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Abigail E. Leonard
Abigail Eliza Leonard was born in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1852. She attended the local one-room school and later went on to earn a teaching certificate at Randolf State Normal School. She began teaching in another one-room school, became a teacher of teachers at Castleton Normal School, and, at age twenty-four, taught mathematics and/or Latin at Girl's High School in Brooklyn, New York.
From 1897 until retirement in 1911, Miss Leonard taught English at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. Among her prominent students were Charles Skinner, later Dean of Tufts College and Lawrence Sperry of Sperry Aviation. In 1912, Abigail Leonard moved to Farmingdale. She built a large house on Hallock Street, which she called "Aftermath". The house is still there. She became acquainted with the wives of some of the prominent men in this small village, and together they formed The Women's Club of Farmingdale. She was the club's first secretary and in 1915, became their president, serving in that office for ten years. Miss Leonard was a very influential woman and at some of the early meetings made the major issue that of votes for women. She urged the women to join suffragist marches in Port Washington, Garden City and Hicksville. Once women gained the right to vote, Miss Leonard voted in every possible election as long as she was able to leave her house. |
Women In Action
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