Dora Kelly Lewis | |
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| Born | Dora Kelly (1862-10-13)October 13, 1862 |
| Died | January 31, 1928(1928-01-31) (aged 65) |
| Known for | Suffragist |
| Relatives | Howard Atwood Kelly (brother)[1] |
Dora Lewis (October 13, 1862 – January 31, 1928), also known asMrs. Lawrence Lewis, was an American suffragist.[2][3] She was active in theNational American Woman Suffrage Association and later helped found theNational Woman's Party.[4] Lewis took part in theSilent Sentinels protest to advocate for women's suffrage.[5]
In 1913 Dora Lewis became a very early executive member of the National Woman's Party (NWP).[6] She was a very active member of the NWP and she was arrested numerous times for her advocacy in support of suffrage. Lewis served three days in jail for picketing in July 1917 and was arrested on November 10, 1917. After this arrest she was sentenced to 60 days in a workhouse. Lewis was also arrested in August 1918 at the Lafayette Square meeting in honor of the lateInez Milholland (where she was the primary speaker) and sentenced to 15 days. Later she was arrested in January 1919 during the watchfire demonstrations (which she began when she set fire to copies of President Wilson's speeches on democracy) and sentenced to five days.[7][4][8]
On the night of November 14, 1917, known as the "Night of Terror", the superintendent of theOccoquan Workhouse, W.H. Whittaker, ordered the nearly forty guards to brutalize the suffragists there, including Dora Lewis.[4] The guards threw her into a dark cell and smashed her head against an iron bed, knocking her out. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, believed Lewis to be dead and suffered aheart attack. According to affidavits, guards grabbed, dragged, beat, choked, pinched, and kicked other women. Newspapers carried stories about how the protesters were being treated.[9] Dora Lewis went on ahunger strike while at Occoquan.[4]
Despite the violence she experienced as a result of her work on behalf of women's suffrage, Lewis chose to continue to be active with the movement. After theNineteenth Amendment was passed through Congress, Dora Lewis went throughout states such as Georgia, Kentucky, and Delaware to encourage support for ratification, meeting with limited success.[4]
In 1918 Lewis became chairwoman of finance for the NWP, and in 1919 she became their national treasurer.[2] In 1920 she headed their ratification committee.[2] In 1921 she was photographed at the new suffragist memorial byAdelaide Johnson that was placed in the capitol.[10]
Dora Lewis was raised in a prominent family in Pennsylvania. She was married and often was referred to as Mrs. Lawrence Lewis. Her papers are known as the Dora Kelly Lewis Correspondence Collection 2137 and are located at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.[11]
Media related toDora Lewis at Wikimedia Commons
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