Mary B Birdsall was an American suffragette, temperance worker, and journalist.
34 Facts About Mary Birdsall
1.
2.
Mary Birdsall began her journalism career as the woman's editor at the Indiana Farmer newspaper.
3.
Mary Birdsall helped organize the second women's rights convention in Indiana.
4.
Mary Birdsall was a vice-president at the fourth National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853.
5.
Mary Birdsall was among the first three women to address the Indiana legislature in 1859 to present a women's rights petition, speaking for a half-hour in support of women's suffrage.
6.
Mary Birdsall died in Philadelphia in 1894 and interred at Earlham Cemetery in Richmond.
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Mary Birdsall's father, William Thistlethwaite, a farmer, was born in Aysgarth, Wensleydale, Yorkshire.
8.
Mary Birdsall married Elizabeth Wetherald about 1814 and they lived in Boynton Parish.
9.
On October 26,1848, at age 19, Mary Birdsall married a farmer and fellow Quaker, Thomas Mary Birdsall, at the Whitewater Monthly Meeting in Richmond.
10.
About 1859, Thomas Mary Birdsall went to work for his brother-in-law, Timothy Thistlethwaite, in his flour mill for about four years.
11.
Thomas Mary Birdsall partnered with the Thistlethwaite family in constructing a three-story commercial building in downtown Richmond at the corner of Main and Front Streets.
12.
Mary and Thomas Birdsall were the parents of three sons.
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Mary Birdsall married Viola McDill in 1881 and they had three sons, likely Birdsall's only grandchildren.
14.
Mary Birdsall married Ella J Vandyke in Delaware in 1884.
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Mary Birdsall lost no time in promoting a feminist agenda.
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Mary Birdsall editorialized and published stories urging women to improve their minds and find challenging professions, which she believed would contribute to the betterment of their families, rather than detracting from their roles as wives and mothers.
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Mary Birdsall was still listed as the editor in that issue.
18.
Mary Birdsall was elected secretary, a position she held for several more years.
19.
Mary Birdsall wrote and submitted the convention minutes to several newspapers for publication.
20.
Mary Birdsall served as one of a group of vice presidents at the fourth National Women's Rights Convention that was held in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853.
21.
At the ninth convention in 1859, Mary Birdsall was elected president of the association.
22.
Mary Birdsall spoke next, addressing the session for about a half hour.
23.
Mary Birdsall's speech was described as "a clear and logical plea in behalf of the right of suffrage in woman".
24.
Mary Birdsall pointed out that any "inferior" female characteristics were actually caused by lack of opportunity for women in education and employment, not the reason for it, and the only way to ensure self-protection was through the right to vote.
25.
In 2012, a plaque honoring Mary Birdsall was placed on the Lauramoore property in a ceremony that included John Thistlethwaite, one of Mary Birdsall's relatives.
26.
Mary Birdsall continued her community service activities through a committee of women who formed the Union Relief Association.
27.
Mary Birdsall met with other temperance-minded male citizens of Richmond in August 1867 to form the Richmond Temperance Society and was elected to serve as its president.
28.
Mary Birdsall had the right to appeal, but never did so.
29.
In Philadelphia, Thomas Mary Birdsall ran an agricultural supply business, partnering with his sons, Hubert and William, though they had other business pursuits.
30.
Thomas Mary Birdsall retained property in Richmond and traveled back and forth between Philadelphia and his home town, based on reports in the Richmond newspapers.
31.
Mary Birdsall died suddenly in Philadelphia on February 1,1894; her remains were returned for burial in Richmond.
32.
Mary Birdsall's funeral was scheduled to be held in her home, but at the last minute the service was moved to her brother Timothy's home.
33.
Thomas Mary Birdsall spent his later years in a Society of Friends old-age home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
34.
Mary Birdsall died August 10,1901, and was buried beside Birdsall.