Editor Anthony

A Season with Susan

This year we were honored by the gift of a gorgeous green and silver wreath that now festoons the front door of the Susan B. Anthony House. It is difficult to imagine what Susan herself might have said about it, since there were few recorded years where Susan chose to decorate 7 Madison Street for the season. In keeping with the style of the Society of Friends (which you might know as the “Quakers”), the Anthony family celebrated the holidays a little differently than expected; there were no elaborate adornments, no tree in the parlor, and certainly no cookies left out for Santa Claus. 

Then and now, members of the Society of Friends were known for their subdued celebrations, “With no minister, no program and no choir, the Quaker congregation will sit quietly in a room lit by a fireplace and candles…the entire four-hour service could pass without a sound.” (Virginian Pilot) Many Quakers tend to downplay the showier side of festivities, instead focusing on cultivating goodwill, peace, and community spirit even during the cold New York winter. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony raised their children in a branch of the Friends that emphasized simplicity, equality, and good action toward others, but certainly did not shy away from celebrating the holidays with gusto. The most notable deviance from cultural norms would likely have been their toast to the New Year — completely devoid of alcoholic beverages! In the Anthony House today, there is still preserved a velvet cloak which Susan received as a holiday gift from Mrs. Emily Gross, all the way from Chicago. Throughout Susan’s writings, we find her thanking various friends for shawls and fruit cakes around the holidays, but most of all we hear Susan and her closest allies speaking of how the work must go on, even on Christmas Morning. The Anthonys surely celebrated every day of the season as an opportunity to do good.

In reality, Americans during Susan’s childhood were just beginning to celebrate the holidays as we know them today, with Charles Dickin’s beloved A Christmas Carol published in 1843, and the iconic Christmas tree only gaining popularity after the Civil War. Life in the Antebellum period startled Americans. The United States were not as safe and warm as some had thought, but “At this cross-roads of progress and nostalgia, Americans found in Christmas a holiday that ministered to their needs.” (History Today) Practitioners of many religions joined in this nationwide joy, bringing a variety of traditions together under the snowy blanket of the “holiday season”.

Christmas Eve is a simple celebration for Quakers, The Virginian Pilot

Christmas in 19th Century America, History Today

Editor Anthony

2023 Susan B. Anthony Birthday Celebration

The Anthony Museum honored the 150th anniversary year of Susan’s vote.

Supporters of the mission for equal rights and voting rights for all have been celebrating Susan B. Anthony’s birthday since her own lifetime, and we are eager to continue the tradition. This 203rd birthday party and fundraiser for the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House took place February 15, 2023, at the Joseph A. Floreano Riverside Convention Center, 123 E. Main Street, Rochester, NY, at 6pm. Our gathering remembers the 150 years that have passed since Susan B. herself dared to vote, but more importantly, looks toward the next 100 years and imagines all that we might do with our “wonderful power” of the vote.



Unable to attend? Please consider making a year-end gift! Click HERE to make a gift.

Editor Anthony

Sheila Strong

Dr. Sheila Strong has over twenty years of executive-level experience in the nonprofit and higher education
sectors. As Director of Leadership Development and Equity at United Way of Greater Rochester and the
Finger Lakes, she directs United Way’s six established Leadership Development Programs (Latino, African
American, Emerging Leaders, Pride, Asian-Pacific American, and Development of Indo-American Leaders).
Dr. Strong also leads the DRIVE (Diversity, Racial, Inclusion, Value, Equity) Team at United Way to advance
the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and support other organizations in the
community. She was instrumental in launching United Way’s first Leadership Equity Advancement and
Development (LEAD) Mentoring and Coaching Program, a partnership between United Way and the Greater
Rochester Health Foundation.


Dr. Strong currently serves as a board member of the Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library
and the Susan B. Anthony House, Inc. In addition, she volunteers her time as a mentor with Cheryl Speranza
Leadership Institute at Our Lady of Mercy.


