Elizabeth Hedge Webster (1822-1897) was a supporter of women’s suffrage and the author of Clover Blossoms, a book of essays and short pieces, published in 1880 while she was living in Hyde Park.
She was born Elizabeth Goodhue Hedge and married John G. Webster in 1842. Her book is dedicated to, among others, the Thought Club in Hyde Park. She was a long-time member of this club, and she included several items about people who spoke at Club meetings and excursions taken by Club members in the book. Clover Blossoms also includes pieces such as “Some reasons why women should have part in Government,” “Thoughts on the woman question,” and “Justice for women.” Hedge was one of the women who went to vote in the 1870 town election and is mentioned in the Proceedings of the Thirtieth Annual National American Woman Suffrage Association Convention in 1898 as “one of the earliest advocates of the cause.” The Women’s Suffrage League of Hyde Park presented a crayon portrait of Mrs. Webster to the Hyde Park Historical Society.
