Havre de Grace welcomes hundreds to celebrate Harford County’s Elizabeth Chew Forbes

People of all ages came to Havre de Grace on Saturday March 27, 2021 to celebrate a historical marker that honors Elizabeth Forbes, a Harford County suffragist, and all of her Harford County contemporaries.

Amy Rosenkrans, a MWHC board member, Baltimore City middle school Social Studies teacher and Havre de Grace native, learned about Ms. Forbes while looking for unknown Harford County suffragists who fought for voting rights.

The Forbes family were well-to-do farmers. While many in Mrs. Forbes’ social situation may have preferred to remain at home and quietly participate in local clubs, Elizabeth advocated for woman suffrage on the local, state and national level. That advocacy even landed her in a Washington, D.C. jail, according to a biographical sketch by Dr. Rosekrans. Read more about Mrs. Forbes in MWHC’s collection of biographies of Maryland suffragists.

To remember her at last, crowds gathered at the Historic Opera House in Havre de Grace. Then a parade continued  down Union Avenue to Tydings Park, the same location where Mrs. Forbes and her fellow Harford County women welcomed Just Government League’s Prairie Schooner Campaign, which was travelling through the state to urge women to join the cause.

Several of Mrs. Forbes descendants were on hand as Havre de Grace’s Mayor Bill Martin assisted in the unveiling.