Women’s Suffrage Centennial in Wilton: Citizens at Last: Hannah Ambler, Grace Schenck, and the Vote [Exhibition]

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing and protecting the right to vote for (some) women. Pre-COVID, the State of Connecticut launched the CT Women’s Suffrage Commission and encouraged municipalities and non-profits to work together to celebrate this anniversary.  A number of Wilton organizations planned events and activities to celebrate this important milestone. Originally scheduled to run as an in-person exhibit from June-September, this exhibition has transitioned online. 

On November 2, 1920, Hannah Raymond Ambler proudly wrote “It is my first vote” in her daily journal. This triumphant and poignant phrase, underlined for emphasis, captures the voice of just one of the women in Wilton who campaigned for suffrage. Grace Knight Schenck, a force to be reckoned with in the community, was a leader who organized the first women’s suffrage meeting in town. The stories of these two women are at the heart of the Wilton Historical Society’s online exhibition “Citizens at Last: Hannah Ambler, Grace Schenck and the Vote,” which joins the national recognition of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote.

The exhibition will explore objects, images, texts, historic costumes, vignettes, and music to illustrate the activities and contributions of Wilton suffragists, with a special focus on Hannah Ambler and Grace Schenck—placing the local story in state and national context.

Their last names may be well known in Wilton–Ambler Farm and Schenck’s Island are local landmarks–but their individual lives are not. This exhibition will shine a light on Hannah, Grace, and other Wilton women who became citizens at last in 1920.

Citizens at Last:  Hannah Ambler, Grace Schenck and the Vote will be available indefinitely on the Wilton Historical Society website.

This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of the Elizabeth Raymond Ambler Trust.