Ann Frances Jarvis Greely 1831-1914
[Note: this story is still being developed.]
I am currently researching Ann Jarvis Greely, from Ellsworth, Maine. I have done short storytelling presentations of Ann as the founder of the Unitarian Church in Ellsworth. She was a leading citizen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, in Ellsworth. She was a granddaughter of Colonel John Black, local lumber baron. I have found very few people in Ellsworth who know about Ann. [Update: The Ellsworth American published a front page piece, by Steve Fuller, on Ann Greely, April 27, 2017.]
Ann was granted a license to practice medicine in 1895, when such a review and certification was required by the state of Maine. (We have not yet discovered what sort of medicine she practiced, or for how long.)
She owned a millinery shop on Main Street at the age of 20. She resented not having a say on how her tax dollars were spent, and campaigned tirelessly for women’s suffrage. She was active on a national level, and brought Susan B. Anthony to Ellsworth to speak. I am developing a program where, as Ann, I will tell something about the long hard battle women had, to win the right to vote.
[All of my historic characters are presented in first person, while dressed in appropriate period clothing. This presentation will be told without notes. It differs from a one-women play, in that only the outline of the story is memorized. The story is a bit different with each telling, often in reaction to the audience. That is storytelling.]
Do you have information about Ann Frances Jarvis Greely? I’d love to hear from you!