Missouri T.B. Hanna (1857-1926) was the first woman publisher in Washington State, and was heralded as “the mother of journalism” in Washington.

Hanna, who also went by “Mrs. M.T.B. Hanna,” moved to Spokane Falls in Washington Territory in 1882, and then to the waterfront mill town of Edmonds in 1904. In 1905 Hanna purchased the weekly "Edmonds Review" and published it for the five years before selling the paper to a competitor in 1910. A passionate and articulate supporter of women’s causes, Hanna then published two journals on women’s suffrage. “Votes for Women,” the official newspaper of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association, worked towards attaining the vote in the November 1910 election. It ran from October 1909 through January 1911 with news on suffrage work throughout Washington state and nationally, and included editorials, political commentary, and cartoons. After the vote was won, the paper continued for another year as “The New Citizen,” which endorsed political candidates and focused on the role of newly enfranchised women.

Missouri Hanna also developed Hanna Park, a neighborhood in Edmonds, and helped found the Snohomish County Press Association.

The December 1910 issue of "Votes for Women" was the first published after the male Washington electorate approved the amendment to the state constitution granting women the right to vote. The masthead heralds the paper as "the magazine that won equal suffrage in Washington." The front page includes Governor Hay's official proclamation on the passage of the amendment, and a cartoon showing "Uncle Sam's newest baby girl," Washington state, joining sisters Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho as suffragists May Hutton, Katherine Smith, and Katherine MacKay look on.

Caption information source: “Hanna, Missouri T. B. (1857-1926)” by Charles P. LeWarne, Historylink.org Essay 9029
Caption information source: “Woman Suffrage Campaign — Snohomish County (1909-1910)” by Margaret Riddle, HistoryLink.org Essay 8690