Margaret Weissinger Castleman

Margaret Weissinger Castleman
Bornc. 1880
Louisville, Kentucky, US
Died1945
Burial place
Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky
Political party
Democratic Party
SpouseSamuel Torbitt Castleman (m. 1910)
Children4

Margaret Weissinger Castleman (c. 1880–April 26, 1945) was an American suffragist and campaigner for the Democratic Party.

Family

Weissinger was born in 1880 in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Colonel Harry Weissinger, a tobacco industry businessman, and Isabelle "Belle" Weissinger (née Muir). Her father was from an old Kentucky family. She had five siblings and was presented as a debutante in 1900.

Activism

Weissinger began giving speeches in support of votes for women in 1909. She rose to hold leadership positions in the suffrage movement, becoming president of the Louisville Woman Suffrage Association and second vice president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association.

At an annual benefit event for the Louisville Business Women's Club, she attended in a dress which showed her support for the enfranchisement of women. As the Courier-Journal reported: "around the hem of her skirt were the twelve names of the Western States which have suffrage, and across the back was written, 'Votes for Women.'"

Weissinger became a member of Democratic Party and was elected to the Women's National Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee in 1920. In 1921, she was a speaker at a rally for W. Overton Harris, the Democratic candidate for Mayor, and an excerpt of her speech appeared in African-American newspaper The Louisville Leader.

Personal life

Weissinger married Samuel Torbitt Castleman in 1910. They had four children.

Death

Castleman died of a heart attack in 1945 and was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky.

References

  1. 1 2 Mattingly, Carol et al. (2020) "Louisville Women and the Suffrage Movement 100 Years of the 19th Amendment" Archived February 28, 2025, at the Wayback Machine. . Cave Hill Heritage Foundation, the Louisville Metro Office for Women, the League of Women Voters, Frazier History Museum, and Filson Historical Society. p. 9.
  2. ↑ Johnson, E. Polk (1912). A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1007–1010.
  3. ↑ History of Kentucky. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. 1928. p. 211.
  4. 1 2 3 Anderson, Dawn (October 2019). "Margaret Weissinger Castleman [1880-1945]". Remarkable Members, The Woman's Club of Louisville. Archived from the original on February 13, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hollingsworth, Randolph (February 25, 2017). "Margaret Weissinger Castleman, Louisville Suffragist and Democratic Party Leader". H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Department of History, Michigan State University. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  6. ↑ Dawson, Kristen. "Twenty-Ninth Annual KERA Convention | H-Net". H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Department of History, Michigan State University. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ Hollingsworth, Randolph. "30th Convention Kentucky Equal Rights Association - Program". H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Department of History, Michigan State University. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ "W. Overton Harris and Mrs. Castleman Speak Before Thousands on Race Issue". The Louisville Leader. Vol. 4, no. 44. September 24, 1921. Retrieved January 25, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) [dead link]
  9. ↑ Seekamp, Alwin; Burlingame, Roger (1912). Who's who in Louisville. Louisville Press Club.
  10. ↑ Goan, Melanie Beals (November 12, 2020). A Simple Justice: Kentucky Women Fight for the Vote. University Press of Kentucky. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8131-8019-9.
  11. ↑ "Obituary Archived February 21, 2025, at the Wayback Machine". Courier-Journal. April 27, 1945.