Through Susan’s Eyes: Susan B. Anthony’s Childhood in Washington County

Through Susan’s Eyes

The Washington County Historical Society will present “Through Susan’s Eyes: Susan B Anthony’s Childhood in Washington County, NY” at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at the Greenwich Free Library, 148 Main Street, Greenwich, NY.

This lecture is a retrospective on the nineteen years Susan B Anthony’s family lived in the hamlet of Battenville in the Town of Greenwich on the Batten Kill. Many people don’t realize that Susan’s family moved to Battenville in 1826 when Susan was only 6 years old. The area is a virtual history book of the Anthony family, but until recently there was not a historic marker anywhere. Many of the events that formed Susan’s thoughts about women’s suffrage were developed in this little settlement during her childhood and young adulthood. Most people drive through this historic community without knowing its amazing history.

Included will be the influence on Susan’s life by her Quaker heritage from the Anthony family. Daniel Anthony and his family were a part of the Quaker friends in Adams, Massachusetts before their move to Battenville in 1826. Susan’s mother, Lucy Anthony remained a Baptist throughout her life even though she attended the Quaker meetings with her husband and the children.

Photos of the restored outside of the Battenville house will be included in the presentation

Debi Craig and Sandy McReynolds will present a Power Point presentation focusing on the numerous sites in Greenwich, Easton, Jackson, and Cambridge, NY that involved the Anthony family.

Debi Craig is past president of the Washington County Historical Society and still serves as chairperson for the Washington County History Fair and the Programming Committee. She is also president of the NorthStar Historical Project which promotes Underground Railroad history in the Easton/Greenwich area. She is Corresponding Secretary of the Hebron Preservation Debi also serves as Hebron historian. She is Chaplain of the Willard’s Mountain Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Sandy McReynolds is historian of the Gill Room in the Greenwich Free Library. She is also historian for the Town of Greenwich. Sandy is a member of the Easton-Greenwich Historical Association. She is the Past Regent for the Willard’s Mountain Chapter of the DAR. Sandy frequently leads walking tours of the historic district in Greenwich focusing on many different topics of local history.

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