What's online?
Select portions of Roessing's Papers have been digitized and made available online.
What's in the entire collection?
This collection includes personal papers, correspondence, newspaper clippings, travel diaries, photographs, architectural drawings, pamphlets, speeches, and memorabilia compiled by Jennie Bradley Roessing. Much of the material relates to Roessing's participation in the campaign for women's suffrage and a variety of other social and cultural organizations. Of particular note, besides the suffrage material, are the few folders documenting Roessing's Pittsburgh home, Dunrovin, her landscaping work at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh and at Waverly Park in England, her work with local and national unions, and the extensive newsclippings on the many community groups and social issues with which Roessing was involved.
Jennie Bradley Roessing's began campaining for women's suffrage in 1904 when Roessing organized the Allegheny County Equal Rights Association (ACERA) with Hannah Patterson, Mary Flinn, Lucy Kennedy, and Mary Bakewell. The Equal Rights Franchise Federation of Western Pennsylvania replaced ACERA in 1910, and Roessing served as vice-president. Lucy Kennedy, Mary Bakewell, and Hannah Patterson also gained leadership positions.
About Jennie Bradley Roessing
Born in Pittsburgh on May 11, 1881, Jennie Bradley was the daughter of John Bradley, a successful tailor and Anna Marie (Friedrich) Bradley. She married and later divorced Frank M. Roessing, a civil engineer. Although these events greatly influenced her later work for women's suffrage, little documentation exists on this period of her life. Roessing died in Pittsburgh on May 15, 1963.
As a leader in the Equal Rights Franchise Federation, Roessing was elected president of the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association (PWSA) in 1912. Due to health problems, she took a leave of absence from February to November 1914. Hannah Patterson served as the association's president during this time.
In order to increase the PWSA's efforts to pass a women's suffrage bill in the Pennsylvania legislature, Roessing and Patterson embarked on an intensive lobbying effort to gain votes in Harrisburg. They traveled the state extensively, giving lectures and attending public events. As an attempt to arouse public interest, the PWSA scheduled a four-month statewide tour of the Liberty Bell of Suffrage. Despite their efforts, the bill was narrowly defeated on November 2, 1915.
After the failure of the women's suffrage amendment, Roessing continued to pressure policy makers at the national level. She served as a chairperson of the National American Woman Suffrage Association under Carrie Chapman Catt. Women gained the right to vote in 1920.
Roessing was involved in various community organizations, including the English Speaking Union, the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Symphony Society, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Audubon Society, among others. She served as the recording secretary for the Twentieth Century Club, a literary organization devoted to the social and intellectual improvement of its members. Roessing volunteered her time as treasurer of Pittsburgh Play Grounds, Vacation Schools, and Recreation Parks.
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