Louisa Ann Gardner was born in Norfolk, Virginia back in 1801. Her father was a sea captain who was lost at sea when she was 7 years old. Her mother moved to Charleston, South Carolina when her mother died (date unknown). Louisa was sent to Baltimore, Maryland where she was raised by her uncle Ephraim.
It was while she was in Baltimore she met and later married Stephen in 1821. The union produced four children. When their youngest son Alfred was four Stephen sold his thriving chair factory, moving the family to Zanesville, Ohio later to Indiana and finally to Laramie, Wyoming in 1869.
It was early on September 6th, 1870 when she put on her apron, shawl and bonnet walking downtown to a local merchant to purchase some yeast when she did something that will forever place her in the history books.
On that day Louisa Ann Swain did something no other woman did in the history of the United States, she was the first woman to cast a ballot in a general election. Stephen died in 1872, she moved to Lutherville, Maryland dying in 1880. On September 6th 2008, she was recognized by Congress as Louisa Ann Swain day via House Concurrent Resolution 378. Until tomorrow remember to smile, it will make people wonder what you’ve been up to
Comments(19)