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[[File:Matilda Joslyn Gage.jpeg|right|180px|thumb|Matilda Joslyn Gage]]
'''Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage''' ([[March 24]], 1826 – [[March 18]], 1898) was an American [[Theosophist]] known for her activism in the areas of women's suffrage, Native American rights, and abolition of slavery. She was raised as a [[Freethought|freethinker]], and became a prolific author.

== Biographical data ==

Matilda was born on March 24, 1826 in Cicero, NY (near Syracuse) to Hezekiah and Helen Joslyn. Her father was a noted abolitionist who educated his daughter to be a “freethinker”. Their home in Fayetteville, NY was a station on the '''Underground Railroad''' that secretly conducted escaped slaves to safety in Canada. This work was dangerous and illegal under the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, but the family continued its efforts for years. 

Mrs. Gage was an active figure in the woman’s rights movement and other social causes throughout her life. She was coauthor, with [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]] and Susan B. Anthony, of the three-volume '''''History of Woman Suffrage''''', and was one of the prominent early members of the National Woman Suffrage Association<ref>Wagner, Declaration 2, 20.</ref>

== Involvement with Theosophy ==

Matilda Gage joined the Society when she was living in Fayetteville, New York. Her application and admission to the Rochester Theosophical Society are dated [[March 26]], 1885. She was recommended by [[Josephine Cables|Josephine W. Cables]] and E. M. Sasseville.<ref>See [http://www.theosophical.org/publications/1583# A Notable Theosophist: L. Frank Baum] by John Algeo.</ref> [[John Algeo|Dr. John Algeo]] wrote:

<blockquote>She was one of the three leaders in the nineteenth-century struggle for women’s rights and especially an effort to gain the voting franchise. She was a passionately devoted Theosophist, in character not unlike [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]], especially in her scorn for organized religion, although her political activism was all her own. Having rejected conventional faith and the churches that espouse it, Matilda discovered a kindred soul in H. P. Blavatsky and proceeded to share the discovery with her children and grandchildren.<ref>See [http://www.theosophyforward.com/index.php/theosophy-and-the-society-in-the-public-eye/129-theosophical-wizard-of-oz.html# "Theosophical Wizard of Oz" by John Algeo] at Theosophy Forward</ref></blockquote>

Gage said her association to [[Theosophy]] had been the "crown blessing" of her life and introduced her daughter Maud and his husband [[L. Frank Baum]] (the author of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'') to the [[Theosophical Society]].

== Legacy ==

The '''Matilda Joslyn Gage Home''' has been preserved in Fayetteville, New York for its historic use in the Underground Railroad. There, a research library and educational programs are maintained by the [http://www.matildajoslyngage.org/ Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation].

The term '''"the Matilda Effect"''' was proposed by Margaret W. Rossiter, an historian of science, to indicate situations when woman scientists receive inadequate credit for their scientific work and discoveries.<ref>See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_effect Matilda effect] in Wikipedia.</ref>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
* [http://www.matildajoslyngage.org/ Website of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation].
*[http://www.fnsa.org/fall98/gage.html# "Our Struggle is for All Life": The Theosophist/Unitarian Feminist Pioneer Matilda Joslyn Gage] Commentary by Mary Krane Derr
*[http://www.triviavoices.com/reclaiming-the-spooky-matilda-joslyn-gage-and-mary-daly-as-radical-pioneers-of-the-esoteric.html# Reclaiming the Spooky: Matilda Joslyn Gage and Mary Daly as Radical Pioneers of the Esoteric] by Marguerite Rigoglioso*[http://www.historynet.com/matilda-josyln-gage-the-unlikely-inspiration-for-the-wizard-of-oz.htm# Matilda Josyln Gage - the Unlikely Inspiration for the Wizard of Oz] by Evan I. Schwartz
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/1580# Dorothy Gage and Dorothy Gale] by Sally Roesch Wagner
*[http://extremehistory.wordpress.com/tag/theosophy# On the 100th Anniversary of the Woman’s Suffrage March on Washington, Disney’s “Oz, the Great and Powerful” Sets the Women’s Movement back beyond a century] The Extreme History Project blog

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category: Nationality American|Gage, Matilda Joslyn]]
[[Category:Writers|Gage, Matilda Joslyn]]
[[Category:Feminists|Gage, Matilda Joslyn]]