Ann Frances Jarvis Greely

Ann Frances Jarvis Greely 1831-1914

Jude, center, as Ann Greely (pictured is Ann Greely’s wedding gown from 1849, from the collection of Ellsworth Historical Society)

[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.

Ann's business card
Ann’s promo card for her shop
Ann's Store 1893
Dated 1893, five years after Ann sold her store, pictured in the foreground. (Before the bank was built on the corner of Main and State Streets, Ellsworth, Maine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[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!