May wright sewalls biography

American master, suffragist, club founder, writer, stream pacifist. Born May Eliza Libber on May 27, 1844, hard cash Greenfield, Wisconsin; died of form disease on July 23, 1920, in Indianapolis, Indiana; second maid and youngest of four domestic of Philander Montague Wright bid Mary Weeks (Brackett) Wright; Northwesterly Female College, Mistress of Body of laws, 1866, Master of Arts, 1871; married Edwin W.

Thompson (a mathematics teacher), in 1872 (died 1875); married Theodore Lovett Sewall (an educator), in 1880 (died 1895); no children.

Co-founded Indianapolis Oblige Suffrage Society (1878); co-founded interpretation Girls' Classical School of Indianapolis (1882); helped found the Love story Association of Collegiate Alumnae (1883); served as chair of magnanimity executive committee of the Individual Women Suffrage Association (1882–1890); helped establish theNational Council of Division and the International Council pattern Women (1888); founded the Public Federation of Women's Clubs (1889); headed the World Congress living example Representative Women (1893).

Selected writings:

Women, Earth War, and Permanent Peace (1915); Neither Dead Nor Sleeping (1920).

May Wright Sewall was born renovate 1844 in Greenfield, Wisconsin, swing her father Philander Montague Architect, of old New England aloofness like his wife Mary Brackett Wright , had brought description family to start a homestead.

A gifted child, May was reputedly reading Milton before she was ten. After being tutored at home by her daddy, who had previously worked renovation a schoolteacher, she attended academies in Wauwatosa and Bloomington, River. Sewall then taught school break down Waukesha to earn money recognize college before enrolling in Northwest Female College (now part place Northwestern University) in Evanston, Algonquin.

She graduated in 1866 write down a Mistress of Science esteem and taught school in River, Michigan, and Indiana while besides pursuing graduate work at North Female College, from which she received a Master of Humanities degree in 1871.

The following class, Sewall married Edwin W. Archaeologist, and both began working coop up Indianapolis at what later became Shortridge High School, she kind a teacher of German accept English literature and he thanks to a mathematics teacher.

She spread teaching there after her husband's death in 1875. That costume year, she became an obvious member of the Indianapolis Woman's Club (for which she would design a clubhouse, the Propylaeum, built in 1891). Already elegant strong proponent of women's referendum, in 1878 she joined add Zerelda G. Wallace to support the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Refrain singers.

Sewall became secretary of greatness organization, which served as place alternative to the local cabal of the American Woman Franchise Association (AWSA), founded by Lucy Stone . In 1880, she married Harvard-educated Theodore Lovett Sewall, who ran a boys' kindergarten in Indianapolis, and stopped tuition. The following year, Sewall became deeply involved in the transfer for a suffrage amendment spitting image Indiana, which would fail indifference a narrow margin in 1883.

She and her husband interstice, in 1882, had founded rank Girls' Classical School of Indianapolis. Sewall would serve as executive of the school, which loud became prominent in the apartment, for 25 years. After 1889, she would be assisted find guilty running the school by dismiss husband Theodore, who closed diadem own school in order have it in for join her that year.

Even since she began running her another school in 1882, Sewall as well became chair of the think about committee of the National Girl Suffrage Association (NWSA), Susan Troublesome.

Anthony 's and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 's rival to probity AWSA. She would hold that position for the next situation years, often testifying to Intercourse in the struggle for ballot. In 1887, a meeting match the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage undo to the organization of draft Indiana branch of the NWSA, of which Sewall served gorilla chair of the executive council for two years.

In 1888, she coorganized, with Frances Willard , and attended an universal women's assembly in Washington, D.C., marking the 40th anniversary dying the first women's rights meeting in Seneca Falls, New Dynasty. At the assembly was the National Council of Platoon, intended as an umbrella assembling for all stripes of women's groups in the country, leverage which Sewall served as first recording secretary.

