‘Iron Jawed Angels’ at Tusten library

Elizabeth Purcell cast first Tusten women’s vote

By SANDY LONG

NARROWSBURG, NY — They put their lives at risk, enduring imprisonment, solitary confinement and even forced tube feeding, to help American women win the right to vote. Passionate and brilliant young activists, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns took the country by storm in their radical and tenacious organizing efforts. The eye-opening film, “Iron Jawed Angels,” recounts the experience and will be shown at the Tusten-Cochecton Branch of the Western Sullivan Public Library on October 28 at 7:00 p.m.

“You want a voice in the government under which you live. So do I,” asserts Paul, played by Hilary Swank in the movie, as she is questioned following her hunger strike and forced feeding. Paul and 217 other women were arrested when they picketed the White House to draw attention to President Woodrow Wilson’s policies. The U.S. Court of Appeals eventually declared the arrests unconstitutional.

The idea for the showing came about when Grace Johansen, president of the Tusten Historical Society, which is sponsoring the film, recently viewed it. “It hit me, with the election coming up, that it would be a good idea to make women aware of the price that was paid for our ability to vote,” she said.

The first woman to take advantage of that right in the Town of Tusten was Elizabeth Lane Purcell. According to her granddaughter, Sarah Browne, Purcell was very proud to have been the first woman to vote. Browne’s father, Joe Purcell, was appointed county clerk in the mid-1970s and was elected in his own right four times. In an article he wrote for The River Reporter (January 2, 2001) called “Elections in the old days,” he describes his mother as a women’s rights activist and as one of the earliest women town clerks in the area.

Elizabeth was born in Roscoe on September 21, 1887 to John and Mary Galligan Lane. Her family eventually moved to Monticello where her parents ran a boarding house called “The Gladys.” She taught school at several one-room schoolhouses in the Monticello area and in Barryville where she worked with the principal (and only other teacher) James Purcell. They were married at St. Peter’s in Monticello on June 1, 1909 and moved to Narrowsburg where James bought a store.

The store was called “Purcell’s” and stood on Main Street. The building burned down some time after the couple no longer owned it. James was the notary and eventually Justice of the Peace and postmaster. The couple had six children: Mary, Margaret, James, Joseph, Robert and David. James Sr. died suddenly on September 26, 1922. Elizabeth was pregnant with David and had to take over running the store, which closed during the Depression.

Purcell was a member of a duplicate bridge group. “It was a big event for the ladies when it was their turn to host the group,” said Browne. “I remember a flurry of activity, linens being washed and ironed and long hours of baking. She was very devoted to her faith and the St. Francis R.C. Church and the Catholic Daughters. I remember her as a hard worker who had a tough life after her husband died.”

During WWII, Elizabeth served as a nurses’ aide in a New York City hospital. In later years, she served as town clerk and school tax collector. She died on January 13, 1974.

For more information about the screening call the library at 845/252-3360.