Fannie Bayly King

Fannie Bayly King (née Stratton; 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 Bayly was born in 1864 in Staunton, Virginia, the daughter of Captain Edmund Wilson Bayly and Edmonia Bell.

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.

In 1888, she married William W. King, a fellow resident of Staunton, who served as the business manager for the seminary for most of his career. They had one son.

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. Under her guidance, the league actively distributed suffrage literature, organized public debates on suffrage, and corresponded with legislators and congressmen. Fannie invited influential suffrage speakers to Staunton and also addressed local groups, including the Working Men's Fraternal Association.

The 1917 death of her son prompted King to withdraw from public activities for three years to grieve. However, after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote, King reemerged as an active civic worker. She was appointed to the committee responsible for organizing the Virginia League of Women Voters and attended its founding meeting in November 1920. King later proposed a resolution condemning the Ku Klux Klan, which was unanimously adopted during a conference of district directors in January 1921.

Child welfare
In the 1920s, King successfully persuaded Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle to establish an advisory Children's Code Commission, and she served one of its first members. The commission's recommendations to the Virginia General Assembly led to important legislative reforms aimed at improving conditions related to children's welfare, education, and labor in the Commonwealth of Virginia. King was actively engaged in child welfare issues and played a vital role in organizing the Staunton Community Welfare League, which later expanded to encompass Augusta County. She served as the executive secretary of the league from 1915 to 1932. The league focused on coordinating local public welfare efforts, with a special emphasis on providing foster homes for children. Additionally, she was a founder and vice president of the Augusta County Council which supported health clinics, home demonstration agents, and conducted research related to child labor. The organization was the first county welfare organization in Virginia and served as an early model for the state's public welfare system which followed in 1922.

Death
King died on January 13, 1951, at her home in Staunton. She was buried alongside her husband and son in Thornrose Cemetery in the city.

Legacy
The Fannie Bayly King Library on South Market Street in Staunton was dedicated in honor of King.

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