This week in Indiana’s history …
1851 – Ida Husted Harper was born in Fairfield in Franklin County. She became a nationally-known journalist and advocate for women’s suffrage. In addition to her many publications, she authored a three-volume biography of Susan B. Anthony.
1862 – The first group of Confederate soldiers arrived at Camp Morton prison in Indianapolis. The camp was located on the old state fairgrounds in an area bordered by 19th and 22nd streets between Talbott Street and Central Avenue. The camp Commandant was Union Colonel Richard Owen.
1904 – James Baskett was born in Indianapolis, where he attended Arsenal Technical High School. He trained as a pharmacist, but his interest in acting took him to Chicago where he worked with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Moving to California, he found steady work in radio and motion pictures. He is most famous for his portrayal of Uncle Remus in Walt Disney’s “Song of the South.” For that role, he received an honorary Oscar in 1948. He died shortly thereafter and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery.
1913 – The Woman’s Press Club of Indiana was formed in a meeting in the Tea Room at the L. S. Ayres Department Store in Indianapolis. There were 13 members at the first gathering. Hester Alverson Moffett, publisher of the Elwood Daily Record, was elected president. Now in its second century, the organization continues to serve communicators in print and broadcast reporting, social media, public relations, marketing and book publishing.
1917 – A huge rally for women’s voting rights was held at the Indiana Statehouse. The Huntington Press reported that “every train and every interurban car came loaded with men and women interested in suffrage measures.” Participants wore suffrage streamers and carried large banners through the corridors. It would be three more years before women were given the right to vote across the country.
1945 – The Indiana General Assembly agreed to allocate $100,000 for the purchase of a home to be used as the new Governor’s Mansion. The proposal needed only the approval of the budget committee and not the Governor’s signature. Governor Ralph Gates, like his predecessor, Henry Schricker, had said he did not want to be in the position of buying a new home for himself during his tenure.