Mary Elliott Flanery (April 27, 1867 – July 19, 1933) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) was a period in the United States characterized by multiple social and political reform efforts. Reformers during this era, known as progressivism in the United States, Progressives, sought to address iss ...

social reformer Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

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 ...

, politician, and journalist who is best remembered as the first woman elected to the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

and first woman elected to a state legislature south of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

. Flanery was an advocate for equal rights for women, and actively worked to pass legislation that would give women the right to vote.

Family and early life

Mary Elliott, daughter of Benjamin Franklin Elliott and Nancy (Kegley) Elliott, was born April 27, 1867, in a part of

Carter County, Kentucky Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,627. Its county seat is Grayson. Carter County is in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to ...

, that would later become

Elliott County, Kentucky Elliott County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Sandy Hook, Kentucky, Sandy Hook. The county was formed in 1869 from parts of Morgan County, Kentucky, Morgan, Lawrence County, Kentuck ...

. After completing her schooling at

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. It also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Semin ...

in West Virginia and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, she was a public school teacher.

Family

Mary married William "Harvey" Flanery on June 28, 1893, and moved with him to

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. The Flanery family moved to

Pikeville, Kentucky Pikeville () is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pike County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 7,754 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Pikeville serves as a regional eco ...

, in 1896 for Harvey to work for Northern Coal and Coke as an attorney. Harvey and Mary had five children together; Sue, Merle, Dawn, Dew, and John.

Journalism and literary interests

While residing in Pikeville, Mary Flanery began a career as a writer. From 1904 until 1926, she worked as a journalist for the Ashland Daily Independent. She wrote a column called "Impressions of Kentucky's Legislature," and she advocated for legislation as a means for social reform. Flanery personally supported the publication of books by female African-American poet Effie Waller Smith, who lived and worked in Pike County, Kentucky.

Women's rights advocate

Flanery was a member of the Kentucky Equal Right Association, and actively worked for women to have the right to vote. She worked for to improve the lives of women through reform of suffrage, marriage, and divorce laws.

Kentucky Legislator

After women gained suffrage in Kentucky, in 1921, Flanery ran as the Democratic party candidate for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representative from the 89th District representing

Boyd County, Kentucky Boyd County is a County (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 48,261. The county seat is Catlettsburg, Kentucky, Cat ...

, and won by a 250-vote margin. When Flanery took her seat in the lower house of the General Assembly in January 1922, she was the first female state legislator elected in Kentucky and the first female legislator elected south of the

. As an legislator, Flanery continued her advocacy for women's rights. She urged her colleagues to change legislation about marriage and divorce, and to implement the federal Shepard-Towner Maternity Act, a progressive era program that provided medical care to pregnant women and their children. Flanery's time in the General Assembly ended with an unsuccessful campaign for Secretary of State in 1923. She was defeated by another female trailblazer, Emma Guy Cromwell, who was the first female to hold a statewide office. Flanery stayed active in politics and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1924.

Later life, death, and legacy

Flanery was active member of in the

General Federation of Women's Clubs The General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), founded in 1890 during the Progressive Movement, is a federation of approximately 2,300 women's clubs in the United States which promote civic improvements through volunteer service. Community Serv ...

of Kentucky. She was a member of the

Daughters of the Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-pr ...

and in 1926, she founded the John Milton Elliott chapter of the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

Death

Flanery died at her residence, Elliot Hall, in Cattlettsburg on July 19, 1933, and was buried at Ashland Cemetery in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West ...

Legacy

After Flanery became the first woman elected to the Kentucky State legislature, she was honored by the Kentucky Historical Society as Kentucky's Most Prominent Female. Mary Elliott Flanery is remembered today as a trailblazer for her work as a social reformer and her advocacy for women's rights through her work as a journalist and politician. In 1963, the Kentucky General Assembly honored Flanery by placing a bronze plaque at her desk in the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

. In 2005, Kentucky Commission on Women recognized her by adding her portrait to the "Kentucky Women Remembered" exhibit at the Kentucky State Capitol building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanery, Mary Elliott Suffragists from Kentucky Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Boyd County, Kentucky 1867 births 1933 deaths Women state legislators in Kentucky University of Charleston alumni University of Kentucky alumni People from Elliott County, Kentucky American social reformers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American women columnists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly