 Mary
Asbury was one of the first women to join the Missouri Suffragette
Association. The suffrage movement began in the 1800's with
the first women's rights convention held in 1848 in Senecca
Falls, New York. At that time women had no legal rights to hold
property, to become guardians of their children, to vote, or
to enter into business. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton
and many other suffragettes paved the way for women's rights
by enduring both mental and physical assaults. By 1912 most
of the states had formed suffragette unions or associations.
The southern states, being the most conservative, were the last
to enter the suffrage movement.
Mary Asbury joined the suffrage movement in 1912, encouraged
by the support of her husband. Mary served as secretary of
the Missouri Suffrage Association and later organized three
local suffrage groups in Missouri. Her main focus was giving
street speeches. She traveled in an open car with a group
of costumed girls dressed in the suffrage colors of yellow
and white. Twirling their yellow parasols, the girls would
attract crowds of people to listen to Mary's speeches. Mary
continued in the suffrage movement until the passage of the
19th amendment in 1920. She remained active in the League
of Women Voters and became a professor of political science
at Stephens College.
Mary's
Background
Mary
was born on a farm in St. Francois County, Missouri in 1882,
the older sister of Emmett, Herbert and Fred. The family moved
to Farmington, Missouri in 1883. Mary and her brothers grew
up in a very religious environment. Their daily activities
were dominated by the strict doctrine of the Southern Methodist
Church and the watchful eyes of "Preachers, Brothers and Sisters."
Herbert Asbury wrote amusing anecdotes about his siblings
clashes with the guardians of their souls. In his book, UP
FROM METHODISM, Herbert wrote about Mary's moment of contrariness.
Mary, at the age of ten, managed to incur the wrath of her
Sunday-school teacher by doubting the Virgin Birth. She refused
to retract her opinion and caused great consternation amongst
the Brothers and the Sisters. The Preacher paid a visit to
the Asbury's home and beseeched the parents to pray for their
blasphemous child. However, her parents did not believe her
soul was in jeopardy, merely that Mary was being contrary
and didn't know what she was talking about.
Mary
was educated in the Farmington public schools and went on
to earn two degrees from the University of Missouri, majoring
in political science and history. She married Elmer McKay
and they had one son, James. Mary remained active in women's
rights until her death in 1967.
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