About H. Margaret Downs (1865–1941)
Photo of H. Margaret Downs from “The Woman’s Place in the Nation.” Grand Rapids Herald, February 5, 1911.
On September 5, 1892, H. Margaret Downs ran an unsuccessful election for the Grand Rapids Board of Education in the Seventh Ward. Although Downs was not able to serve her community on the school board, she did find other arenas of influence.
Downs was an ardent supporter of women’s suffrage and held many positions within the movement. A member of the Grand Rapids Political Equality Club, she served as one of several delegates representing the club at the 1893 Michigan Equal Suffrage Association (MESA) convention in Lansing. In 1894, she was elected president of the Political Equality Club. In Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony’s History of Woman Suffrage, Downs is noted for her work in the bureau of information during the 1899 NAWSA convention held in Grand Rapids. In 1910 she was elected to the board of directors of the newly formed Grand Rapids Equal Franchise Club. And Downs passed her passion for women’s suffrage to the next generations by working with the Grand Rapids Anna Shaw Junior Equal Suffrage Club
“For School Trustee in the Seventh Ward Mrs. H. Margaret Downs,” Ephemera from the Emily Burton Ketcham Scrapbook on the Women’s Suffrage Movement, Grand Rapids Public Library Digital Collections.
Downs attended the annual MESA convention as a delegate at least six times on behalf of multiple organizations, including the Grand Rapids Political Equality Club, the Grand Rapids Woman’s Civic League, and the Equal Franchise Club. At the 1899 and 1902 MESA conventions, she was elected auditor. And at the 1904 MESA convention, she gave an address entitled, “Why Women Ask for the Ballot.” A prolific public speaker, Downs regularly shared her ideas on suffrage with groups like the Grand Rapids Equity Literary Club. And in 1910 she spoke at and co-organized a “franchise symposium” for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, where she declared “that when women all become properly interested they will all want to vote.”
By 1901, Downs had involved herself in civic reform in addition to her suffrage work. She was elected treasurer of the Grand Rapids Woman’s Civic League and rose steadily through its ranks, serving first as vice-president and later as president from 1906 until 1910. Downs was also interested in labor reform and worked with the Consumers’ League of Michigan, which advocated for sanitary working conditions, living wages, and increased consumer awareness. Downs served on the executive committee of the state Consumers’ League in 1902 and as president in 1907 after serving as recording secretary and second vice-president. Ever the clubwoman, Downs was also a member of the prestigious Grand Rapids Ladies’ Literary club, and in 1904 she was elected president of the Grand Rapids Federation of Women’s Clubs.
A remarkable number of Downs’s own words are preserved in archived issues of the Grand Rapids Herald. She submitted her own copy on many occasions and the newspaper published considerable excerpts from her myriad papers and speeches. Her lengthy record advocating for suffrage is proof enough of her dedication to the cause; but a published excerpt from her 1911 paper, “The Woman’s Place in the Nation,” truly illustrates the passion that motivated her tireless efforts: “Men rob themselves and society by prohibiting women from doing things which she is able to do and fitted to do. And for this reason I believe that women ought to have the same right of suffrage that men have. For the vote is the point at which public opinion takes hold on public action. It is the point at which moral and political forces are condensed from thought forms into the material form of law, institutions, or public policies. The soul incarnates itself in public affairs by the vote. Put the ballot into the woman’s hand and she need petition no more for her rights, but just exercise them.”
H. Margaret Downs died on April 1, 1941, while living with her son in Orlando, Florida. Newspapers in Grand Rapids remembered her as a “pioneer supporter of women’s suffrage.”
About H. Margaret Downs (1865–1941)
Photo of H. Margaret Downs from “The Woman’s Place in the Nation.” Grand Rapids Herald, February 5, 1911.
On September 5, 1892, H. Margaret Downs ran an unsuccessful election for the Grand Rapids Board of Education in the Seventh Ward. Although Downs was not able to serve her community on the school board, she did find other arenas of influence.
Downs was an ardent supporter of women’s suffrage and held many positions within the movement. A member of the Grand Rapids Political Equality Club, she served as one of several delegates representing the club at the 1893 Michigan Equal Suffrage Association (MESA) convention in Lansing. In 1894, she was elected president of the Political Equality Club. In Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony’s History of Woman Suffrage, Downs is noted for her work in the bureau of information during the 1899 NAWSA convention held in Grand Rapids. In 1910 she was elected to the board of directors of the newly formed Grand Rapids Equal Franchise Club. And Downs passed her passion for women’s suffrage to the next generations by working with the Grand Rapids Anna Shaw Junior Equal Suffrage Club
“For School Trustee in the Seventh Ward Mrs. H. Margaret Downs,” Ephemera from the Emily Burton Ketcham Scrapbook on the Women’s Suffrage Movement, Grand Rapids Public Library Digital Collections.
