HENRY, Mrs. Josephine Kirby Williamson

In the 1800s, Josephine Kirby Henry went outside the boundaries of a typical woman during that time by being a women’s rights leader, writer, and political activist.

Josephine was born on February 22, 1843, into the wealthy Williamson family in Newport, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Captain Euclid Williamson, a Virginian, and Mary Kirby Williamson of Leeds, England. Josephine grew up and married Captain William Henry of Versailles, Kentucky in 1868. Captain William Henry was an eminent scholar and one of the most well-known educators in the South. They resided in Kentucky and became deeply involved in state and local affairs. One year later they welcomed their only son, Fredrick W. Henry. Fredrick was a writer and reporter for the Chicago Inter Ocean Newspaper, where he would later die in a train fire while writing an article. 

Josephine was an American Progressive Era women’s rights leader, suffragist, social reformer, and writer. She was a strong advocate for women and was a leading proponent of legislation that would grant married women property rights. Henry lobbied hard for the adoption of the Kentucky 1894 Married Women’s Property Act, and she is credited for being instrumental in its passage. She was the first woman to campaign publicly for a statewide office in Kentucky. Josephine would later die in 1928, but not without leaving an impact on the world and in the eyes of women. 

• Josephine K. Williamson Henry Find A Grave

• Blue-grass blade. (Lexington, Ky.), 23 Feb. 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1908-02-23/ed-1/seq-2/>

• Blue-grass blade. (Lexington, Ky.), 23 Feb. 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1908-02-23/ed-1/seq-15/>

• Blue-grass blade. (Lexington, Ky.), 30 Aug. 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1908-08-30/ed-1/seq-16/>

• Blue-grass blade. (Lexington, Ky.), 11 Oct. 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1908-10-11/ed-1/seq-14/>

• Blue-grass blade. (Lexington, Ky.), 08 Aug. 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1909-08-08/ed-1/seq-5/>

• Blue-grass blade. (Lexington, Ky.), 29 Aug. 1909. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1909-08-29/ed-1/seq-2/>

• Kansas City journal. (Kansas City, Mo.), 29 Sept. 1897. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063615/1897-09-29/ed-1/seq-7/>