Draft:Mary Wilmarth
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Mary Jane Hawes Wilmarth was an American social reformer, women’s rights advocate, and civic leader based in Chicago, Illinois. Known for her deep friendship with Jane Addams and involvement in progressive causes, she was a key figure in Chicago’s early 20th-century reform movements.[1]
Early Life and Education
[edit]Born in 1837, Mary Hawes graduated from Kimball Union Academy in 1856. She later settled in Chicago, where she lived in the same Michigan Avenue home for over 50 years—a house that notably survived the Great Chicago Fire.[2]
Civic Leadership and Advocacy
[edit]Wilmarth was active in numerous civic organizations, including the Chicago Women’s Club and was the founding president of the Woman’s City Club of Chicago, an organization aimed at encouraging women's civic engagement and public responsibility.
Relationship with Jane Addams
[edit]Mary Wilmarth shared a close, intellectually rich friendship with Jane Addams. Addams dedicated her book The Long Road of Woman’s Memory to Wilmarth, describing her as a person of literary depth and strong public spirit. Wilmarth was also a financial supporter and advocate of Hull House, the pioneering settlement founded by Addams and Ellen Gates Starr.[3]
Legacy and Death
[edit]Mary Wilmarth passed away in 1919 at her summer residence in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Jane Addams presided over her funeral, reflecting the profound impact Wilmarth had on her life and the broader reform community.[4]
Wilmarth's legacy continued through her daughter, Anna Wilmarth Ickes, who became a suffragist and later married Harold Ickes, a future U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
- ^ Addams, Jane. Funeral services for Mary Hawes Wilmarth at Hubbard Woods, Illinois, August 30, 1919. S.l: s.n. OL 44708024M.
- ^ Union, Kimball (2011-11-16). "Mary Jane Hawes Wilmarth, KUA Class of 1856, a Suffragette and Social Reformer". Kimball Union Academy. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ elisa_rolle (2015-09-06). "Jane Addams, Ellen Gates Starr & Mary Rozet Smith". Elisa - My reviews and Ramblings. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ Addams, Jane. Funeral services for Mary Hawes Wilmarth at Hubbard Woods, Illinois, August 30, 1919. S.l: s.n. OL 44708024M.