Mary Wood Swift (September 12, 1841 – April 8, 1927) was an American suffragist and clubwoman, president of the

National Council of Women of the United States The National Council of Women of the United States (NCW/US) is the oldest nonsectarian organization of women in the United States Founded in 1888, the NCW/US is an accredited non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Department of Public Info ...

from 1903 to 1909.

Early life

Mary Angeline Wood was born in New York, the daughter of William Graham Wood and Emily Morrell Wood.

Career

Swift was president of the

from 1903 to 1909. In that role, she led national meetings, and she attended

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...

meetings, including the 1904 executive meeting in Dresden, the full congress meeting in

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, along with Ida Husted Harper, and in 1909 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Swift was president of the Century Club in San Francisco. She was also active in the

Women's Relief Corps The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a 501(c)(3) organization, charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official Auxiliaries, women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization ...

the California Women's Suffrage Association, the

Colonial Dames of America The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization comprising women who descend from one or more ancestors who lived in British North America between 1607 and 1775, and who aided the colonies in public office, in military service, or ...

, the Society of the Mayflower, and the national

Daughters of the American 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-p ...

. "The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution should not be devoted to ancestor-worship and to preserving history," she told the organization in a speech in 1906, "but it should bend its energies also to making history and to creating better conditions for posterity." In the same speech, she expressed opposition to immigration into the United States, and her support for

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

and literacy programs.

Personal life

Mary Wood married American diplomat John Franklin Swift. They lived in San Francisco but were often abroad for Swift's work, until he died in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in 1891. She was left with a significant fortune in widowhood. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, she moved to

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

, California. She died in 1927, in Berkeley, aged 86 years.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Mary Wood 1841 births 1927 deaths Suffragists from California Clubwomen Daughters of the American Revolution people