Jones, Rosalie, 1883-1978

<p>Rosalie Gardiner Jones was born February 24, 1883 to Mary Elizabeth Jones and Dr. Oliver Livingston Jones Sr. Rosalie was born in New York City and grew up in Long Island, New York, and eventually attended Adelphi College. She subsequently received a law degree from Brooklyn Law School, would go on to study at several schools in Washington, D.C., becoming the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Civil Law from American University in 1922, and unsuccessfully running for Congress office in November 1936 as a Democrat. She was married for nine years from 1927-1936 to Clarence Dill, a Senator from Washington, in 1927. Their divorce stemmed from her public critiques of him choosing to not run for a third term, leading to Dill criticizing her lifestyle that was less "becoming" of a woman and her highly opinionated views.(Kirchmann 2015)</p>

<p>Clashing over her individual mindset affected more than just her marriage. As a major contributor to the women suffrage movement, she clashed with her mother on several issues, Where Mary Elizabeth was a part of the New York State Anti-Suffrage Association, Rosalie was an active suffragist and Nassau County President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.(Spinzia 2007)</p>

<p>"Rosalie Gardiner Jones liked the idea of boots on the ground. She liked the idea of kind of winning the battle for hearts and minds, and she believed that to do that you would need to do something dramatic, something that was sort of epic and something that was active, dynamic and not just someone making a speech," wrote Zachary Michael Jack, Associate Professor of English at North Central College.</p>

<p>Styling herself "General Jones," she exemplified both her ideology of doing the work and leading her "soldiers of the suffragette movement" by organizing numerous women marches and individual efforts to raise awareness on women's voting issues. Her suffrage marches and wagon trips included a protest march from New York City to Albany, another through Ohio, numerous tours through Long Island in a yellow "Votes for Women" wagon, and a New York to Boston wagon trip and march.</p>

<p>General Jones's most publicized march—from New York City to Washington, D.C.-- ended March 3, 1913, the day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. Her small band of suffrage "Pilgrims" joined the "Women's Rights Procession," which included nine bands and 26 floats, and at least 5,000 marchers parading down Pennsylvania Avenue, led by women from countries that had enacted woman suffrage. This protest is not only known as the most effective demonstration for women's voting but also was instrumental in shifting the debate into a national issue, one that would need to be resolved by a constitutional amendment rather than state referenda (Jack, 2014). This constitutional change became the Nineteenth Amendment and was ratified August 18, 1920.</p>

<p>Rosalie Jones was known as a maverick, strong-willed and opinionated by her friends and allies. Those who disliked her used much stronger words.</p>

<p>Her parents were wealthy: her mother, Mary Elizabeth Jones, came from a wealthy, upper-class family. As well as her inherited wealth, Mary also earned a fortune in real estate development, rumored to own property “in every state in the Union.” Her father was Dr. Oliver Livingston Jones Sr., a physician who also had real estate investments.</p>

<p>In 1909, their home in Cold Spring Harbor, New York burned to the ground. Rumors in the community swirled that Rosalie’s brother, Oliver, started the fire. He suffered from mental illness and was eventually institutionalized. Oliver died early in 1918. In 1911, the family began rebuilding. In 1913, tragedy struck again when Rosalie’s father committed suicide.</p>

<p>Her mother died in October 1918 of Spanish Flu, just nine days before her son Philip died. Rosalie’s surviving brother, Arthur, inherited the family properties. After many years of fighting, Rosalie took possession of one of the family homes and a financial settlement. In return, she agreed to stop accusing her brother of mismanaging the estate.</p>

<p>Rosalie's mother was a member of the New York State Anti-Suffrage Associations. Although raised in an anti-suffrage household, Rosalie was an active suffragist. She first took part in an outdoor suffrage meeting in New York City in 1911. This new and radical way of organizing was started by Maud Malone, another New York City suffragist. From 1912 to 1913, Rosalie served as Nassau County President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). In the spring of 1912, she traveled around Long Island in a “Votes for Women” wagon pulled by a horse.</p>

<p>Rosalie got her Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelphi College in Brooklyn and then attended Brooklyn Law School. In 1919, she received a law degree from George Washington University in DC. In 1922, she got her Doctor of Civil Law degree from George Washington College of Law, now part of American University in DC. She passed both the New York and Washington, DC bar exams. After law school, she went into business buying and selling real estate. She made a considerable fortune, much of which she lost during the Great Depression.</p>

