Birthplace of feminist purchased

ADAMS -- The birthplace of suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony was sold for $164,500 at auction yesterday, town officials said.

The two-story, 1,566-square-foot home was purchased by Carol Crossed of Rochester, N.Y., according to the Adams Historical Commission.

Crossed is an official with Democrats for Life of America, an antiabortion organization. She said a member of Feminists for Life of America, an antiabortion and feminist group she belongs to, will live in the house, which she hopes to eventually open to the public.

Serrin M. Foster, president of Feminists for Life, said the group has not decided exactly how it will manage the site, but it is putting a committee together to draw up a plan. However it is organized, Foster said, ``it will bring greater attention to the work of the early American feminists."

The 2005 assessed value of the house was $105,000 with the half-acre of land worth about $46,000, according to the auctioneers.

The house, built in the early 19th century, was sold by Linda and James McConchie of Lincoln. They purchased it for about $100,000 in 1998 with the intention of turning it into a museum, but weren't able to make it work.

Anthony was born in the house in 1820. She moved with her family to New York.