equest that you
instruct us as to our duty in the premises. Very
respectfully,

S. B. WOOLLEY,
ALBERT BOTSFORD,
_Inspectors of First Ward_.

Woman cannot be enrolled or registered. Let her try it
on.[317]

_Oct. 24, 1873._ D. C. HOLBROOK, _City Counselor_.

In company with Mrs. H. J. Boutelle, Mrs. Stebbins offered her
vote in the fifth ward. Mr. Farwell was in favor of receiving it,
and wished to leave the question to a dozen responsible citizens
whom he called in as referees, but Col. Phelps would not be
influenced by the judgment of outsiders, and would not agree to
the proposal.[318]

Mrs. Gardner's name was retained on the ward voting list, and she
voted every year until she left the city for the education of her
children.

Before the University at Ann Arbor was opened to girls in 1869,
there had been several attempts to establish seminaries for girls
alone.[319] But they were not successful for several reasons. As
the State would not endow these private institutions, it made the
education of daughters very expensive, and fathers with
daughters, seeing their neighbors' sons in the State University
educated at the public expense, from financial considerations
were readily converted to the theory of coeducation. Again the
general drift of thought was in favor of coeducation throughout
the young western States. Then institutions of learning were too
expensive to build separate establishments for girls and boys,
and the number of boys able to attend through a collegiate course
could not fill the colleges ready for their reception. Hence from
all considerations it was a double advantage both to the State
and the girls, to admit them to the universities.

James A. B. Stone and Mrs. Lucinda H. Stone went to Kalamazoo in
1843, immediately after his election to take charge of the
Literary Institute. The name was afterwards changed to Kalamazoo
College. It is the oldest collegiate institute in the State,
having been chartered in 1833, and was designed from the outset
for both sexes. In the beginning it did not confer degrees, but
was the first, after Oberlin, to give diplomas to women.