Frances Dickinson

19 January 1856–19 May 1945

Born 19 Jan. 1856 in Chicago.[1] Daughter of Albert Franklin Dickinson and Ann Eliza Anthony.[2] Traveled with cousin Susan B. Anthony to the Convention of the National Liberal Federation in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, Oct. 1882.[3] Graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Chicago, 1883.[4] Member of the Illinois Woman’s Press, beginning 13 Feb. 1889.[5] Founder and president of the Woman’s Medical Union of Illinois for the Advancement of Science and Art of Domestic and Public Hygiene, 12 May 1889.[6] Incorporated the Queen Isabella Association to erect a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 20 Aug. 1889.[7] Secretary of the Lady Managers for the World’s Columbian Exposition, 4 Nov. 1890.[8] Committee chair of the Illinois Woman’s Alliance, 15 Nov. 1890.[9] Corresponded with EBW, requesting funds to support the statue of Queen Isabella, 2 Dec. 1890.[10] Member of the Woman’s National Suffragist Association, by 1891.[11] Received a letter from Susan B. Anthony asking her to serve as chair of the petition committee of the National-American Woman Suffrage Association, 20 Dec. 1891.[12] Delegate at the twenty-sixth annual convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Convention in Washington, DC, 15 Feb. 1894.[13] President of the Harvey Medical College, 1895–1905.[14] First woman admitted to the International Medical Congress, 11 Oct. 1903.[15] Championed women’s voting rights in Orange City, Volusia Co., Florida, 1919.[16] Attended a meeting of the Producers Council concerning equal rights for female workers, in Seneca Falls, Seneca Co., New York, 22 July 1923.[17] Flew a plane from Chicago to Florida, 4 June 1927.[18] Donated land for and supervised construction of the Betsy Ross Airport in Orange City, 14 Jan. 1932.[19] Died 19 May 1945 in Orange City; buried in Chicago.[20]

 

[1] Charles L. Anthony, Genealogy of the Anthony Family from 1495 to 1904 (Sterling, IL: By the author, 1904), 216–217. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 17 Dec. 2020), Frances Dickinson (K8BM-4J1).  

[2] Charles L. Anthony, Genealogy of the Anthony Family from 1495 to 1904 (Sterling, IL: By the author, 1904), 216–217. 1860 U.S. Census, Chicago Ward 1, Cook Co., IL, p. 55, Fannie Dicknson. 

[3] “Archive Record: Dr. Frances Dickinson,” Nationalwomansparty.org (https://nationalwomansparty.pastperfectonline.com/archive/1A72658B-E404-4BAD-866D-741736438385, accessed 18 Dec. 2020). Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, eds., History of Woman’s Suffrage, vol. 3 (Rochester, NY: Susan B. Anthony, 1886), 938, 952.

[4] F. M. Sperry, A Group of Distinguished Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago (Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1904), 150.

[5] “All Think of Lincoln: The Illinois Woman’s Press,” Daily Intern Ocean (Chicago), 13 Feb. 1889, 3. 

[6] “Woman’s Medical Union,” Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), 12 May 1889, 7. 

[7] “What Did Isabella Do to Chicago,” Wheeling (WV) Register, 20 Aug. 1889, 1. F. M. Sperry, A Group of Distinguished Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago (Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1904), 152. 

[8] “World’s Fair,” Albuquerque Morning Democrat, 4 Oct. 1891, 2. 

[9] “Woman’s Alliance Work,” Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago), 15 Nov. 1890, 6. 

[10] EBW, Diary, 2 Dec. 1890. 

[11]  “The Suffragists,” Iowa Postal Card (Fayette), 6 Mar. 1891, 2.

[12] Susan B. Anthony, Letter, to Frances Dickenson, National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House (http://susanb.org, accessed 11 Jan. 2021).  

[13] “Woman Suffragists,” Morning World-Herald (Omaha, NE), 16 Feb. 1894, 1.  

[14] Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper, eds., History of Woman’s Suffrage, vol. 4 (Rochester, NY: Susan B. Anthony, 1902), 1079. “Deaths and Funerals,” Chicago Daily News, 24 May 1945, 14. 

[15] “Dr. Frances Dickinson, Physician and Humanitarian Worker,” Sunday Repository (Canton, OH), 11 Oct. 1903, 18.

[16] “Great Floridians 2000 Program,” Great Floridians, 2000 (Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of State, 2000), 46–47.  

[17] “Equal Rights Indorsed,” Los Angeles Sunday Times, 22 July 1923, 3.

[18] “Pioneer Woman Doctor Flies from City to Florida,” Chicago Daily Tribune, 4 June 1927, 32. 

[19] “Women Aviators to Establish Own Airport in Florida,” Tampa (FL) Tribune, 14 Jan. 1932, 3.  

[20] “Florida, U.S., Death Index, 1877–1998,” database, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com, accessed 17 Dec. 2020), Frances Dickinson; from State of Florida Death Records, 1887–1998, Office of Vital Records, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville. “Frances Dickinson,” Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Chicago, Cook Co., IL, Find a Grave, posted 12 Nov. 2016, memorial no. 172621678 (http://findagrave.com, accessed 17 Dec. 2020).