For over a century, the women of Ogdensburg have looked at the societal expectations of their era—domestic, social, and professional—and simply refused to stay within them. From the front lines of the suffrage movement to the cutting edge of modern biochemistry, these remarkable women didn't just witness history; they built it. In honor of Women’s History Month, we celebrate five local legends who transformed our community and the world.
Suffragist Marion Sanger Frank (1876-1960), a native of New York City, moved to Ogdensburg after her marriage to future mayor Julius Frank, owner of Frank’s Department Store. Gaining the right to vote wasn’t foremost on Marion’s mind when she first married. But after the death of her first child she was encouraged to step outside of the traditional domestic sphere. With her husband’s full support she founded and served as president of the Ogdensburg Political Equality Club in 1915, which promoted women’s right to vote in Northern New York. Through this group and her work as an editor of a newspaper column called “News & Views of Equal Suffrage,” she sought to convince St. Lawrence County about the need for woman suffrage.
Frank traveled to other St. Lawrence County towns as well as the state, where she spoke and helped organize other Political Equality Clubs. Her influence extended beyond St. Lawrence County. In 1917, she was selected as a delegate to the state suffrage convention in New York City, spoke weekly over New York City radio and was a consummate fundraiser.
Women gained the right to vote in New York in 1917, but across the nation women could not vote until passage of the 19th amendment in 1920. Even after this success Marion Frank never stopped working to help those less fortunate.
Dr. Lawreen Marie Heller Connors (1954-2024), born in Ogdensburg, was an internationally recognized biochemist and medical researcher, who focused her long career at Boston University to advancing the understanding of amyloidosis. This serious disease occurs when abnormal proteins form sticky clumps that cause organs to become stiff and lose their ability to function properly.
Dr. Connors held numerous positions such as the Charles Brown Professor for Amyloidosis Research, director of the Alan and Sandra Gerry Amyloid Research Laboratory, and Secretary of the International Society of Amyloidosis. She received numerous awards during her 30 year career, including continuous support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Connors wrote more than 100 peer reviewed scholarly articles, many of which focused on a protein that causes heart failure in the elderly. Her clinical assays for amyloid proteins became worldwide standards for patient care and have saved countless lives.
Even as she achieved academic success, Connors remained a mentor with an open-door policy, ensuring the next generation of young scientists would follow her lead.
Elsa Luksich (1911-1983) was a powerhouse of community service in Ogdensburg and a pioneer in youth advocacy. She was born in Yugoslavia (now Croatia), arriving as an immigrant in 1923. Raised by her Uncle Leo, she graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in 1930, then after World War II began she returned to Europe as a Lieutenant in the Red Cross Motor Corps. As a “Motor Girl” she was trained in auto mechanics, advanced first aid and map reading. Motor Girls had to be able to fix engines during a blackout and transport wounded soldiers. Her experience as an officer likely contributed to her post war work helping the community.
Luksich was a prominent figure in the Girl Scouts of the USA, traveling to several countries to represent them. She not only led local scouts, but was also a global ambassador. A firm believer in global citizenship, she facilitated exchange programs where girls from the North Country could connect with girls from around the world. Luksich was a major supporter of the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund, which allowed scouts to see the world no matter what their financial background was. She was director of the girl scout camp in Ogdensburg and chairperson of the Red Cross Water Safety Program. She was an avid swimmer, who swam across the St. Lawrence River in just one hour! It’s no wonder that the city named the municipal pool in honor of her.
In 1947 Luksich created a program to provide daycare for children, so that their mothers could vote. A pioneer in youth advocacy, Luksich created the New York State Neighborhood Youth Center Directors’ Association and was elected president in 1970. Similar to other War on Poverty programs this group coordinated services and advocated for state funding to provide safe spaces, recreation and educational support for young people.
Dr. Mary Bryan (1854-1931) became a physician at a time when women were still struggling to get the right to vote and certainly were not encouraged to attend college, let alone take up a profession. She was born in 1854 in Lisbon, but grew up on Greene St. She attended public schools, then taught in city schools for 9 years.
In 1883 she resigned her teaching position to enter the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia, receiving her medical degree in 1887. After two years in practice, she went to India as a missionary and for the next 6 years, she was in charge of a women’s hospital at Bareilly, India. Reportedly she treated 16,500 people annually. While there she saved the life of the Queen’s 4-year-old son. The Queen offered her the position of private physician in her household, but due to ill health, Dr. Bryan did not accept the offer. Returning to the United States in 1897 Bryan was the physician in charge of infants at the United Helpers Home. Throughout her life, she worked closely with the Society of United Helpers as a medical director. Although she was a skillful surgeon, she practiced general medicine most likely because at the time female surgeons were not accepted as easily as those practicing general medicine. After suffering a stroke, she passed away in August of 1931 leaving behind a legacy of healing and trailblazing a path for women in the medical profession.
Best known for her sculpture of Simon Bolivar, Sarah better known as Sally James Farnham (1869-1943) was born to a prominent Ogdensburg family and travelled extensively as a child. Raised to be self-reliant, she enjoyed riding horses and reportedly scandalized her neighbors in Ogdensburg by breaking horses on Main St. At age 28 she married George Paulding Farnham, who was a designer for Tiffany. After the death of her father and a prolonged illness, her husband gave her modeling clay to help her to keep busy and improve her depression. She found that she loved sculpting and with the help of her husband and artist Frederic Remington, began to pursue sculpting professionally.
Her first attempts were “ugly as sin,” noted Frederic Remington, but “full of ginger”. Soon Farnham’s society friends commissioned her to create sculptures of them and their children. As her notoriety grew, so did her designs. In 1903 she created a fountain for Col. Isaac Emerson’s gardens in Baltimore and the following year she submitted two designs for a Civil War memorial to honor soldiers from Ogdensburg. Her Spirit of Liberty, which many Ogdensburg residents call The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, was critically acclaimed. It led to two more commissions to design monuments in Rochester, NY. In 1907 Farnham was chosen to design large panels that would adorn the Pan-American building. After that she received commissions from the countries of Peru and Bolivia.
Farnham did not ignore the domestic side of her life, however. When the committee for the Rochester monument requested a meeting with her, she replied that she had a piece of work that would take six weeks to complete. At the end of that time the committee again contacted her to ask if her prior job was finished, she replied: "The new job is satisfactorily accomplished, and weighs ten pounds. I am nursing him at present and have my oldest boy to install in school and am moving into town for the winter, and I also have a few guests to entertain, but I think I can tackle your monument next week."
In 1914 Farnham and her husband divorced. At this time in history it was unusual for women to ask for a divorce and even more unusual for them to work full-time as artists, but Farnham did just that. Her success as an artist continued to grow.
In 1916 Sally won an international competition to design a monument of Simon Bolivar, a gift to this nation from Venezuela. It took five years, but was the largest bronze ever created by a female artist at that time. Farnham would continue to sculpt until she was involved in a car accident in 1941. In Ogdensburg, Sally James Farnham’s Spirit of Liberty still stands in Library Park.
From the pedestal of the Spirit of Liberty Monument to the Elsa Luksich Municipal Pool, the influence of these trailblazers is woven into the fabric of our city. Though they lived in different eras, they shared a common belief: that a woman’s potential should never be defined by the expectations of her time, but by the depth of her courage. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we honor the fact that these women didn't just wait for the world to change—they reached out and changed it themselves.
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