Mary Barr Clay (October 13, 1839 – October 12, 1924) was a leader of the American

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement. She also was known as Mary B. Clay and Mrs. J. Frank Herrick.

Family background

The elder daughter of

Cassius Marcellus Clay Major general (United States), Major General Cassius Marcellus Clay (October 9, 1810 – July 22, 1903) was an American planter, politician, military officer and abolitionist who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to Russia, ...

and his wife Mary Jane Warfield, Mary Barr Clay was born on October 13, 1839, in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. Clay married John Francis "Frank" Herrick, of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, on October 3, 1866. The couple had three sons: Cassius Clay Herrick (July 17, 1867 – March 1935); Francis Warfield (February 9, 1869 – May 16, 1919); and Green (August 11, 1871 – 10 Jan 1962). The couple divorced in 1872. After divorce she dropped the Herrick surname and took back her surname of Clay. She also changed the last names of her two youngest sons to Clay. In 1878, Clay's parents divorced after more than 40 years of marriage. Her mother

Mary Jane Warfield Clay Mary Jane Warfield Clay (January 20, 1815 – April 29, 1900) was an American socialite, suffragist, abolitionist, and political activist. An early leader in the suffrage movement in Kentucky, she began by forming a suffrage club at her home in 18 ...

was left homeless after she had managed White Hall, the family estate, for 45 years. This inequality in property rights galvanized Clay into joining the women's rights movement. She soon brought her three younger sisters with her.

Laura Clay Laura Clay (February 9, 1849June 29, 1941), co-founder and first president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, was a leader of the American women's suffrage movement. She was one of the most important suffragists in the South, fav ...

, the youngest, also became very active in the movement.

Public career

In May 1879, Mary B. Clay went to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

to attend the tenth anniversary of the

National Woman Suffrage Association The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed on May 15, 1869, to work for women's suffrage in the United States. Its main leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was created after the women's rights movement spl ...

. She soon became a Kentucky delegate for that organization, serving as a vice-president. She was already a Vice President for the

American Woman Suffrage Association The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was a single-issue national organization formed in 1869 to work for women's suffrage in the United States. The AWSA lobbied state governments to enact laws granting or expanding women's right to vot ...

. There she met Susan B. Anthony and arranged for the suffrage leader to speak in

Richmond, Kentucky Richmond is a home rule-class city in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 34,585 as of the 2020 census, making it the state's seventh-largest city. It is the principal city of the Richmond–Berea micropolitan area, wh ...

. Returning home she organized the Fayette County Equal Suffrage Association in 1879. The next year, she created the Madison County Equal Rights Association. While living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to educate her two younger sons, she organized a suffrage club there. She became president pro tem of the convention in Flint for the Michigan State Suffrage Association. She also edited a column in the Ann Arbor "Register and spoke before the senior law class of the University of Michigan on the "Constitutional Right of Women to Vote." She submitted the Kentucky report in Volume 3 of the

History of Woman Suffrage ''History of Woman Suffrage'' is a book that was produced by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Ida Husted Harper. Published in six volumes from 1881 to 1922, it is a history of the women's suffrage movement, ...

: 1876-1885. Clay became the first Kentuckian to hold the office of president in a national woman's organization when she was elected president of the

in 1883. Mary B. Clay was also the first Kentucky woman to speak publicly on women's rights. She corresponded with Susan B. Anthony,

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and Suffrage, suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer of promoting Women's rights, rights for women. In 1847, ...

Alice Stone Blackwell Alice Stone Blackwell (September 14, 1857 – March 15, 1950) was an American feminist, suffragist, journalist, radical socialist, and human rights advocate. Early life and education Blackwell was born in East Orange, New Jersey to Henry Browne ...

and other leading suffragists. She is credited with drawing her younger sister

into the women's rights movement. The younger Clay became better known in history as a women's rights advocate.

Death

Her public life largely ended in 1902, as she dealt with ill health and family obligations. Clay died on October 12, 1924, one day shy of her 85th birthday, and is interred at

Lexington Cemetery Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal w ...

References

External links

*
Lexington Cemetery
website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Mary Barr Suffragists from Kentucky 1839 births 1924 deaths Green Clay family American feminists American women's rights activists Women in Kentucky politics Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century People from Lexington, Kentucky American Woman Suffrage Association activists Burials at Lexington Cemetery

Family background

Public career

Death

See also

References

External links