[7] In about 1878,[1] when Trotter was in her early 30s,[3] she travelled to the United States to help her cousin's widower, Edward Claypole, raise his young twin daughters, Agnes Mary and Edith Jane.

In 1883, Edward Claypole was appointed chair of Natural Sciences at Buchtel College, and the family moved to Akron, Ohio.

[4] She was part of a vibrant group of Akron women, including other members and wives of university faculty, who were active in civic organisations and suffragism.

[1] While holding the position, she helped to pass a law allowing women to vote for, and serve as members, of school boards.

[1] With OSSA President Caroline McCulloch Everhard, she co-authored a pamphlet entitled Information for the Use of the Newly Made Voters in Ohio.

After her death, members of the Akron Women's Council established the Katherine Claypole Students' Loan Fund,[3] described as: a loan fund for the use of students who, in mid-term, as often happens, find themselves without sufficient means to complete the year's work... To supply this need in Buchtel College, a number of women's organizations of Akron have created, and, through a committee, are managing a loan fund very appropriately dedicated as a memorial to one of their much loved members, Mrs. Katherine Claypole, the founder here of organized women's work, always deeply interested in young people, and for many years closely connected with Buchtel College.