Historical marker unveiled for Marie Stuart Edwards

Apr. 29—PERU — It was while researching a totally different topic in early Miami County history when Regine Brindle came across an interesting find about one of the most notable women to live in Peru.

Marie Stuart Edwards, the suffragist who helped found the Peru branch of the Women's Franchise League of Indiana and the national League of Women Voters organization, was assumed to have lived on Hood Street with her in-laws.

However, there was no evidence in historical documents of Edwards having lived there.

The 1920 Census listed Edwards' husband living at 123 W. Main St. His draft registration card had the same address.

Brindle started piecing it together around the time a statue was erected of Edwards at the Peru Public Library in 2021. The bronze statue depicts her as a young girl standing by her bicycle. Edwards is credited with being the first female to ever ride a bike in Lafayette, where she was born.

"That represented freedom to young girls," said Denise Gornto.

Gornto and her husband Jason, both educators at Peru Community Schools, live at 123 W. Main St.

They knew their house came with a bit of history — it's the former home of Congressman Glenn Griswold — but weren't sold on Brindle's claim.

"Our first reaction was, 'No, you're wrong,'" Denise said.

But Brindle was sure of it. And she had the primary documents to prove it.

Now, anyone who walks by the yellow home on Main Street that dates to at least 1886 will know its significance.

A historical marker was unveiled Saturday afternoon recognizing Edwards as having lived at the address from 1917 to 1926, along with some of her many achievements.

It's a well-earned historical marker as much of Edwards' efforts in organizing thousands of Hoosiers to support the suffragist movement, ultimately leading to the passing of the 19th Amendment, took place at the house on Main Street.

The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.

The project was made possible through the Indiana Historical Bureau, Miami County Indiana Worth Remembering, the Gorntos and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

A small crowd gathered outside of the residence for the unveiling which featured several speakers.

That includes Nicole Poletika of the Indiana Historical Bureau. She said Edwards' marker posed a challenge for the bureau due to her significance.

She was the first vice president of the national League of Women Voters, the first female Peru School Board member, helped pass legislation protecting women and children, was an advocate for public sanitation, disarmament, prison rehabilitation and education reform. She also managed her husband's business on top of it all.

Try fitting all that on plaque where space is limited.

"She has been one of the hardest to sum up in a historical sign," Poletika said. "It seems she had an iron in every fire."

The two-sided plaque includes Edwards having lived in the house, her involvement in the suffragist movement and other advocacy campaigns.

"I can only imagine the flurry of things happening in that house when she lived there," said Brindle, a member of Miami County Indiana Worth Remembering. The historical group works to preserve the history of Miami County.

The historical marker process is an arduous one. Every fact on a marker must be supported by primary documents. Brindle's research was crucial in making the marker a reality.

For Don Fuller, Edwards is a representation of peace and brotherhood.

Fuller's mother, Carrie, was a 20-year-old Black woman when she met Edwards. It'd be a relationship that spanned the rest of Edwards' life.

Carrie traveled with Edwards numerous times to meet to the Indiana governor. Fuller told a story of a time the two stopped off in Tipton on a trip to Indianapolis. Back then, Black people were not welcome at certain establishments, including the service station the two had stopped at.

But Edwards, Fuller said, let the owners know if Carrie wasn't allowed to enter, she'd have the business shut down.

"She had clout," he said. "They knew she meant business."

Carrie worked at the Miami County Courthouse for 41 years, due to Edwards. She was one of the first Black women to do so. She was also Edwards' personal secretary.

Fuller encouraged the audience to take young people under their wing and mentor them.

Also in the audience was Stuart and Andrew Edwards, grandson and great-grandson to Marie Edwards. They made the trip from the Chicago area. Stuart said he was "astonished" at the amount of research that Brindle did.

"It was really nice the town was willing to do this," he said.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.