Miss Alpha Armstrong

The year is…

1900. You are one of six surviving children of parents John and Mary, but you are far from home. You are working as a teacher in Berea, Kentucky. At 30 years old, you are unmarried, and teaching is an acceptable way of making money for a young woman. What is uncommon, however, is your level of education- you attended and graduated from Oberlin College. In a few years, you will return to your birthplace in Fredericksburg, Ohio, and move back into your family home, along with your now-widowed mother and younger sister, Josephine. You decide take up a position as editor of the local newspaper. You work hard, use your education and experience as a teacher, and become a well-established member of the community. In 1920, your world changes drastically. In addition to being granted the right to vote, you have also been nominated for county office in the year’s elections! Your time as editor has really made an impression, and your community thinks you would be a good candidate for the open Clerk of Courts position. You accept, and run on the Republican ticket against H.H. Franks. You nervously await election day, November 2nd. The ballots are polled, and… you won! The final tally is 8,299 to 8,057. This makes you the first woman in Wayne County to hold an elected position on the county level! You put your skills to use, and diligently record court proceedings. Not everyone you meet takes you seriously as a woman, but overall the people you work with appreciate the work you do and petition for your reelection. However, your health has taken a turn for the worse. During the last week of February, 1923, you are hospitalized for a rupture in your colon. You pass away at the age of 51, having left an indelible impression on your community and paved the way for a new generation of women. What a life!

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Links to Sources:

https://books.google.com/books?id=c08XAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA770&lpg=PA770&dq=alfa+armstrong+ohio&source=bl&ots=qX_AG9C-7A&sig=ACfU3U0E1iUsP-Onctc9hGYtIiofIL9LOQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBzbqVysTkAhUCa60KHahHC3gQ6AEwDXoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=LHc9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA355&lpg=PA355&dq=alfa+armstrong+ohio&source=bl&ots=3y1xDDLIOs&sig=ACfU3U2ldLBT58jOB_Up5zvP8agIz0xl7Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBzbqVysTkAhUCa60KHahHC3gQ6AEwDnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/7884/4449198_01099?pid=142973090&backurl=https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DuPp5%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26qh%3DxH56ArPg3/N22F0KlmPVEQ%253D%253D%26gss%3Dangs-c%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26gsfn%3Dalfa%26gsfn_x%3DNP_NN%26gsln%3Darmstrong%26gsln_x%3D0%26msypn__ftp%3DWayne%2520County,%2520Ohio,%2520USA%26msypn%3D3099%26catbucket%3Drstp%26MSAV%3D0%26uidh%3Dih7%26pcat%3D35%26h%3D142973090%26dbid%3D7884%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D2&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=uPp5&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true

http://wcpl.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=alpha%20armstrong&i=f&d=01011879-12311924&m=between&ord=k1&fn=dalton_gazette_usa_ohio_dalton_19221102_english_1&df=1&dt=10

http://wcpl.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=alpha%20armstrong&i=f&d=01011879-12311924&m=between&ord=k1&fn=dalton_gazette_usa_ohio_dalton_19221102_english_7&df=11&dt=20

http://wcpl.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=alpha%20armstrong&i=f&d=01011879-12311924&m=between&ord=k1&fn=rittman_press_usa_ohio_rittman_19221102_english_5&df=61&dt=70

The Dalton Gazette, vol. XLVIII no. 24, Thursday, March 8th, 1923. Available on microfilm through the Wayne County Public Library's branch of Genealogy and Local History, Wooster.