Dress maker

48

Married

58A Cromwell Street, Coventry

NUWSS

Complies

Sarah lived with her husband - a store keeper - her daughter, and a boarder in a small 5 roomed house in Coventry in 1911. She remained there for the rest of her life until her death in 1944. As a dress maker, Sarah's wages would have been meagre so extra income from a lodger must have been welcome especially in 1911 when her husband injured himself and was unable to work. In fact, 1911 was something of an annus horribilis for Sarah. In April 1911, she was fined 2s 6d in court for non payment of a dog license which she made clear was solely due to a fall in trade which meant she was unable to afford one. The fine must have compounded the family's poverty. Earlier, in January 1911, she had appeared in court to support a summons she submitted against her husband for assault. She described how her husband kicked her in the side, picked up a chair and 'threatened to bash her head in with it'. He counter claimed that the argument started because she was trying to put him in the Workhouse due to his injury and inability to work, and now she was trying to put him in prison. Ultimately, he was bound over for 6 months and was ordered to pay all costs. The stress of poverty on their marriage and family is evident in these two court appearances. There are few contemporary accounts of Sarah's votes for women activity. However, she is described in a 1930's newspaper report as having been a 'suffragette' but was in fact a 'suffragist' belonging to the Coventry branch of the law abiding NUWSS - the Coventry Women's Suffrage Society. In the newspaper interview, Sarah eschews suffragette militancy saying - 'People get resentful of a movement that only causes trouble. Nothing ever came of violence'. Nevertheless, she recalls that one of her most exciting moments as a suffrage campaigner came at a mass meeting in nearby Warwick, where she arrived late and was mistaken for the WSPU suffragette leader, Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst! Sarah claimed to have been greeted with both enthusiastic cheering and jeering from the crowd in equal measure. Sarah and her husband did not see eye to eye over the suffrage campaign either. She recalled that her husband was opposed to 'Votes for Women' but she was resolute, stating: 'it made no difference to me. It is only right that women should have the vote'. Asked if she would do it all again, Sarah replied with an emphatic - 'I would'. Cromwell Street where Sarah lived has been partially demolished, redeveloped and renumbered so identifying whether Sarah's house still survives is problematic. Contributor/Researcher: Tara Morton. Coventry research funded by Warwick University.