Juab County
On March 11, 1889, the Juab County Woman Suffrage Association was organized in the Nephi Tabernacle. Both women and men spoke at the meeting, but only women were allowed to become members and officers.
Mrs. M.A. Grover of Juab County was among the 100 women who attended a territorial suffrage convention, drafted a petition in favor of equal suffrage, and filed into the constitutional convention to hear their petition read to the delegates.
266 signatures from Juab County accompanied a petition from Utahns across 10 counties to include an equal suffrage clause in the state constitution. There had previously been petitions from Juab County residents in favor of postponing the decision on women’s voting rights.
35-year-old Maud Fitch of Eureka volunteered to drive an ambulance on the front lines in France in WWI. Maud bought her own ambulance and gasoline, and sailed with it for France in March 1918.
Key Players
Juab County Woman Suffrage Association
In the Woman’s Exponent, June 1, 1889.
The Juab County Woman Suffrage Association was organized in the Nephi Tabernacle on March 11, 1889. As women and men spoke in favor of an organization to promote women’s suffrage in Utah, Elizabeth A. Schofield, who had just been unanimously elected president of the association, said: “Every lady should feel it her duty make an effort to obtain the Franchise. Many do not understand the true meaning of Woman Suffrage. Some think woman is trying to usurp man’s rights. Not so! She only desires to stand side by side with him, and share those privileges he values as inestimable.” Other officers elected were Mrs. E. B. Bryan as first vice president, Mrs. M. E. Neff second vice president, Mrs. M. A. Cazier third vice president, Louie Udall as secretary, Annie L. Atkin recording and corresponding secretary, and Mrs. L. A. Hartley as treasurer. Mrs. M. A. Grover was named chairman of the executive board with Mrs. M E. Whitmore, Sarah Abbott, Mrs. W. H. Jones, Emma Adams, Mercy Wright, and Julia Paxman as members of the board.
Elizabeth Ann Schofield
Courtesy of Kristen Pieroni.
Elizabeth Ann Schofield (later Adams) was elected the first president of the Juab County Woman Suffrage Association at its first meeting on March 11, 1889. At the meeting, Elizabeth told her fellow suffragists: “Every lady should feel it her duty to make an effort to obtain the Franchise. Many do not understand the true meaning of Woman Suffrage. Some think woman is trying to usurp man’s rights. Not so! She only desires to stand side by side with him, and share those privileges he values as inestimable.”
Maud May Fitch, Ambulance Driver in World War I
Maud May Fitch wearing her French Cross medal. Photograph courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society.
When the United States entered World War I, Maud Fitch left her family’s cattle ranch near Eureka, Utah, to drive an ambulance in France. She bought her own ambulance and fuel, shipped them overseas, and drove through the war zone to deliver wounded soldiers to hospitals. She was awarded the French Cross for her service. Read more of Fitch’s fascinating story in our blog post here and check out the episode of the What’s Her Name Podcast about her here.
Edna Jensen Cazier
Edna Cazier as a state legislator. Photograph courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society.
Edna Cazier represented Juab County for five terms in the Utah House of Representatives following her first election in 1948. Cazier was an educator in the Alpine and Jordan school districts and pursued her intellectual and civic interests through membership in the Ladies’ Literary Club, Classics Club, and State Federation of Women’s Clubs, as well as serving in the Red Cross during the Great Depression and Second World War. Her long-time interest in politics led her to serve as a delegate to many state and county Democratic conventions as well as canvassing door-to-door for candidates she supported. While in the state legislature, she especially focused on securing adequate funding for education. Cazier was chosen Mother of the Year in Nephi.
Key Sites
Nephi Tabernacle.
Improvement Era, June 1914, p. 741.
The Nephi Tabernacle held the organizational meeting of the Juab County Woman Suffrage Association, as well as large annual meetings of the suffrage organization in the years that followed. The Nephi Tabernacle had been built in 1865 and was later called the Juab Stake Tabernacle. It was demolished in 1949.