Lepha Eliza Bailey

Lepha Eliza Bailey (, Dunton; January 21, 1845 − May 1, 1924) was an American author, lecturer, and social reformer. Her girlhood was passed in Wisconsin when that part of the country was a wilderness. Afterwards, she became a lecturer of national repute upon temperance and woman's suffrage. In 1880, she was invited to speak under the auspices of the National Prohibition Alliance. She responded and continued to work in the eastern part of the United States until that society disbanded, and finally merged with the Prohibition Party, under whose auspices she worked for years over the temperance movement. She delivered hundreds of lectures on reform subjects, and was one of the most talented leaders in the field of prohibition. She contributed extensively to the periodical press, edited various departments in newspapers, and was the author of several works in prose and verse. Early life and education Lepha Eliza Dunton was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, January 21, 1845. Her father was of Scotch descent. Both parents were born and reared in Georgia, Vermont, and their family consisted of nine children, all born in Georgia and Vermont, except Bailey, the youngest. From Vermont, her parents removed, with their entire family, to Battle Creek in the fall of 1840. Michigan was at that time an unbroken wilderness.