Downs attended the annual MESA convention as a delegate at least six times on behalf of multiple organizations, including the Grand Rapids Political Equality Club, the Grand Rapids Woman’s Civic League, and the Equal Franchise Club. At the 1899 and 1902 MESA conventions, she was elected auditor. And at the 1904 MESA convention, she gave an address entitled, “Why Women Ask for the Ballot.” A prolific public speaker, Downs regularly shared her ideas on suffrage with groups like the Grand Rapids Equity Literary Club. And in 1910 she spoke at and co-organized a “franchise symposium” for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, where she declared “that when women all become properly interested they will all want to vote.”
By 1901, Downs had involved herself in civic reform in addition to her suffrage work. She was elected treasurer of the Grand Rapids Woman’s Civic League and rose steadily through its ranks, serving first as vice-president and later as president from 1906 until 1910. Downs was also interested in labor reform and worked with the Consumers’ League of Michigan, which advocated for sanitary working conditions, living wages, and increased consumer awareness. Downs served on the executive committee of the state Consumers’ League in 1902 and as president in 1907 after serving as recording secretary and second vice-president. Ever the clubwoman, Downs was also a member of the prestigious Grand Rapids Ladies’ Literary club, and in 1904 she was elected president of the Grand Rapids Federation of Women’s Clubs.
A remarkable number of Downs’s own words are preserved in archived issues of the Grand Rapids Herald. She submitted her own copy on many occasions and the newspaper published considerable excerpts from her myriad papers and speeches. Her lengthy record advocating for suffrage is proof enough of her dedication to the cause; but a published excerpt from her 1911 paper, “The Woman’s Place in the Nation,” truly illustrates the passion that motivated her tireless efforts: “Men rob themselves and society by prohibiting women from doing things which she is able to do and fitted to do. And for this reason I believe that women ought to have the same right of suffrage that men have. For the vote is the point at which public opinion takes hold on public action. It is the point at which moral and political forces are condensed from thought forms into the material form of law, institutions, or public policies. The soul incarnates itself in public affairs by the vote. Put the ballot into the woman’s hand and she need petition no more for her rights, but just exercise them.”
H. Margaret Downs died on April 1, 1941, while living with her son in Orlando, Florida. Newspapers in Grand Rapids remembered her as a “pioneer supporter of women’s suffrage.”
Campaign Information
Political Office: Board of Education
Election Year: 1892
Party Affiliation: Nonpartisan race
Elected: No
Biographical Information
Full Name: H. Margaret Downs
Life Dates: February 1865–April 1, 1941
Birthplace: Michigan
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: No formal occupation
Party Affiliation: Unknown
Social Reform Activism: Women’s Suffrage, Women’s Clubs, Civic Reform, Temperance
Sources
“The National American Convention of 1899.” 1883-1900, edited by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper, 322-348. Vol. 4 of The History of Woman Suffrage. Rochester, NY: Susan B. Anthony, 1902.
“Delegates to Lansing.” Grand Rapids Herald, January 19, 1893.
“Equity Literary Club.” Grand Rapids Herald, January 30, 1910.
“Equity Literary Club.” Grand Rapids Herald, February 13, 1910.
“Federations of Clubs Meeting.” Grand Rapids Herald, May 20, 1910.
“The Anna Shaw Junior Equal Suffrage Club.” Grand Rapids Herald, November 26, 1899.
“The Woman’s Place in the Nation.” Grand Rapids Herald, February 5, 1911.
“Was a Good Vote.” Grand Rapids Herald, September 6, 1892.
“W.C.T.U. Hears Suffrage Pleas.” Grand Rapids Herald, April 29, 1910.
“Will Start May 7 Equal Franchise Club Plans Its Campaign.” Grand Rapids Evening Press, April 17, 1912.
“Woman’s Civic League.” Grand Rapids Herald, June 16, 1907.
“Women Wish to Wield the Ballot.” Grand Rapids Herald, April 15, 1910.
“Works of the Year.” Grand Rapids Herald, March 22, 1894.