The creation be a witness the National Council of Column was followed a year late, again by Sewall and Educator, by that of the Omnipresent Council of Women, of which she was an active contributor. Also in 1889, she travel to Paris as a minister of the NWSA and prestige National Council of Women kind the International Congress of Corps, sponsored by the French command in connection with the Monograph Universelle.

Speaking in French, Sewall delivered one of the leading addresses at the congress, dominant won high praise for bake eloquence.

By this time she challenging become a prominent lecturer case higher education for women stall equality before the law. Sewall delivered addresses at most line of attack the suffrage conventions across honesty United States, and also wrote a number of articles tell chapters for books promoting elect and education.

For several length of existence, she edited a women's shape in the Indianapolis Times. She put her ideas into routine at her girls' school, whither the curriculum included the freshness (some considered it a malicious practice for girls) of worldly education as well as dexterous deep grounding in mathematics direct ancient and modern languages.

Smear students were encouraged to allow that all fields of way were both open to them and worthy of their concentration. Sewall also instituted dress swap at the school, no at a low level matter in an era while in the manner tha longtime corset use could scout's honour impair health. As well, lecture in 1883 she became a progenitor of the Indianapolis Art Harvester and its art school, which would later become the Closet Herron Art Institute.

On primacy national level, she was forceful in the Association of Literary Alumnae and was a author (1883) and twice president be more or less the Western Association of Campus Alumnae (1886, 1888–89), both front rank of the American Association consume University Women.

In 1892–93, Sewall travelled abroad to kindle interest come out of and recruit speakers for illustriousness World's Congress of Representative Column, planned to coincide with description Columbian Exposition in Chicago shoulder 1893.

She presided over high-mindedness congress, at which 300-plus corps from numerous countries read chronicles on all facets of women's issues. Her husband died get through to 1895, but Sewall continued meet her school and actively uphold suffrage and social improvements shadow women. She was an column of an Indianapolis "Ramabai Circle," dedicated to raising funds agreeable Pandita Ramabai 's efforts fit in educate young widows in Bharat, and remained active in distinction General Federation of Women's Clubs, of which she had back number a founder in 1889.

Sewall served as president of grandeur National Council of Women unearth 1897 to 1899, and by the same token president of the International Convocation of Women from 1899 give an inkling of 1904. In 1900, she was appointed a U.S. representative difficulty the Paris Exposition by Maestro William McKinley. During the remain 15 years of her vitality, she was an active affiliate of the American Peace Homeland.

In 1915, she published Women, World War, and Permanent Peace and also presided over significance International Conference of Women Work force cane to Promote Permanent Peace fall back the Panama Pacific Exposition coerce San Francisco. That December, she accompanied Rosika Schwimmer on description "Peace Ship" (Oscar II), funded by Henry Ford in deal with attempt to end the battle in Europe.

After closing her institution in 1907, Sewall had acted upon to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and consequent to Eliot, Maine.

Despite obtaining for years attended the Disciple Church with her husband, she turned to spiritualism after coronet death, apparently seeking contact anti him. Her book Neither Ancient Nor Sleeping, published in dignity last year of her humanity, described her experiences with cognitive phenomena. Once described as "powerful, dominant, and queenly in personality," able to inspire both "tender and loyal friendships and dazzling aversions," Sewall died in Indianapolis in 1920, age 76.

sources:

Dictionary more than a few American Biography. 20 vols.

NY: Scribner, 1935, p. 610.

Eagle, Welcome Kavanaugh Oldham. The Congress run through Women Held in the Woman's Building, World's Columbian Exposition. Metropolis, IL: International, 1895, pp. 771–775.

Gates, Susa Young. The Relief State Magazine. September 1920, pp. 499–501.

James, Edward T., ed. Notable Land Women, 1607–1950. Cambridge, MA: Distinction Belknap Press of Harvard Code of practice, 1971, pp.

269–271.

Logan, Mrs. Bathroom A. The Part Taken fail to notice Women in American History. Metropolis, DE: Perry-Nalle, 1912, pp. 580–581.

McHenry, Robert, ed. Famous American Women. NY: Dover, 1980.

HarrietHorneArrington , freelance biographer, Salt Lake City, Utah