tt, President; Amanda Way,
Vice-President; and Henry Hiatt, Secretary. Miss Way made the opening
address, and stated the object of the Convention to be a full, free,
and candid discussion of the legal and social position of women. The
meetings continued two days. Henry C. Wright addressed large audiences
at the evening sessions. A letter was received from Mary F. Thomas, of
North Manchester, urging all those who believe in woman's rights to be
firm and outspoken. She encouraged young ladies to enter the trades
and professions, to fit themselves in some way for pecuniary
independence, and adds, "Although a wife, mother, and housekeeper,
with all that that means, I am studying medicine, and expect to
practice, if I live."

Such a Convention being a novel affair, called out some ridicule and
opposition, but the friends were so well pleased with their success,
that a committee was appointed to arrange for another the next year,
which was held in Richmond, Oct. 15 and 16, 1852. A few of the
resolutions[57] will show the spirit of the leaders at that time. A
Woman's Rights Society was formed at this Convention, a Constitution
and By-laws adopted, and it became one of the permanent organizations
of the State. Hannah Hiatt, President; Jane Morrow, Vice-President;
Mary B. Birdsall, Secretary; Amanda Way, Treasurer.

Another Convention was held at Richmond October 12, 1853. The
President being absent, Lydia W. Vandeburg presided with dignity and
ability. Frances D. Gage, Josephine S. Griffing, Emma R. Coe, and
Lydia Ann Jenkins were among the prominent speakers. Having heard that
Antoinette Brown had been denied admission as a delegate to the
"World's Temperance Convention," held in New York, on account of her
sex, they passed a resolution condemning this insult offered to all
womankind. Thirty-two persons[58] signed the Constitution in the first
Convention, and the movement spread rapidly in the Hoosier State.

The fourth annual meeting convened in Masonic Hall, Indianapolis,
October 26, 1854. Frances D. Gage, Caroline M. Severance, and L. A.
Hine were the invited speakers, and right well did they sustain the
banner of equal rights in the capital of the State. J. W. Gordon, then
a young and promising lawyer, and since one of the leading men of the
State, avowed himself in favor of woman suffrage, and added much to
the success of the Convention. The press, as usual, ridiculed,
burlesqued, and misrepresented the proceedings; bu