Tanner and members of hers and the Bright family, were important in the creation of some of the first women's suffrage societies, founded in London, Bristol, and Bath. which was formed in 1870 by
Josephine Butler to protest against legislation which undermined the civil rights of those who had been designated prostitutes by the authorities in particular naval and military towns. In 1866 Tanner and her sisters signed the petition raised in support of women getting the vote. In 1869 her husband died and in the following year her sisters Anna Maria and Mary moved south to live with her. ==Death and legacy==