{"id":103728,"date":"2022-01-07T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T12:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/?p=103728"},"modified":"2026-03-23T12:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:24:51","slug":"register-susan-b-anthony-signature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/register-susan-b-anthony-signature\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 1: Fort Scott National Cemetery Visitors Register With Susan B. Anthony Signature, 1895"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:450px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a figure{max-width:450px;}.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .image-is-svg, .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a img.kb-img, .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .kb-img img{border-top-color:#000000;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:#000000;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:#000000;border-left-style:solid;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a img.kb-img, .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .kb-img img{border-top-color:#000000;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:#000000;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:#000000;border-left-style:solid;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a img.kb-img, .kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a .kb-img img{border-top-color:#000000;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:#000000;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:#000000;border-left-style:solid;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image103728_fdb03d-1a\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2397\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?w=562\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?w=562\" alt=\"Visitor register featuring Susan B Anthony signature.\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-103731\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272397%27%20height%3D%272560%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202397%202560%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272397%27%20height%3D%272560%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?resize=281,300 281w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?resize=562,600 562w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?resize=768,820 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1311,1400 1311w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1438,1536 1438w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1918,2048 1918w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Ledger_Anthony-copy-scaled-1.jpg 2397w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2397px) 100vw, 2397px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Visitors register from Fort Scott National Cemetery in Kansas, with signature of Susan B. Anthony, 1895. (VA)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maintaining a welcoming environment for the visiting public and mourners was, and\u00a0remains, a key mission of national cemeteries. Within the first decades of their establishment, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-45-disability-certificate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">superintendent\u2019s\u00a0<\/a>lodge was important to this experience. Government regulations ordered the placement of signs near cemetery entrances telling visitors they were \u201cinvited to enter the office in the superintendent\u2019s lodge, where a register is kept, and where information concerning this cemetery will be cheerfully furnished.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-17-the-meigs-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lodges\u00a0<\/a>functioned as dual-purpose offices and residences for the superintendent (usually a disabled Veteran) and his family. He\u00a0was required\u00a0to keep the building \u201cneat and in good order\u201d and \u201cin a condition to receive visitors at all times.\u201d A reception area was\u00a0maintained\u00a0in the office exclusively to accommodate visitors and to be occupied by the superintendent only for housekeeping purposes. A table with a leather-bound visitor register was a required feature of this area.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 13, 1895, renowned suffragist and social activist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/people\/susan-b-anthony.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Susan B. Anthony<\/a>\u00a0visited\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cem.va.gov\/cems\/nchp\/ftscott.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fort Scott National Cemetery<\/a>\u00a0in Kansas, along with her brother Jacob Merritt Anthony and his wife Mary, where they signed the ledger. Fittingly, the Anthony\u2019s would have been hosted by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/featured-stories\/040-george-ford\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Maj.\u00a0George W. Ford<\/a>, one of the national cemetery system\u2019s only African American superintendents. Ford was a wounded Veteran of the Indian Wars, civil rights advocate, and descendent of enslaved persons from George Washington\u2019s home at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Ms. Anthony\u2019s cemetery visit came during a stop at her brother\u2019s Fort Scott home on her return east from\u00a0a suffrage\u00a0meeting in San Francisco, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visitor registers provide a glimpse into the activity at national cemeteries and the individuals who passed through\u00a0their\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-27-national-cemetery-gateway-arch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gates<\/a>. Unfortunately, few were preserved because Army regulations allowed them to be destroyed after they were filled, and,\u00a0by 1947,\u00a0less-visited cemeteries were not\u00a0required\u00a0to use them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image103728_c026cd-18 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}.kb-image103728_c026cd-18 img.kb-img, .kb-image103728_c026cd-18 .kb-img img{border-top-color:#000000;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:#000000;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:#000000;border-left-style:solid;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-image103728_c026cd-18 img.kb-img, .kb-image103728_c026cd-18 .kb-img img{border-top-color:#000000;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:#000000;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:#000000;border-left-style:solid;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-image103728_c026cd-18 img.kb-img, .kb-image103728_c026cd-18 .kb-img img{border-top-color:#000000;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:#000000;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:#000000;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:#000000;border-left-style:solid;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image103728_c026cd-18\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1576\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?w=600\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?w=600\" alt=\"Postcard showing the lodge at Fort Scott National Cemetery, c. 1907. (NCA)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-103729\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271576%27%20height%3D%27900%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201576%20900%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271576%27%20height%3D%27900%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?resize=300,171 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?resize=600,343 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?resize=768,439 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?resize=1400,799 1400w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg?resize=1536,877 1536w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/06\/001_Scott_Lodge.jpg 1576w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 1576px) 100vw, 1576px\" \/><figcaption>Postcard showing the lodge at Fort Scott National Cemetery, c. 1907. (VA)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 13, 1895, renowned suffragist and social activist Susan B. Anthony visited Fort Scott National Cemetery, Kansas. Sitting on a table within the cemetery superintendent&#8217;s lodge was a leather-bound visitor register, which she signed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[81,20,125,33],"class_list":["post-103728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects","tag-black-history-month","tag-national-cemetery-administration","tag-national-cemetery-system","tag-womens-history-month"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/register-susan-b-anthony-signature\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 1: Fort Scott National Cemetery Visitors Register With Susan B. Anthony Signature, 1895","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/register-susan-b-anthony-signature\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/register-susan-b-anthony-signature\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/01\/2_Ft-Scott-Visitors-Register-scaled.webp?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/01\/2_Ft-Scott-Visitors-Register-scaled.webp"},"articleSection":"History of VA in 100 Objects","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veterans Affairs (smw)"}],"creator":["Department of Veterans Affairs (smw)"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":["black history month","national cemetery administration","national cemetery system","women's history month"],"dateCreated":"2022-01-07T12:32:00Z","datePublished":"2022-01-07T12:32:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-23T16:24:51Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Object 1: Fort Scott National Cemetery Visitors Register With Susan B. 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