<p>Like Alice Paul, Rosalie was influenced by Emmeline Pankhurst, a militant suffragette from Britain. To bring attention to the battle for suffrage, Rosalie organized groups of women to march long distances. She called these marches pilgrimages, and the women marching were pilgrims. In December of 1912, over 200 women joined Rosalie for parts of a march of over 140 miles from New York City to Albany, New York. Only a handful of women, including Rosalie, completed the entire route. The march took thirteen cold, wintry days. During the march, the women stopped to hold open air meetings and give out pamphlets in communities along the way. They carried yellow knapsacks and Votes for Women banners. Rosalie’s anti-suffrage mother said the march was “ridiculous.” It was during this pilgrimage, carrying petitions to the governor of New York, that Rosalie earned the nickname “General” Jones.</p>

<p>In February of 1913, General Jones led a group of 225 white women on a march from New York City to Washington, DC. She refused to allow Black suffragists on her pilgrimages – a decision consistent with others she made throughout her life. The group spent the night before entering DC at Laurel, Maryland. In the morning, a cavalry brigade of women met General Jones and escorted the group into DC. On March 3, 1913, General Jones and her “pilgrims” marched in the DC suffrage procession.</p>

<p>After passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Rosalie continued working for changes she believed in. For example, she demanded the removal of Robert Moses from his position as President of the Long Island Park Commission. He was, she argued, taking land from people without fair warning. She lived alone for many years at her home on Long Island, and had a reputation for being “difficult.”</p>

<p>In March of 1927, Rosalie married Clarence Dill at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cold Spring Harbor. She removed the word “obey” from their vows, and refused to “be given away” by anyone. Dill represented Washington State in the United States Senate. That November, Dill ran for a second term, and was reelected. While in DC, Rosalie continued to her involvement in things that were important to her. From 1933 to 1935, she was President of the Congressional Club. Members rebuffed her insistence that the organization engage with social causes. They insisted instead that the clubhouse remain neutral ground, a place “free from the constant drive and appeals from scores of groups for various forms of service.”</p>

<p>Rosalie and Clarence separated before 1934, while Clarence was still in office. He remained in Washington State while she moved back to New York. In 1936, after months of public speculation, Dill filed for divorce from Rosalie. She fought to prevent it. The case received considerable press – both people were well known, and there was name calling and other fodder to entice readers. Among other grievances, Dill claimed that Rosalie called him a “political coward” for not running for a third term, that she was an appalling wife, slovenly, and a terrible housekeeper (even though they had a maid, who testified during the court proceedings). He also claimed she spurned his business advice, telling him he should “keep to politics.” Rosalie claimed that she gave him thousands of dollars in the early years of their marriage. In the divorce, he got their home in Washington State and she got the furniture.</p>

<p>In 1936, Rosalie ran for Congress, but was unsuccessful. She lived much of the rest of her life on Long Island, “composting her garbage, raising goats, defying traditions, and fighting with her neighbors and relatives.” She spent her last years in Brooklyn, where she died on January 12, 1978. Despite the challenges she had with her family over the years, General Rosalie Jones’ ashes were scattered outside of her mother’s tomb at St. Johns Episcopal Church, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.</p>

<p>Rosalie Gardiner Jones (February 24, 1883 – January 12, 1978) was an American suffragette. She took the "Pankhursts" as role models and after hearing of the "Brown Women" she organised marches to draw attention to the suffrage cause. She was known as "General Jones" because of her following.</p>

<p>Jones was born in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Her mother was Mary Elizabeth Jones, who came from a wealthy upper-class family, the Joneses. Her father was Dr. Oliver Livingston Jones Sr. When Rosalie's mother died in 1918 of Spanish Flu, her son inherited the family Manor, Jones Manor. Yet after many years of fighting over the house and accusations of mistreatment of the Manor, Rosalie finally inherited the Manor for herself. Rosalie and her mother had very different views about women's suffrage. Where Mary Elizabeth was a part of the New York State Anti-Suffrage Associations, Rosalie was an active suffragist and Nassau County President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.</p>

<p>Jones received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelphi College in Brooklyn, then attended Brooklyn Law School. She earned her LL. B degree from George Washington College of Law. She completed two different theses, "The Labor Party in England" and The American Standard of Living and World Cooperation.</p>