laurin Martin, son of Leonard & Priscilla (Abbott) Martin. He was b. 27 Aug 1843 at Coaticook, PQ, Canada, and d. 25 April 1878. Their children: Charles Abbott Martin, b 24 Aug 1873; Laurin Hovey Martin, b. 30 May 1875; Louise Henry Martin, b. 17 Apr 1878, m1) Waldo Kennard; m2) I. Hasbrook Chahoon.4. Charles William Hovey, b. 9 Aug 1853, d. 9 Oct 1855, age 2, Lowell MA
5. William Charles Hovey, b. 31 Jan 1861, d. 23 Feb 1861.

Rev. Henry Emerson Hovey, son of Charles Smith and Catherine (Smith) Hovey; b. 23 Nov 1844 in Acton MA, and d. 6 Aug 1909 in Portsmouth NH. He married on April 19, 1871 in St. George’s Church, New York to Sarah Louise Folsom, daughter of Charles James & Sarah Carman (Downing) Folsom. She was b 23 Aug 1824 in New York City, NY and d. 28 June 1927 in Portsmouth, Rockingham Co. NH. He was the long time [26 years] rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth NH [see his obituary below]. Though his obituary states he would be buried in Lowell, instead both he and his wife are buried in the churchyard of St. John’s in Portsmouth NH.
————-
1900 US Census > NH > Rockingham > Portsmouth
Henry E. Hovey M 56 MA Head
Sarah L. F. Hovey 58 NY Wife
Sarah M. Hovey F 28 MA Dau
Katherine E. Hovey F 24 NY Dau
Louise F. Hovey F 21 NY Dau
Ethel R.D. Hovey F 20 NY Dau
Charles E. Hovey M 15 NH son
Margaret Leary F. 24 Ire servant
————
New York Times, published 7 August 1909
The Rev. Henry Emerson Hovey, since 1882 rector of St. John’s Church, Portsmouth, N.H. died yesterday. He was the founder of Portsmouth Hospital, President of the Portsmouth Children’s Home, President of the New Hampshire Society of Sons of the Revolution, and a Trustee of the Home for Aged Women, and was also a member of the Portsmouth School Board and the Boston Athletic Association.
Mr. Hovey was born in Lowell, Mass. He was graduated from Trinity College, Hartford in 1866, and received the degree of M.A. three years later. After receiving the degree of LL. B. from the General Theological Seminary, New York, in the same year, he was ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and became rector of St. John’s Church at Fort Hamilton. He became rector of the Church of the Ascension, Fall River in 1871; rector of St. Barnabas’s Church in Brooklyn in 1873, and since 1882 has been rector of St. John’s Portsmouth. On April 19, 1871 in St. George’s Church, New York, he married Miss Louise Folsom, who, with five children, survives him.
————
Children of Henry E. & Sarah L. (Folsom) Hovey:
1. +Sarah Whittier Hovey, b. 2 March 1872 in Fall River MA; d. 29 Jan 1932 in Eliot, Maine.
2. Katharine Emerson Hovey, b. 1876 Brooklyn NY; m. William Marston Seabury, son of the Rt. Rev. Dr. William J. Seabury of the General Theological Seminary.
3. Louise Folsom Hovey, b. 19 Apr 1879 Brooklyn NY; m. Austin Choate
4. Etheldreda Downing Hovey, b. 18 Oct 1880 in Brooklyn, Kings, NY; m. Horace Scudder Klyce
5. Charles Emerson Hovey, b. 10 Jan 1885 in Portsmouth NH; d. 24 Sep 1911 in Philippines. [see notice below]

Sarah Whittier “Sallie W.” Hovey, daughter of Rev. Henry E. & Sarah L. (Folsom) Hovey, was born 2 March 1872 in Fall River, MA, and died 29 January 1932 in Eliot, York Co., Maine.  She lived most of her life in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She never married.
————-
The Portsmouth Herald, Thursday 20 Nov 1913
HEADLINE: HAS A NEW PRESIDENT
Miss Sallie Hovey Now Head of the Woman’s Suffrage Association
At the meeting of the Woman’s Suffrage of this city on Monday evening, Miss Sallie W. Hovey was elected to the office of president for the current year. Owing to the recent resignation of Miss Martha Kimbull, the office has been vacant since the annual election of officers a few weeks ago. The other offices have been filled by the following: Vice president, Mrs. Mary I. Wood; treasurer, Mrs. Joseph P. Conner; secretary: Miss Catharine Sweetser; auditor, Miss Bertha Bond. Miss Hovey seems to be well chosen as she has been in Boston and New York in the interest of equal suffrage and thoroughly understands all phases of the question. She is an enthusiastic worker and devotes both time and interest in this cause.
————-
1920 US Census > NH > Rockingham > Portsmouth NH
Louise F. Hovey 72 b abt 1848 NY
Sallie W. Hovey 47 b abt 1873 MA
Henrietta Block 25 b abt 1895 West Indies black, maid
————
In 1929 arrived in US, the ship [sailing from Southampton to NY] “Berengaria” manifest states she is living in Eliot, Maine
———–
1930 US census > Eliot, York Co. Maine > 165 Adlington Road
Sallie Hovey MA MA NY
The house is described as a bungalow
————
SEE HER STORY ABOVE (She is the subject of this article)

********************
Additional Reading
********************
Sallie Hovey’s brother,  Charles Emerson Hovey, had been born in Portsmouth NH, 10 Jan 1885 and died 24  Sep 1911, age 26 yrs, killed in action, in the Philippines, at the Balangiga Massacre.  The 168, Emerson Hovey Post, VFW is named after him. His memory is preserved in Portsmouth by what was originally considered a drinking fountain that was erected near the post office.  Made in Italy,  “the basin and pedestal are of Carrara marble, surmounted by a bronze figure of young Neptune (renaissance), originally in a palac garden in Sienna. A marble memorial tablet has been placed in St. John’s Church in Ensign Hovey’s memory by his young friends. His remains are interred in St. John’s Church Yard.” This fountain can now be found in a prominent location in Prescott Park, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. [Additional photographs of the fountain].

*************
Historical Links
**************

–A Brief History of the New Hampshire Women Suffrage Association

– The History of Suffrage, Volume III (New Hampshire history ends about 1888).

– Detailed Chronology, Woman’s Party History