Change the Constitution, Give Women the Right to Vote! The Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, as the Grange organization is officially called, was the first fraternal organization in which women had full and equal membership with voting rights. Their voices were heard in the Grange long before they could vote in US elections. This was due to the influence of Caroline Hall, niece and long time assistant to Grange founder Oliver Hudson Kelley at the time the Grange was being formed, which was in the latter half of the 1860’s. Miss Hall believed that since women were an integral part of farm life a farmer’s organization “would never be permanent if you left women out”. When it came to women’s suffrage the relatively conservative National Grange supported a woman’s right to vote but did not support a Constitutional amendment. The National Grange came down on the side of state’s rights. It was the Conference of Progressive State Granges that spearheaded work on behalf of national women’s suffrage. This group met annually in conjunction with the National Grange and was comprised of six state Granges, Washington State Grange was among this radical faction under the leadership of Carey B Kegley. It was the progressive Granges that pushed for women’s suffrage. The venerable Oliver Hudson Kelley, Grange founder often met with them.