Timelines
Susan B. Anthony · Susan B. Anthony House
1820 - Susan Brownell Anthony born on February 15 in Adams, Massachsetts, the second of 7 children.
1826 - The Anthony family moves to Battenville, N.Y.
1838 - Daniel Anthony takes daughters Susan and Guelma out of school. The 1837 depression causes him to declare bankruptcy and the family loses the Battenville house.
1845 - The Anthony family moves to Rochester, N.Y., on the Erie Canal. Their farm on what is now Brooks Avenue becomes a meeting-place for anti-slavery activists, including Frederick Douglass.
1846 - Susan B. Anthony begins teaching at Canajoharie Academy for a yearly salary of $110.
1851 - Susan B. Anthony travels to Syracuse, N.Y., anti-slavery convention. She visits Amelia Bloomer, hears William Lloyd Garrison and George Thompson, and meets Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
1852 - Anthony attends state convention of Sons of Temperance and is told to "listen and learn," which goes against her Quaker upbringing. She attends her first women's rights convention.
1854 - Anthony circulates petitions for married women's property rights and woman suffrage. She is refused permission to speak at the Capitol and Smithsonian in Washington. She begins her New York State campaign for woman suffrage in Mayville, Chatauqua County, speaking and traveling alone.
1856 - Anthony becomes agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society.
1857 - At a New York State Teachers' Convention in Binghamton Anthony calls for education for women and Blacks.
1861 - Anthony conducts anti-slavery campaign from Buffalo to Albany-"No Union with Slaveholders. No Compromise."
1863 - Anthony and Stanton write the "Appeal to the Women of the Republic."
1868 - Anthony begins publication of The Revolution and forms Working Women's Associations for women in the publishing and garment trades.
1869 - Anthony calls the first Woman Suffrage Convention in Washington D.C.
1872 - Anthony is arrested for voting in the front parlor of 7 Madison Street (now 17 Madison) on November 18 and is indicted in Albany. She continues to lecture and attend conventions.
1873 - Anthony is tried and fined $100 with costs after the judge ordered the jury to find her guilty. Anthony refuses to pay but is not imprisoned so cannot appeal the verdict.
1881 - Anthony, Stanton, and Matilda Joslin Gage publish Volume I of the History of Woman Suffrage, followed by Volumes II, III and IV in 1882, 1885 and 1902.
1897 - Anthony raises the roof on her Rochester home to create a work-room where she and Ida Husted Harper begin work on her biography.
1898 - The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, A Story of the Evolution of the Status of Women is published. Anthony establishes a press bureau to feed articles on woman suffrage to the national and local press.
1900 - Anthony pledges the cash value of her life insurance to meet the University of Rochester's financial demands for the admission of women.
1902 - Anthony delivers the keynote address to the New York State Nurses Convention, advocating for the standardization of training and state registration of nurses. The Nurses Practice Act is passed in 1903.
1905 - Anthony meets with President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., about submitting a suffrage amendment to Congress.
1906 - Anthony attends suffrage hearings in Washington, D.C., She gives her "Failure is Impossible" speech at her 86th birthday celebration. Anthony dies at her Madison Street home on March 13.
1920 - The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Susan B. Anthony amendment, grants the right to vote to all U.S. women over 21.
Susan B. Anthony House Timeline
1859-1864 - Present-day Susan B. Anthony House constructed, with original address of 7 Madison Street, by Husted Wanzer, an area dentist who owned the lot and lived nearby. It was a two-story, 12-room brick house in the Italianate style, suitable for middle-class occupants.
1864 - Aaron McLean, husband of Guelma (Susan B. Anthony's older sister, known as Gula) moved into 7 Madison Street as a tenant along with his family.
1865 - Susan B. Anthony, along with her sister Mary and mother Lucy, moved into 7 Madison Street with the McLeans.
1866 - Lucy Read Anthony (Susan's mother) purchased the house for $3,500.
1873 - Sister Gula died in the House. Mary S. Anthony purchased the House from her mother in December for $4,500.
1876 - Rochester city water mains were connected to Madison Street. As a result, water was piped into the kitchen, and a bathroom was added to the House. Previously, they relied on a rainwater cistern.
1884 - Rochester streets were renumbered - 7 Madison Street became 17 Madison Street.
1892 - Anthony was elected president of the National American Woman's Suffrage Association (NAWSA), bringing the headquarters to her home at 17 Madison.
1894 - First floor parlors became public offices, and guest rooms were used for mail, in connection with the New York State Consitutional Campaign.
1895 - The third story, including a workroom, was added to the house for use in researching, compiling, and writing the History of Woman Suffrage and the biography of Susan B. Anthony. A telephone was installed in the House was well.
1906 - Susan B. Anthony died at home on March 13.
1907 - Mary S. Anthony died at home on February 5. The heirs decided to sell the House, and family and friends divided up most furnishings and small items. The House was sold to Margaret A. Howard, president of the Council of Women, for $5,700, and her family lived there for four years.
1911 - Margaret A. Howard sold the House to Julius Boreau, who lived there with his family, but also turned it into a rooming house.
1919 - House owned by Raymond M. Walker.
1920 - Electricity installed at 17 Madison Street.
