Sarah Gibbs Thompson Pell
Sarah Gibbs Thompson Pell (1878-1939) studied music in Paris before her 1901 marriage to Stephen H.P. Pell. The early restoration of Fort Ticonderoga was called “Sarah’s project,” not only because her father, Colonel Robert Means Thompson, supplied the initial funding for the restoration but also because, at that time, leading society ladies were actively involved in the preservation of America’s colonial heritage.
By 1912, her interests had turned to politics after meeting Mrs. Emmeline Parkhurst, a leader of the British suffrage movement. Following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 which gave women the right to vote, Sarah realized that women needed more than the vote to secure equal rights. She became active in Republican politics and lobbied an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.
She was not afraid to challenge authority as evidenced by an incident that happened in 1910 when she returned from a trip to Europe. A customs official determined that she had to pay duty on a necklace that she had taken with her and that had been repaired while she was in Europe. Sarah refused to pay the duty and threatened to throw the necklace into New York Harbor. The customs official relented but ordered her to present her case to the Customs Court. At the hearing, Sarah argued that she should pay duty only on the value of the repairs made. She won her case and it is still cited as precedent today. Sarah died in Boston, Massachusetts on August 29, 1939.
