Emory Place in Knoxville in Knox County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Lizzie Crozier French 1851-1926

Photographed by Mary Ruden, February 11, 2021

1. Lizzie Crozier French 1851-1926 Marker

Inscription. Knoxville suffragist Lizzie Crozier French was a women's rights activist, social reformer, and organizer. In 1885, she founded the literary society GFWC Ossoli Circle. The same year, French reopened the East Tennessee Female Institute, serving as principal. She wrote the textbook, A Manual of Elocution, for her students. French organized the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in 1889 to improve conditions for working women. A prolific speaker, she was the first woman to address the Knoxville City Council in 1890. French co-founded the Knoxville Writers' Club in 1907. In the fight to ratify the 19th Amendment, she organized the Knoxville Equal Suffrage League in 1910, serving as its first president. French was president of the Tennessee Federation of Women's Clubs from 1910-1912. The first woman to address the Tennessee Bar Association, she delivered an "Address on Women's Rights" in 1912, demanding equal legal status for women. In 1913, French served as vice-president of the state PTA. She was elected president of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association,Inc. in 1914. French served as state chair of the National Woman's

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Party in 1917.When Tennessee women won municipal suffrage in 1919, her Non-Partisan Municipal League registered twice as many women to vote in Knoxville than in any other Southern city. On her voter registration form, French listed her occupation as "suffragist". After the 19th Amendment was ratified by Tennessee in 1920, she became the first woman to seek the office of Knoxville Councilman-at-large in 1923. French was an honorary president of the Tennessee League of Women Voters. Her work led to Knoxville's first kindergarten, first hospital, an industrial school, a rest home for elderly women, juvenile court, and co-education at the University of Tennessee. French was an active member of the Unitarian Church. She raised her son, William W. French, as a widowed mother. French was in Washington, D.C.,to lobby for women's rights and to attend a ceremony in her honor at the National Woman's Party Headquarters when she died in 1926.

Erected 2021.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Charity & Public Work • Civil Rights • Women. In addition, it is

Photographed by Mary Ruden, March 9, 2021

2. Lizzie Crozier French 1851-1926 Marker

included in the Unitarian Universalism (UUism) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1926.

Location. 35° 58.428′ N, 83° 55.512′ W. Marker is in Knoxville, Tennessee, in Knox County. It is in Emory Place. It is on North Broadway (U.S. 441) 0.2 miles north of West 5th Street, on the right. in historic Old Gray Cemetery: on the right, seen from road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 543 N Broadway, Knoxville TN 37917, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mary Boyle Temple (within shouting distance of this marker); Old Gray Cemetery (about

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300 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Old Gray Cemetery (about 400 feet away); St. John's Lutheran Church (about 500 feet away); Catherine Wiley (approx. 0.2 miles away); A National Cemetery System (approx. 0.2 miles away); Knoxville National Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Address by President Lincoln (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Knoxville.

More about this marker. a QR code is being made that has the complete biography and photos of Lizzie Crozier French. It will be displayed next to marker.

Regarding Lizzie Crozier French 1851-1926. Official dedication is on August 21, 2021

Additional keywords. Right to Vote, Women Suffrage, Suffragist, 19th Amendment, National Woman's Party, Ossoli Circle

Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2021, by Mary Ruden of Sevierville, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 619 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 24, 2021, by Mary Ruden of Sevierville, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.