Mary Garrett Hay

Women’s rights activist and political strategist Mary Garrett Hay was born in Charlestown. She worked with the WCTU there and in Indianapolis in the late 1800s, developing leadership and speaking skills while advancing women’s suffrage. Susan B. Anthony selected her to help lead a suffrage campaign in the West, where she founded local leagues and spoke at rallies. By 1900, she had moved to New York City, where she organized for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She lived and worked with companion Carrie Chapman Catt for decades, and their nationwide speaking tours were crucial to the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment. Hay also helped establish the NYC League of Women Voters to educate newly enfranchised voters.

Charlestown, Indiana · United States