Fannie Stratton Bayly King

Fannie Stratton Bayly King (September 27, 1864 – January 13, 1951) was an advocate for women's suffrage and social reforms in the early 20th century.

Early and family life Fannie Stratton Bayly was born in 1864 in Staunton, Virginia, the daughter of Captain Edmund Wilson Bayly and Edmonia Bell (1839–1909). She had two younger sisters, Maggie (1866–195) and Sallie (1868–1948).

She received her education at Augusta Female Seminary, which later became known as Mary Baldwin University. During her time at the seminary, she was influenced by the progressive ideas of its principal, Mary Julia Baldwin, who advocated for higher education opportunities for women. She may have become the postmistress of Markham in Fauquier County in 1897, succeeded by her sister Sallie.

In 1888, she married William Wayt. King (1864–1939), a fellow resident of Staunton, who served as the business manager for the seminary for most of his career, as well as treasurer of Augusta County for seven years. They had one son, Edmund, who predeceased them. In 1900, she and her husband and son, as well as her sister Maggie, husband and son, lived in and helped their father operate a boardinghouse in Staunton.

Career Throughout her life, King actively participated in various community improvement projects and organizations. During the early 1900s, she served as the president of the woman's auxiliary of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). She also lent her support to the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association's public health work and served as the president of the local branch of the Co-Operative Education Association, which worked to enhance public education, at times transcending racial and social class boundaries.

In 1911, she was a co-founder of the Staunton Civic Club. Additionally, she held a vice president position in the Virginia Library Association in 1913. King was actively involved in women's clubs in Staunton and served as the president of the Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs from 1910 to 1912. However, her strong advocacy for women's suffrage caused a rift with the state federation when they declined to endorse suffrage during the state convention in 1912, leading to her resignation from the organization.

Women's suffrage In early 1913, King assumed the presidency of the recently established Staunton chapter of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia.

In 2020, King was named to the Virginia Women in History by the Library of Virginia.