Meet M. Eleanor Brackenridge
Mary Eleanor Brackenridge was born in Warwick County, Indiana, on March 7, 1837, the fourth of eight children. After graduating from Anderson Female Seminary, she moved to Jackson County, Texas to be with her family. After the death of her father, she and her mother moved to San Antonio in 1866, and that's when she commenced to agitatin'.
Eleanor became active in many women's organizations, including the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She re-organized the San Antonio chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and founded the Women's Club of San Antonio, where she served as president for seven years. Under her leadership the club worked to promote better education and employment opportunities for women, as well as the general welfare of women and children. During this period she also studied Texas law, and in 1911 she published a pamphlet, The Legal Status of Texas Women.
She was the first president of the San Antonio Equal Franchise Society. In April 1913, delegates from around the state met in San Antonio and elected her president of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association. She served one term, shared leadership with Annette Finnegan for a time, and then stepped aside. She continued to give her time and money to the cause. When the Texas Legislature granted women suffrage, she was the first woman in Bexar County to register to vote.
As if all that weren't enough, she was also a seasoned world traveler and an active participant in her family's business interests. She was one of the first women in the nation to serve as a bank director, holding positions on the boards of directors of the San Antonio National Bank and the San Antonio Loan and Trust Company.
Education for women was a lifelong passion. Eleanor was one of the founders of Texas Woman's University. She fought for its funding, often provided financial assistance to students in need, and even provided a cottage that served as an early dorm. She was Vice Chair of the Board of Regents for 22 years, from its inception in 1902 to her death in 1924. She also influenced her brother, George, "the guardian angel of UT," to promote equality for women. He did so with his considerable influence as well as his money; he provided countless scholarships for women and donated the money to build a women's dorm at the medical school in Galveston. In recognition of her contributions to the state, about a jillion things are named after her, including a dorm at TWU and a park and school in San Antonio.
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