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Mary Birdsall
Mary B. Birdsall (née Thistlethwaite; born 1828, Chester, Pennsylvania – died February 1, 1894, Philadelphia) was an American suffragette, temperance worker, and journalist.
Born to English immigrants, she grew up on a farm near Richmond, Indiana, where she married Thomas Birdsall in 1848. They had three sons together. She began her journalism career as the woman's editor at the Indiana Farmer newspaper. For about five years she owned The Lily, a newspaper for women, which she purchased from suffragist Amelia Bloomer in 1854. She helped organize the second women's rights convention in Indiana. At that Indiana convention in 1852, she was elected as secretary for the newly-formed Indiana Woman's Rights Association (renamed the Indiana Woman's Suffrage Association (IWSA) in 1869, and eventually became president of the organization. Birdsall was a vice-president at the fourth National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853. She 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.
Birdsall died in Philadelphia in 1894 and interred at Earlham Cemetery in Richmond. Her Richmond home, a model of progressive architecture as espoused by Catherine Beecher, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Mary B. Thistlethwaite was born in 1828 in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She was the sixth of eight children (two girls and six boys). Her father, William Thistlethwaite, a farmer, was born in Aysgarth, Wensleydale, Yorkshire. He married Elizabeth Wetherald about 1814 and they lived in Boynton Parish. The Thistlethwaites emigrated to America in 1817 with their first two children. The family lived a short time in Delaware, before settling in Chester. They stayed briefly in Cincinnati after Mary's birth, where William Thistlethwaite worked as a butcher. The family finally moved to Richmond, Indiana, in 1829, settling on a farm just west of town in 1830. William Thistlethwaite bought and sold several large farms and ran them successfully. Mary's older sister, Eleanor, never married nor had children. Their brother, Timothy, owned various mills in Wayne County, and their brother, William, Jr., purchased the Democratic Herald, a Richmond newspaper, in 1871. Some of the family's ancestors were active in the Society of Friends (Quakers). William Thistlethwaite was a member of the North A Street Meeting in Richmond.
On October 26, 1848, at age 19, Birdsall married a farmer and fellow Quaker, Thomas Birdsall, at the Whitewater Monthly Meeting in Richmond. The year after their marriage, the Birdsalls moved briefly to Chester, Clinton County, Ohio, where Thomas's family lived. About 1859, Thomas Birdsall went to work for his brother-in-law, Timothy Thistlethwaite, in his flour mill for about four years. Thomas Birdsall also partnered with the Thistlethwaite family in constructing a three-story commercial building in downtown Richmond at the corner of Main and Front Streets.
Mary and Thomas Birdsall were the parents of three sons. Their eldest son, Alvin T. Birdsall, was born there in 1849 and died at age 25 in Brooklyn, New York, where he was working as a dry-goods salesman. He left a widow, Mathilda "Mattie" (Hampton) Birdsall. Mattie, who returned to Indiana, remained close to her mother-in-law, even making extended visits to Birdsall in Philadelphia in the 1880s. Their second son, William Wilfred Birdsall (b. 1854), was an educator, author/editor, and for a time, president of Swarthmore College. He married Viola McDill in 1881 and they had three sons, likely Birdsall's only grandchildren. Hubert H. Birdsall (b. 1856), like his older brothers, attended Earlham College in Richmond and was later a journalist in Philadelphia. He married Ella J. Vandyke in Delaware in 1884. Ella, a Catholic, died of fever in 1898. What happened to Hubert after her death is unknown. William and Hubert were born in Indiana.
D. P. Holloway and W. T. Dennis established the Indiana Farmer newspaper in Richmond in 1851. According to their masthead, they devoted the paper to "agriculture, horticulture, mechanics, and the useful arts." In October 1852, the editors established a "Ladies' Department" and Birdsall was hired to edit the section. She lost no time in promoting a feminist agenda. The section also concerned home economics and agricultural items, such as reporting on the State Fair. Birdsall encouraged her female readers to support women-owned newspapers, such as The Genius of Liberty, published by Elizabeth A. Aldrich in Cincinnati. 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. Her tenure at the newspaper, while being well-received, was brief, ending in March 1853. The Indiana Farmer's tenure in Richmond was also brief. It was sold and moved to Indianapolis.
About 1848, the newly formed women's temperance society in Seneca Falls, New York, decided they wish to promote their cause with a local newspaper of their own device. They formed a committee to name and construct the paper, but soon lost heart in the enterprise. Amelia Bloomer, however, was determined to carry it through and took over the paper, editorially and financially. The paper was probably the first one focused on women and entirely published and edited by women. The temperance committee chair had chosen the name, The Lily, to represent its purity motive. Bloomer never cared for it, but didn't feel right about changing it, so the name remained. At first, the paper's focus was strictly temperance, but Bloomer soon began promoting women's rights. Circulation expanded greatly after her proposals on dress reform. The introduction of Turkish pantaloons and a short skirt that became widely known as "bloomers" made national news. When Bloomer and her husband moved from Seneca Falls to Ohio, the paper went with them. However, when they decided to move to Council Bluffs, Iowa, far from any means of distribution, Bloomer decided to sell the paper.
