Elizabeth Boynton Harbert

Photograph of Elizabeth Boynton Harbert. Courtesy of the Evanston Women’s History Project

Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1843, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert was a prominent American suffragist, public speaker, and author during the 19th and 20th centuries. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Female Seminary in Oxford, Ohio, in 1862, Harbert sought admission to the all-male Wabash College, but was denied entry on the basis of gender. Outraged by this rejection, Harbert began her career as a writer and social reformer, advocating for women’s rights and civic engagement. She served as the Vice President of the Indiana Women Suffragist Association and, after briefly residing in Iowa following her marriage to William Soesbe Harbert in 1870, held a similar leadership role in the Iowa Suffrage Association. In 1874, Harbert moved to Evanston, Illinois, where she became president of the Illinois Women’s Suffrage Association and directed several local, state, and national suffrage organizations, while actively publishing articles in newspapers. Harbert remained active within the Evanston community until 1906, when she moved to Pasadena, California, where she lived for the remainder of her life. In 1925, Harbert passed away, leaving behind a legacy of civic engagement and progressive activism that impacted generations.

Primary Sources:
- “Woman Suffrage Convention.” Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Marion County, May 3, 1887. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=IJ18870503.1.3&srpos=35&e=-------en-20--21--txt-txIN-%22Elizabeth+Boynton+Harbert%22------
- “The Statesmanship of Woman: Lecture of Mrs. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert Before the Equal Suffrage Society.” Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Marion County, April 16, 1884. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=IJ18840416.1.3&srpos=4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22Elizabeth+Boynton+Harbert%22------
- Boynton, Lizzie M. “Shadows Versus Sunbeams.” Wabash Magazine, Vol 5, No.3. Indianapolis, IN.: Douglass and Conners Printers. May, 1864. Courtesy of the Wabash College Ramsay Archival Center

“The Twenty-Three.” Wabash Magazine, Vol 10, No.1. Indianapolis, IN.: Douglass and Conners Printers. December, 1869. Courtesy of the Wabash College Ramsay Archival Center.

“Woman Suffrage Convention.” Wabash Magazine, Vol 10, No.1. Indianapolis, IN.: Douglass and Conners Printers. December, 1869. Courtesy of the Wabash College Ramsay Archival Center.

“Quite a large number of young ladies…” Wabash Magazine, Vol 9, No.2. Indianapolis, IN.: Douglass and Conners Printers. March, 1869. Courtesy of the Wabash College Ramsay Archival Center.

Secondary Sources:
- Kinney, Elizabeth. “Elizabeth Boynton Harbert.” Celebrating 100 Years of Illinois Women Voting, 2013. https://suffrage2020illinois.org/elizabeth-boynton-harbert/
- “Elizabeth Boynton Harbert.” Evanston Women’s History Project, 2026. https://evanstonwomen.org/woman/elizabeth-harbert/
- Spheppard, Robert Dickenson and Harvey Bostwick Hurd. History of Northwestern University and Evanston. Chicago, IL.: Munsell Publishing Company, 1906. Pgs. 559-562. https://books.google.com/books?id=OdM6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA559#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Wilson, Jodie Steelman, Emily Griffin, and Rebecca McDole. 2012. “Elizabeth Boynton Harbert and the Pursuit of Suffrage.” Hidden History of Montgomery County, Indiana. Charleston, SC: History Press. Pgs. 135-141.