Before joining United Way, she served as the Executive Assistant to the President at Monroe Community
College. She has worked with five college presidents in implementing strategic plan initiatives. Dr. Strong
completed her Doctorate of Education in Executive Leadership from Saint John Fisher University. She holds a
Master’s Degree in Publication Administration, Certification in Nonprofit Management, and Bachelor’s of
Science Degree in Business Communications from The College at Brockport, State University of New York.
She graduated with honors from Monroe Community College in Liberal Arts.

Editor Anthony

Holly Bauer-Mergen

A native of Spencerport, Holly Bauer-Mergen retired from New York State after 32 years, with most most of that time with the State addictions agency as a regional program manager. Since that retirement, she has had
another life chapter as a consultant working with non-profit addiction organizations providing a variety
of technical communications functions, while volunteering at the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House
as a receptionist (and other miscellaneous tasks), and serving on both the Votetilla and Votercade
planning committees.

She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and art history (minor radio, television, and film) from SUNY at Albany, an MBA in Health Systems Administration from Union College, and Basic and Advanced Certificates in Technical Communications from RIT. Now that the pandemic is receding, she looks forward to traveling to visit family and friends, including her husband’s family in Turkey (knitting project always in hand), while keeping up with her tai chi classes and auditing classes at RIT.

DHughes

Susan B. Anthony vs. The List

Every election cycle, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House is barraged with inquiries about the Susan B. Anthony List*.  “The List” is a PAC, a political action committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates. We have no affiliation with “The List”, and we find their use of Susan B. Anthony’s name in support of their agenda to be misleading, deceptive, and damaging to Anthony’s legacy.

For decades, “The List” has been supporting candidates who promise to: 1. Defund Planned Parenthood, 2. Appoint only “pro-life” judges, and 3. Support overturning Roe v. Wade.

In the past, we have responded to inquiries about “The List” by clarifying the historical record about what Susan B. Anthony said or didn’t say about abortion (she said very little). Our website contains several articles that cover this in depth. (see below)

However, with the recent leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion in regard to Roe v. Wade, “The List” is getting media attention as they anticipate a victory for their anti-woman, anti-democracy agenda. They proclaim in their mission statement: “If Roe is indeed overturned, our job will be to build consensus for the strongest protections possible for unborn children and women in every legislature and in Congress.” 

But Roe v. Wade is not just about abortion access or reproductive choice; that is another deception. 

What is at stake is perhaps the most essential of our inalienable human rights: the right of an individual to make critical decisions about her (or his) own physical body in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Susan B. Anthony, in her own words, stood for “woman’s right to control of her own person.”

If this right is compromised so profoundly, all other human rights are fragile: freedom of  religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and even the freedom to elect a government of the people, by the people, for ALL the people. Susan B. Anthony fought her whole life to secure these inalienable rights, and this fight is as relevant as ever.

To suggest that Susan B. Anthony would support government intervention in a woman’s decision about a pregnancy is abhorrent. To associate Susan B. Anthony’s name with any action that would criminalize a woman’s right to make decisions affecting her body, health, and welfare is a bizarre and dangerous distortion of Anthony’s life and work. 

As the organization that has preserved Susan B. Anthony’s National Historic Landmark home and interpreted her life and work for more than 75 years, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House goes on record in opposition to The List and their misappropriation of her name. We stand with Susan B. Anthony for a woman’s right to control of her own person.

Deborah L. Hughes
President & CEO
National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

*The Susan B. Anthony List rebranded as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America in June 2022.

Pertinent Website Articles:

https://susanb.org/misrepresenting-susan-b-anthony-on-abortion/

https://susanb.org/were-not-that-susan-b-anthony/

https://susanb.org/anthony-museum-raises-concern-over-continued-misuse-of-anthonys-name-and-legacy/

https://susanb.org/rochester-icon-defamed/

Allison Hinman

Specialty Tour Announced

Join the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House for a specialty tour offering on Sunday, June 19 at 2 pm.

