Etta Semple

Biography Semple was born in Quincy, Illinois, to a Baptist family. Eventually Semple began to see religion as a sort of "ignorance and superstition."

Semple founded the Kansas Freethought Association (KFA) in order to protect the separation of church and state. Semple wrote two novels with themes relating to labor movement, called The Strike and Society.

Using her own money and time, Semple self-published a bimonthly newspaper called Freethought Ideal which had a circulation of 2,000. Freethought Ideal was published between 1898 and 1901, and allowed Semple to speak her mind without being censored. In an editorial appearing in 1898, she said, "Every true Freethinker accords to each individual the right to mental freedom. Where this freedom leads is no concern of others so long as it encroaches not upon their rights." Every issue of the Freethought Ideal offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who could give positive proof of the supernatural, including God. Her work on this newspaper was praised by the contemporary The Free Thought Magazine. In 1901, Semple decided that she was tired of "trying to talk sense to the rest of the world" and stopped publication of Freethought Ideal.

Also in 1901, Semple's husband became ill and since she was no longer working on the paper, she was able to devote time to helping him recover.

The building that housed her sanatorium was condemned in 2015. While many individuals wanted it preserved, it never received protected status.