Martha "Mary" A. Harris Mason McCurdy (August 10, 1852 – June 25, 1934) was an African-American temperance advocate and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

. She had a career in journalism that included editing the newspaper "Women's World".

Biography

McCurdy née Harris was born on August 10, 1852, in

Carthage, Indiana Carthage is a town in Ripley Township, Rush County, Indiana, United States, located along the Big Blue River. The population was 927 at the 2010 census. History Carthage was platted in 1834. The town was named after Carthage, North Carolina. ...

. In 1875 she married J.A. Mason with whom she had four children. The couple settled in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

, and, after eight years of marriage, J.A. Mason died. In 1886 McCurdy moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia in the

American south The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

. In 1890 she married Calvin McCurdy, a Presbyterian minister, and the couple moved to

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statist ...

. The Reverend McCurdy died in 1905, and by 1910 Mary returned to her family in Indiana. She died in June 1934, in Indiana.

Career

McCurdy held a variety of positions in Rome, Georgia including Corresponding Secretary for the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

(WCTU) of Georgia, the Superintendent of the Juvenile Work of the Knox Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, and she was active in the "Rome Branch of the Needle Work Guild of America," which provided clothing for the indigent. McCurdy was the editor of the newspaper "Woman's World." The paper's intended audience was the African-American community and it contained "intellectual, moral and spiritual" material. The paper allowed McCurdy to advance her causes of suffrage and temperance. McCurdy worked with her contemporaries Janie Porter Barrett, and Adella Hunt Logan to advance the cause of suffrage and in particular involve African-American women in the movement. When McCurdy returned to Indiana she continued her activism in temperance, suffrage, and politics. In 1913 she attended the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union convention, representing Indiana. McCurdy also represented Indiana in the Women's Division of the National Republican Committee.

Selected works

McCurdy's essay on the "Duty of the State to the Negro" appeared in James T. Haley's 1995 anthology ''Afro-American Encyclopaedia''. Her essay on "Intemperance" appeared in Haley's 1897 anthology ''Sparkling Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Reading: A Compendium of Valuable Information and Wise Suggestions that Will Inspire Noble Effort at the Hands of Every Race-loving Man, Woman, and Child''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCurdy, Mary A. 1852 births 1934 deaths African-American women journalists African-American journalists Suffragists from Indiana African-American suffragists African-American feminists American feminists 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Suffragists from Georgia (U.S. state)