Mary Hutcheson Page facts for kids
Mary Hutcheson Page was an American leader who fought for women's right to vote. She was from Brookline, Massachusetts. Mary was a key member and leader in groups that worked for women's voting rights across the country. She also wrote articles about this important topic. She worked alongside other famous American suffragists like Carrie Chapman Catt and Susan B. Anthony.
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Early Life of Mary Page
Mary Hutcheson Page was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1860. Her parents were Lucretia Deshler Hutcheson and Joseph Hutcheson. Her father was a banker. When Mary was nine, she moved to Europe with her parents. They lived there until she was fourteen, when her father passed away. A few years later, her mother also died. After that, Mary moved to Boston.
Mary's Adult Life
When Mary moved to Boston, she became one of the first women to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was a special student there. She focused on learning about biology and chemistry.
In 1890, when she was 30, Mary married George Hyde Page. George was also a supporter of women's voting rights. He wrote plays, poems, and prayers about the topic. His plays, "A Choice of Evils" and "On Equal Terms," were popular. People in Brookline, Massachusetts, enjoyed them. Mary and George lived in Brookline until 1918. They also had a summer home in Chocorua, New Hampshire. They had four children together.
Fighting for Women's Right to Vote
Mary Page was very active in many groups that worked for women's voting rights. She was a leader at both state and national levels. This work lasted from the 1890s until she retired in 1918.
Starting New Groups
Mary started the Discussion Club of Brookline. This club later became the Brookline Equal Suffrage Association (BESA). She served as Chairman, President, and a member of the BESA. In the late 1890s, Mary also created the Committee for Work. This group raised money for the voting rights campaign in Colorado. This effort later led to the creation of the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government in 1901.
Working with National Leaders
In 1893, Mary Page joined the Literature Committee of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She worked under Carrie Chapman Catt. However, she left this role because she planned a long trip to Europe. At a big meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1893, Mary led a discussion. It was about what voting rights groups should do and how to do it. In 1899, Susan B. Anthony wrote to Mary. She thanked Mary for her work with Carrie Chapman Catt on campaigns in Oklahoma and Arizona. Anthony also asked for Mary's ideas about getting equal voting rights in Hawaii.
Leading Campaigns and Raising Money
Mary was also a leader for the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. She was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage. She even became President of the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1910. Mary helped organize the Massachusetts group for the 1904 National Woman Suffrage Association meeting. She also organized the 1912 voting rights campaign in Ohio.
As chairman of the Industrial Committee of the Massachusetts Equal Suffrage Association, Mary got labor unions in Massachusetts to support women's voting rights. Her interest in voting rights was not just for women in the United States. Mary traveled to Europe many times. She also wrote to English suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst. Mary even hosted Emmeline Pankhurst when she visited Massachusetts in 1909.
Mary Page was known for her great skills in raising money. She was also good at talking to individual women. She convinced many to join the movement for voting rights. While she wasn't a big public speaker, she used her connections to raise money and get help. She also wrote for newspapers and other publications about voting rights. Some of her writings include The Subjegation of Sex and The Position of Women. In 1909, she wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Herald. In it, she highlighted the important work being done by English suffragists.
New Ways to Get Support
Later in her career, Mary worked with the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association (MSWA) and the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government (BESAGG). They opened a storefront in Boston. This showed her shift from formal events to more public actions. She led the Votes for Women Committee. This was a joint project between MSWA and BESAGG. She also organized a tour where suffragists traveled to American towns. They gave speeches to residents to gain support for women's voting rights.
Retirement and Legacy
In 1918, Mary Page stopped her work for women's voting rights. She moved with her family to California. Her husband George passed away in 1923. After that, Mary returned to Massachusetts. She lived there until she died in 1940. Her daughters continued to be active in the women's voting rights movement. Mary Page's important papers are now kept at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.
