The newest in the fleet of tugboats on the Erie Canal was christened Friday in honor of women’s suffrage leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
In the 19th century, the canal was like the interstate highway of the day. It was frequently the path traveled between Seneca Falls and Rochester as Cady Stanton and her fellow suffragists coordinated their campaign for women’s rights.
At Friday morning's dedication at Corn Hill Landing in Rochester, Cady Stanton's great-great-granddaughter, Coline Jenkins, said tugboats are a metaphor for the life's work of her historic ancestor.
"It's because they push, pull, tug at a vessel that's much larger," Jenkins said. "That's exactly what Elizabeth Cady Stanton did. She pushed, pulled, tugged at the nation ... ah ... I'm going to get emotional ... to bring the nation on the right course."
Jenkins wore a white, purple, and yellow sash in honor of the suffrage movement. It read "Votes for Women." She's campaigning to get the next canal tugboat named for suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony.
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