The tour will discuss the role of the media in the 19th century and how the legendary American civil rights leader, Susan B. Anthony carefully curated her public image. The tour also explores the great reformers Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells and how they used their words as agents of change.

After the tour, we invite you to a round table discussion in our Carriage House.

Click here to register for this tour.

DHughes

Fire at Our National Landmark

by Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO

We had a fire at the National Landmark Susan B. Anthony House last night. Fortunately, fire damage was limited to the back porch, where the fire started. Our surveillance cameras show an individual at the back door moments before the flames broke out. Our fire detection system triggered an alarm and the Rochester Fire Department arrived in minutes.

We are so grateful to Chief Joseph Luna and the amazing team of firefighters who managed to contain the fire quickly before it spread to the interior of the building. They exceeded all protocols to keep the House and its historic contents safe from the fire, smoke, and water damage. This might have been a tragic loss of a national historic treasure. Instead, it is a story of a job well done by first responders who care deeply about life, our community, and our cultural heritage.

To read about the fire in the media, click on a link below.

WXXI coverage

CNN coverage


Editor Anthony

Anthony Museum Welcomes New Board Members

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House announced today that five new board members have been elected to serve on the Museum’s Board of Trustees. The new board members were installed as of May 27, 2021 to serve a three-year term. These board members are:

Emily R. L. Cohen—senior associate at Harter Secrest & Emery. JD, magna cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and BA from University of Rochester

Gillian Conde—Vice President of DePaul Properties and a graduate of Nazareth College

Diane McCue – retired General Manager, Printing Plates Division, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company; MBA Simon School of Business, University of Rochester,  BS SUNY Brockport

Mary Beth Morelle –retired educator, MA SUNY Brockport, and BA Nazareth College

Sharon Salluzzo– retired librarian and educator

The following slate of officers was elected for 2021 – 2022:

Jane Gallagher Silverstein – Chair

Catherine Gueli – Vice Chair

Linda Betstadt – Secretary

Craig Zicari – Treasurer

Photos and biographies for all current Trustees are available here:

Trustees & Staff
Editor Anthony

2021 Salute to Nurses

An Open Letter from the Nursing Friends of The National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House

2021 National Nurses Week –  The Year of the Nurse

Click here to listen to the reading!

Dear Nurses,

We congratulate you, Nurses, for contributing to the health and well-being of  persons and communities during a tumultuous year of the Covid-19 pandemic.  We honor  you for caring for others in wellness and sickness.  Nurses are recognized for being the most trusted health care professionals in the United States for good reason.

We applaud you, Nurses, for providing incredible patient care for persons, ill with the Covid-19  virus, doing everything you can to make sure your patients have the best chance of survival.  We celebrate your victories and mourn your losses with you.

We admire the physical and mental risks that Nurses take, as you care for patients and face your own vulnerabilities, to a virus that  is still spreading in variants across the country.  We appreciate the expertise and sacrifice of all Nurses caring for critically ill persons.  We also also honor Nurses administering Covid-19 Vaccinations while promoting access and encouraging others to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from this illness.

Each day, take professional and personal time to care for yourself. Pause to realize the comfort and good you have provided to so many people.

The Nursing Friends of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House  thank you and celebrate Nurses Week with you! 

Editor Anthony

Wreath Hanging Ceremony

National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House Commemorates
Susan B. Anthony’s Death and Legacy

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House will host a ceremonial wreath hanging on the front steps of 17 Madison Street, the National Historic Landmark that was Susan B. Anthony’s home and headquarters, on March 13, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.

The brief ceremony commemorates the 118th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s death and will include remarks by Anthony Museum President & CEO, Deborah L. Hughes.

In every election year, we are reminded that Susan B. Anthony is as relevant as she’s ever been, even 118 years after her death. Come join us as we celebrate the life and accomplishments of this remarkable woman who called Rochester her home.

This event is free and open to the public.