Bettie Wilson portrait

Portrait of Miss Bettie Wilson of Cincinnati, Ohio. Wilson (1850 - 1929) was included on the "Ohio State Honor Roll" from the League of Women Voters of Ohio, ca. 1930, which listed prominent Ohio women involved in the suffrage movement. Her brief biography from the Honor Roll reads: "Miss Wilson, who was a convincing speaker and never lost an opportunity to push the cause of suffrage, was a teacher in the public schools of Cincinnati for forty years. She was elected in 1896 to the school board of Hartwell before it was annexed to Cincinnati, and from 1910-20 served as an officer of the Hamilton County Suffrage Association." This photograph comes from the League of Women Voters of Ohio Collection. The League of Women Voters was first formed at the national level in early 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Soon, additional leagues began to form at the state and local level, with the League of Women Voters of Ohio being organized in May 1920 in Columbus. The League was first formed to empower women to use their newfound right to vote, and today its primary purpose remains citizen education. To this goal, it supports voter registration efforts, provides information on candidates and issues, sponsors debates and offers publications on public policy and voter engagement topics