Susan Louise Marsh

Susan Louise Marsh was an activist and author who is responsible for ending the heinous sole guardianship laws in Missouri.

Susan Louise Marsh

Early Life

Susan Louise Cotton Marsh was born on April 23, 1867 in Troy, Indiana. She was the daughter of Cullen Columbus Cotton & Ann Connot, and was married to Eugene Marsh.

Political Involvement

Marsh was bothered by the sole guardianship law that deemed men full custody of their children and the ability to take their child's wages. After hearing the story of a young girl in St. Louis who was forced to give her alcoholic father all of her earned money, Marsh decided to provoke change. Unfortunately at the time, the state of Missouri did not allow women to take part in political matters. In order to push the law to the State Senate, Marsh had to find a man who would draft and advocate for the law. Luckily, Marsh had a variety of connections to look into. Labor lawyer Alroy Phillips became the spokesman who would address the Senate with the Joint Guardianship Law.

The Marsh Joint Guardianship Law

The Marsh Joint Guardianship Law is formally known as, Guardians and Curators of Minors-Granting Married Women Equal Rights With Husbands in Care of Minor children and Management of Their Estates. The act is divided into seven sections: 1. Who natural guardians of minors. 2. Married woman may be curator and guardian. 3. Minors, by whom bound. 4. Executor may bind child, when. 5. Services and earnings of minor children-custody and control of. 6. Rights of parents equal, in custody or control of minor children, of their services and earnings-court to adjudicate. 7. Inconsistent acts repealed.

Proposal

Sixteen states had already adopted the Joint Guardianship law, and Marsh would go on to make Missouri the seventeenth. On the 12th of October 1912, Marsh presented the idea of the law to the Daughters of the American Revolution. With widespread support by the Douglas Oliver chapter of the D.A.R., the act was presented to the D.A.R. state conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Again, there was great agreement that the law of sole guardianship should be changed. Thanks to the rich influence of representation attributed to the D.A.R., six thousand women pledged to the bill. The movement began to pick up speed, and finally the old law was repealed. The next step for Marsh was to get the new law implemented. After review, the Missouri State Senate passed the new law on March 20, 1913. The act also included a new law to those who are mentally unstable, known as: Guardians and Curators of Insane Persons-Facts Inquires Into by Court Sitting as a Jury, When. This law was passed on March 18, 1913.

Literary Contributions

After her political contributions in 1913, Marsh began to pursue her writing. Perhaps the most famous work of Marsh's is Young Abe Lincoln; a cotton bowl of Lincoln stories founded on tradition, told by Aunt Ann of Indiana. Published in 1929, the story was meant as a persuasion to implement a proposed memorial for Lincoln and his family in Spencer, Indiana.

Young Abe Lincoln

Death

After fighting against heart disease, Marsh was moved to Bethesda General Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. She remained there for 22 days until she suffered from cardiac decompensation and passed on September 21, 1946. She is buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis in the same lot as her husband and other relatives including Olydia, Frank, Mildred, and Angeline Marsh.