The American suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone (1818–1893) made a national issue of a married woman's right to keep her own surname (as she herself did upon marriage) as part of her efforts for women's rights in the U.S. Women who choose to keep their prior names have been called "Lucy Stoners". In 1879, when Boston women were granted the franchise in school elections, Stone registered to vote. But officials would not allow her to vote unless she added "Blackwell", her husband's last name, to her signature. This she refused to do, and so she was not able to vote. She did not challenge the action in a court of law.