Short Biography: Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton

Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton born on June 10, 1835 – January 24, 1930. She was an American writer, lecturer, reformer, and politician. Besides, she was the first woman to serve in the United States Senate. On the other hand, in Rebecca's family, she was the oldest of four children. When she was fifteen years old, her life changed completely. Rebecca's dad was planning to give to her a better lifestyle. He wanted his daughter to have a better education, so he “had sent her to live with family members in the town of Madison, Georgia so she could attend Madison Female College, where she graduated at the top of her class at age 17 in 1852.” (en.wikipedia.org). Other factor in Rebecca's life is that she was engaged to William Harrell Felton. After a long time that Felton graduated from Madison Female College, Felton and her boyfriend decided to make a decision that marked them the rest of their lives. “In 1853, she married her husband William Harrell Felton at her home and moved to live with him on his plantation just north of Cartersville, Georgia. She gave birth to five children, however, only Howard Erwin Felton survived childhood.” (en.wikipedia.org). After Rebecca suffered the death of her four children. This did not mean that she lost faith
Upon her arrival, she looked forward to seeing companionship in the congress. However, a big surprise Rebecca found on the congress when anyone wanted to help her with her proposal that women could vote. More than one person in Congress hated Rebecca, but none like Mildred L. Rutherford. “During a 1915 debate with Rutherford and other anti-suffragists before the Georgia legislative committee, the chairman allowed each of the anti-suffragists to speak for 45 min but demanded Felton stop speaking after the allotted 30 min. Felton ignored him and spoke for an extra 15 min, at one point making fun of Rutherford and implicitly accusing her of hypocrisy.”