1921-1935 - 17 Madison St. bought by Eugene and Mary Carey, and served as a boarding house.
1935-1944 - House was converted back to single-family dwelling.
1944 - The Rochester Federation of Women's Clubs placed a simple marker at the home, which fueled further discussions of converting the House into a memorial to Susan B. and Mary S. Anthony.
1945 - After 40 years in private hands, the Susan B. Anthony house on Madison Street was purchased for $8,500 with funds raised by leaders of the Rochester Federation of Women's Clubs to create a museum. Collection of artifacts begins.
1948 - A New York State Historic Marker placed in front of the House.
1962 - Martha Howard, who had spearheaded the move to save the House as a museum, died in July.
1966 - The Susan B. Anthony house is designated a National Historic Landmark (highest historic designation given to a private home, which includes the White House).
1971 - The park square near the House was renamed "Anthony Park." The old garage behind the House, a fire hazard, was torn down.
1971-1972 - House was closed for a year due to problems finding caretakers; the museum was reopened when Agnes and Joseph Hilbert, of 16 Madison St, volunteered to look after the House and give tours.
1974 - The House was burglarized, and silver service items were taken. A burglar and fire alarm was installed as a response.
1977 - Susan B. Anthony Preservation District, a nine-block area, was designated and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1979 - Conflict occurred between older and younger generations of feminists over Memorial leadership and care of collections.
1981 - Photograph collections began to be cataloged, copied, and stored by Dr. William Lee of Kodak. August sale of duplicate Susan B. Anthony memorabilia raised funds for further restoration. Also, the ceiling in the museum room had to be replaced due to visitor traffic on the 3rd floor.
1982 - Handicapped entrance ramp was constructed in the rear of the House.
1983-1984 - Guided by preservation experts, air conditioning was installed in the House.
1985 - Handicapped-accessible bathroom was installed on the first floor of the House.
1986 - A completely new roof was installed.
1991 - National Park Service (NPS) assessed the House, and recommended several possible courses of action, from NPS assistance to outright NPS ownership, but none of these options was pursued.
1992 - The first paid professional executive director is hired. After 47 years of quiet caretaking, the Susan B. Anthony House moves into a new era of professional museum management.
1994 - 19 and 21 Madison Street are acquired through a City of Rochester Community Development Block Grant. 19 Madison Street was the former home of Anthony's sister, Hannah Anthony Mosher.
1995 - Year-long local and national commemorative events celebrate Susan B. Anthony's 175th birthday, the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, and the 50th anniversary of the Susan B. Anthony House. The Gleason Foundation pledges a lead gift as the first capital campaign is launched.
1997 - The name of the corporation was changed to “Susan B. Anthony House, Inc.”
1998 - Successful conclusion of the capital campaign culminates in the grand opening of 19 Madison Street. Facilities include a museum shop in the Visitor Center and a new facility, called the "Carriage House" for special events and educational programs.
2000 - The National Park Service awards federal funding to the Susan B. Anthony House to complete a comprehensive Historic Structures Report to guide restoration of Anthony's home and grounds to the "period of significance" ( 1898-1906), the last eight year's of Anthony's life.
A Conservation Project Support Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services provides museum-quality shelving and other archival storage equipment.
Key Bank and Flower City Habitat for Humanity donate 16 Madison Street,a distinguished Queen-Anne-style home built in the 1890s located across the street from the Susan B. Anthony House, in exhcange for $1.
2002 - The Susan B. Anthony House is awarded a $300,000 matching grant through Save America's Treasures for restoration of the Susan B. Anthony House.
The Brody Family Trust provides funds for rehabilitation of 16 Madison Street, creating office space for staff.
2003 - The Susan B. Anthony House celebrates the grand opening of the Ruth Miller Brody Administrative Office Building at 16 Madison Street.
2004 - Phase I of the restoration of the Susan B. Anthony House begins. The $600,000 project includes repairs to the exterior walls and foundation, construction of a new roof and gutters, and installation of state-of-the-art heating, cooling, electrical and security systems.
2005 - Phase I of the restoration is completed. Preparations continue on the second phase of restoration, returning the interior to its appearance the last time Susan B. Anthony lived here.
2006 - Commemorative year marking the 100th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony's death.
2007 - Significant restoration work was underway in dining room, Mary’s study, and Mary’s bedroom; front and back parlors completed. Unopened letter from Harriet Taylor Upton to Susan B. Anthony (postmarked 1901) was discovered in wall under stairs.
2008 - Main stairs and plaster in hallways on both floors restored. Seaway Trail signage installed at 19 Madison St., along with the rehabilitation of the landscape and gardens.
2009 - Susan B. Anthony's study completed. Major restoration isstarted in the museum room on the second floor.
2010 - Plaster restoration in one small bedroom and bathroom completed. Limited display of Carrie Chapman Catt photos installed in the kitchen area.
2011 - Front bedroom on second floor (formerly known as the "museum room") re-opens as the Guest Chamber.
2012 - Susan B Anthony's black silk dress gets a new exhibit case with improved UV protection. Mosher couch is restored and placed in Susan B Anthony's study. 1848 portrait of Rhoda DeGarmo is conserved and restored.
2013 - Wall covering is installed in main stairway, and custom chenille portiere is completed and installed between parlors.