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Mary Birdsall
Mary B. Birdsall (née Thistlethwaite; born 1828, Chester, Pennsylvania – died February 1, 1894, Philadelphia) was an American suffragette, temperance worker, and journalist.
Born to English immigrants, she grew up on a farm near Richmond, Indiana, where she married Thomas Birdsall in 1848. They had three sons together. She began her journalism career as the woman's editor at the Indiana Farmer newspaper. For about five years she owned The Lily, a newspaper for women, which she purchased from suffragist Amelia Bloomer in 1854. She helped organize the second women's rights convention in Indiana. At that Indiana convention in 1852, she was elected as secretary for the newly-formed Indiana Woman's Rights Association (renamed the Indiana Woman's Suffrage Association (IWSA) in 1869, and eventually became president of the organization. Birdsall was a vice-president at the fourth National Women's Rights Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853. She 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.
Birdsall died in Philadelphia in 1894 and interred at Earlham Cemetery in Richmond. Her Richmond home, a model of progressive architecture as espoused by Catherine Beecher, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Mary B. Thistlethwaite was born in 1828 in Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. She was the sixth of eight children (two girls and six boys). Her father, William Thistlethwaite, a farmer, was born in Aysgarth, Wensleydale, Yorkshire. He married Elizabeth Wetherald about 1814 and they lived in Boynton Parish. The Thistlethwaites emigrated to America in 1817 with their first two children. The family lived a short time in Delaware, before settling in Chester. They stayed briefly in Cincinnati after Mary's birth, where William Thistlethwaite worked as a butcher. The family finally moved to Richmond, Indiana, in 1829, settling on a farm just west of town in 1830. William Thistlethwaite bought and sold several large farms and ran them successfully. Mary's older sister, Eleanor, never married nor had children. Their brother, Timothy, owned various mills in Wayne County, and their brother, William, Jr., purchased the Democratic Herald, a Richmond newspaper, in 1871. Some of the family's ancestors were active in the Society of Friends (Quakers). William Thistlethwaite was a member of the North A Street Meeting in Richmond.
On October 26, 1848, at age 19, Birdsall married a farmer and fellow Quaker, Thomas Birdsall, at the Whitewater Monthly Meeting in Richmond. The year after their marriage, the Birdsalls moved briefly to Chester, Clinton County, Ohio, where Thomas's family lived. About 1859, Thomas Birdsall went to work for his brother-in-law, Timothy Thistlethwaite, in his flour mill for about four years. Thomas Birdsall also partnered with the Thistlethwaite family in constructing a three-story commercial building in downtown Richmond at the corner of Main and Front Streets.
Mary and Thomas Birdsall were the parents of three sons. Their eldest son, Alvin T. Birdsall, was born there in 1849 and died at age 25 in Brooklyn, New York, where he was working as a dry-goods salesman. He left a widow, Mathilda "Mattie" (Hampton) Birdsall. Mattie, who returned to Indiana, remained close to her mother-in-law, even making extended visits to Birdsall in Philadelphia in the 1880s. Their second son, William Wilfred Birdsall (b. 1854), was an educator, author/editor, and for a time, president of Swarthmore College. He married Viola McDill in 1881 and they had three sons, likely Birdsall's only grandchildren. Hubert H. Birdsall (b. 1856), like his older brothers, attended Earlham College in Richmond and was later a journalist in Philadelphia. He married Ella J. Vandyke in Delaware in 1884. Ella, a Catholic, died of fever in 1898. What happened to Hubert after her death is unknown. William and Hubert were born in Indiana.
D. P. Holloway and W. T. Dennis established the Indiana Farmer newspaper in Richmond in 1851. According to their masthead, they devoted the paper to "agriculture, horticulture, mechanics, and the useful arts." In October 1852, the editors established a "Ladies' Department" and Birdsall was hired to edit the section. She lost no time in promoting a feminist agenda. The section also concerned home economics and agricultural items, such as reporting on the State Fair. Birdsall encouraged her female readers to support women-owned newspapers, such as The Genius of Liberty, published by Elizabeth A. Aldrich in Cincinnati. 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. Her tenure at the newspaper, while being well-received, was brief, ending in March 1853. The Indiana Farmer's tenure in Richmond was also brief. It was sold and moved to Indianapolis.
About 1848, the newly formed women's temperance society in Seneca Falls, New York, decided they wish to promote their cause with a local newspaper of their own device. They formed a committee to name and construct the paper, but soon lost heart in the enterprise. Amelia Bloomer, however, was determined to carry it through and took over the paper, editorially and financially. The paper was probably the first one focused on women and entirely published and edited by women. The temperance committee chair had chosen the name, The Lily, to represent its purity motive. Bloomer never cared for it, but didn't feel right about changing it, so the name remained. At first, the paper's focus was strictly temperance, but Bloomer soon began promoting women's rights. Circulation expanded greatly after her proposals on dress reform. The introduction of Turkish pantaloons and a short skirt that became widely known as "bloomers" made national news. When Bloomer and her husband moved from Seneca Falls to Ohio, the paper went with them. However, when they decided to move to Council Bluffs, Iowa, far from any means of distribution, Bloomer decided to sell the paper.