Montgomery, Mrs Adelaide, Byways, Raddenstile Lane, Exmouth
Adelaide Zoe Montgomery, née Auber. (1849-1937) was born in Moreton Pinkney Northamptonshire where her father Rev Charles Bransby Auber BA was the curate. In 1853 he was appointed the rector of Clannaborough so the family moved to Devon. In 1879 Adelaide married Rev William Hugh Montgomery the rector of Sutcombe, Devon, where the couple set up home in the rectory.
Eight years later Adelaide’s husband died, aged 40, leaving her with four young children to bring up. By December 1889 she had moved to 7 Hartley Road, Exmouth where she lived with her children for the next twenty years. By 1911 she had moved, with her two daughters to Byways, Raddenstile Lane, Exmouth.
Adelaide took the initiative in forming the Exmouth Women’s Suffrage Society in October 1904 by placing an advert in the Exmouth Journal which read:
‘Women’s Suffrage: It is hoped, should sufficient support be given, to hold a meeting in Exmouth this autumn to further the above cause. Will any, of either sex, who are interested in the matter kindly communicate with Mrs Montgomery 9 Hartley Road as soon as possible’.[1]
The advertisement was accompanied by a letter stating that a provisional committee had already been formed to plan a meeting ‘on strictly non-party lines’; the committee comprised herself, Miss Pinckney, Miss Phear and Miss Stuart.[2] Mrs Montgomery followed up this initiative with a letter to Exmouth Council asking what amount of support they would give to the Society; pointing out that ‘as women householders, they were entitled to vote at the elections of District Councils, and Boards of Guardians, and they saw no reason why they should not given the privilege of voting at Parliamentary elections, for which they would be as capable of forming a sound judgement as the majority of male electors’. The Council acknowledged the letter but said that they could not express an opinion on the matter.[3]
It was not long before the Society had arranged for a prominent Bristol Suffragist, Mrs Martin, to speak on women’s suffrage at a meeting in the Public Hall.[4] As well as giving her continued support to the suffrage movement in Exmouth, Adelaide took on responsibilities in other organisations. She was on the committee of the Exmouth Women’s Local Government Association, the Book Club (essentially a lending library for the town), the Choral Society and the RSPCA. Her participation in these organisations meant that she was working alongside other members of the suffrage movement in Exmouth like Miss Pinckney, Miss Phear, Mrs Oliver, Miss Earp, Miss Sheldon and Romola Tynte.[5]
Adelaide lived in Exmouth for the rest of her life, as did her two unmarried daughters. She died at Byways on 16 April 1937; her daughters Mary Georgina and Alice Kathleen died in 1965 and 1968.
Entry created by April Marjoram, June 2018
[1] ExJ, 8 Oct 1904, p.5.
[2] ExJ 8 Oct 1904.
[3] WT, 2 February 1905.
[4] ExJ, 25 March 1905.
[5] Exmouth Journals 1905-1915