Mary Fels facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary (Fels) Fels
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1915
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| Born | March 10, 1863 Sembach, Bavaria, Germany
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| Died | May 16, 1953 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Mollie Fels |
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| Spouse(s) | Joseph Fels |
| Children | 1 |
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Mary Fels (born March 10, 1863 – died May 16, 1953) was an important American woman. She was born in Germany. Mary Fels was a philanthropist, meaning she gave money and time to help others. She also supported many causes. These included Georgism (an economic idea), Zionism (support for a Jewish homeland), and women's right to vote. She was also an economist, author, and editor.
Mary Fels believed in democracy and equal rights for everyone. She strongly supported women getting the right to vote. She also worked hard to help create the country of Israel. Mary Fels helped her husband, Joseph Fels, with his work for economic fairness. After he passed away, she became even more active. She started the Joseph Fels International Commission to continue their work and help people in need.
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Early Life and Education
Mary Fels, also known as Mollie, was born in Sembach, Bavaria, Germany. This was on March 10, 1863. Her parents were Elias and Fanny Fels. Her family was not rich, and Mary was the youngest of many children.
When Mary was five, her family moved to the U.S. They settled near Keokuk, Iowa. She grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home.
When Mary was nine, a 19-year-old soap seller named Joseph Fels visited her family. He later started the famous Fels-Naptha soap company. Joseph found out that Mary's family had the same last name as his. He realized they were distant relatives. Joseph was very impressed by young Mary. He said he would become successful and then return to marry her.
Mary finished high school in Keokuk in 1879, when she was 16. She then studied at Saint Mary's College (Indiana) in 1880. She also attended University of Pennsylvania for a year. Later, she took special classes at Bedford College, London in England.
Mary Fels's Important Work
Mary married Joseph Fels in the fall of 1881. Together, they traveled the world and worked on many projects. Their only child, Irving, sadly died when he was six months old in 1884.
In 1886, many Jewish people from Russia came to the U.S. They were very poor and needed help. Mary Fels began her public work helping them. She also worked with her husband to improve life for poor people. Some people thought Mary was even better at managing money and planning than her husband. She was always there to support and advise him.
Continuing Joseph Fels's Legacy
After her husband died in February 1914, Mary Fels took over their wealth and his ideas. She continued his charity work. In May 1914, she attended a big meeting for women's voting rights in Nashville, Tennessee. Later that year, she spoke at a meeting in St. Louis. She told the audience that the "single tax movement" was like women's right to vote. She believed both were sure to happen.
Mary Fels spoke out against special advantages that helped only a few people. This included things like patents, land ownership, and tariffs. These were things that had helped her husband's business grow. Her husband had tried to free businesses from these unfair rules. Mary Fels continued this important work. She believed strongly in her husband's fight for economic fairness. She gave a lot of money to help spread the ideas of Henry George. This was an economic idea called the "single tax." She was the biggest supporter of this idea in the world.
Helping Palestine and Other Causes
In 1916, Mary Fels offered a large gift to Zionists. She proposed creating a special community in Palestine based on the "single tax" idea. This gift was worth about $1 million at the time. Today, that would be more than $25 million!
She also helped create school gardens. She was a leader in starting farm communities to help people who didn't have jobs. These communities helped people get back to working the land. Mary Fels also worked to improve prisons. She created many funds to help institutions in Palestine. For many years, she was active in rebuilding Palestine. She even visited the Holy Land to personally oversee her work there.
In 1925, she started the Joseph Fels Foundation, Inc. in New York. This foundation used her husband's money to continue their work. Mary was the president of this foundation. It aimed to help Jewish people settle in Palestine. It also worked to teach people about land and general taxes. Overall, the foundation wanted to encourage spiritual thinking, improve economic conditions, and make life better for everyone.
Writing and Editing
Mary Fels wrote two books. One was a biography about her husband, called Joseph Fels: His Life-work (published in 1916). The other was a religious book called Toward the Light (published in 1927). From 1917 to 1919, she was also the editor of a journal called The Public: A Journal of Democracy.
Personal Life
Mary Fels had homes in Philadelphia and London, England. She passed away at her home in Manhattan, New York City, on May 16, 1953.
Selected Works
- Joseph Fels: His Life-work (B. W. Huebsch, New York, 1916) (Text)
- Toward the Light (George Dobsevage, New York, 1927)
