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Anna Eliza (Osborn) Anthony

Born: Edgartown, Dukes County, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1844. Married: Daniel Read Anthony, in Edgartown, Dukes County, Massachusetts, on January 31, 1864. Died: Los Angeles, California, on December 16, 1930; buried in Leavenworth, Leavenworth County, Kansas.

Anna Eliza Osborn was to Abraham and Eliza A. (Norton) Osborn in Edgartown, Dukes County, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1844. Her father was a successful whaling merchant. She was 19 when she married Daniel Read Anthony, 20 years her senior and of Edgartown, on January 31, 1864; they had five children.

Anthony had come to Kansas Territory in 1854, with the New England Emigrant Aid Society. Among the group of abolitionists who founded Lawrence in 1854, his party returned to Massachusetts later that year. He settled in Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, in July 1857 and became a businessman and supporter of the Underground Railroad. He founded the Leavenworth Conservative in 1861. President Abraham Lincoln appointed him postmaster in April 1861. That year Anthony enlisted in the First Kansas Cavalry in 1861, which became the U.S. Seventh U.S. Cavalry. He returned to Leavenworth before the war’s end and was elected mayor in 1863.

Anna married Anthony upon his return to his hometown. They soon made their home in Leavenworth.

Annie developed a reputation as a gracious and accommodating host. Her support of the suffrage efforts was invaluable to the cause. The family’s activities in politics and suffrage brought numerous high-profile visitors to their household. Daniel’s sister, suffragist Susan B. Anthony, was a frequent guest in the household. Anthony was in Kansas in 1865, when her first niece was born. She returned to campaign for universal suffrage in 1867. Anna's hosted national suffrage advocates working toward the passage for women's voting rights in municipal elections in 1887, which successfully passed in the state legislature. The outcome of the election resulted in Kansans electing the first woman mayor that year, Susanna Salter of Argonia.

Leavenworth society required Annie’s attendance at social gatherings. Her appearance and attire at these events were frequently mentioned in the local newspapers. The Anthony’s were important guests at Fort Leavenworth. They were among the party in 1879 invited to entertain President Rutherford B. and Lucy (Webb) Hayes along with General William Tecumseh Sherman. With the demands on Annie to run the busy household, she hired assistance, like a cook and housekeeper. Singing was among the interests Annie pursued. She regularly sang duets and solos in the Presbyterian Church choir in Leavenworth.

Annie’s life was overshadowed by her husband’s larger than life persona. He strongly voiced his editorial beliefs in his newspaper and in public speaking and carried a pistol for protection. The response to his beliefs were also strongly presented, and with Anthony’s volatile temper, the results were violent and deadly. His cousin, Governor George T. Anthony, accused him of abusing Annie during a violent outburst, leading to their fractured relationship.

During one political argument with his rival newspaper, Annie and her daughter, Maud, were riding in the family carriage when the horses ran away. As Daniel dashed to her rescue, newspaper employees fled thinking he was coming to attack them. He was severely wounded in fight with a fellow journalist which led to that editor’s death, for which he was acquitted. His violent end came in 1904 after a mortal wound by another competing newspaper editor.

Annie was continued to live in the family home in Leavenworth as caretaker to her children’s inheritance. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, to live her last few years with her daughter’s family. She died there on December 16, 1930, and was buried in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Entry: Anthony, Anna Eliza (Osborn)

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: November 2024

Date Modified: December 2024

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.