Catharine Paine Blaine

Catharine Paine Blaine was an American suffragist, abolitionist, teacher, and early pioneer. She is one of the 100 signers of the Declaration of Sentiments and was the first schoolteacher in Seattle.

Life and work

Catharine Paine was born on December 14, 1829 in Amenia, New York. Her parents were both abolitionists, and her family moved to progressive Seneca Falls, New York when she was young. Growing up, Blaine wrote in her diary about opposition to slavery and her impressions from reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. This document called for the granting of equal rights between men and women. She also was an adopter of the Bloomer Costume, which favored short skirts for women over long pants. Upon arriving, she and her husband stayed with Mary and Arthur Denny, who was a member of the Seattle legislature. Arthur introduced a bill in 1854 granting women the right to vote, but the bill failed to pass. Blaine is credited with bringing the ideas of the Seneca Falls Convention to the Washington territories. During this time period, Blaine wrote numerous letters back to family and friends in New York, providing insight into pioneering life. and moved to Portland after the Battle of Seattle in 1856.

Stephanie Rogers writes that Blaine's progressive ideals and dedication to women's suffrage "denote a compassionate and thinking woman of unusual intelligence". She is called a "woman of firsts", both signing the Declaration of Sentiments and opening the first school within Seattle,