Clara Coltrin Tomlinson McAdow (1838 – January 19, 1896) was an American women's suffragist and a mine owner in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Biography

McAdow was born Clara Coltrin in Ohio, the eldest of eight children born to Joseph and Annie Coltrin. She grew up in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

. McAdow moved to Coulson, Montana, with her first husband Dr. C. E. Tomlinson. She got a job with Northern Pacific Railroad and did side jobs including a check-cashing business because there was not yet a bank in

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

, Montana. When Tomlinson died, she took their savings and invested in real estate in Billings. She met Perry W. McAdow through her real estate ventures and purchased the Spotted Horse mine from him, which he had received as payment for a debt. Clara took charge of all aspects of the mine, directing all of its operations and often living on site. The mine, which she purchased for $11,000, was sold in 1890 for $500,000. Working at the mine made McAdow a metallurgy expert; she was the only woman invited to the Congress of Mining at the 1892

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

. Her mine provided the gold base of the Justice for the Treasure State’s exhibit cast in a likeness of

Ada Rehan Ada Rehan (born Bidelia Crehan; June 12, 1857 – January 8, 1916) was an American actress and comedian who typified the "personality" style of acting in the nineteenth century. Early life and career She was born Bidelia Crehan in Limerick cit ...

. She was a member of the Board of Lady Managers at the Exposition. The McAdows built a mansion, the

Perry McAdow House The Perry McAdow House is a Renaissance Revival house located at 4605 Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. History Cla ...

in Detroit in 1891. Clara died in Detroit on January 19, 1896 of 'stomach trouble'. She left an estate worth an estimated two million dollars. On October 2, 1987, Perry married Marian A. Tyrrell-Wyles in Milwaukee, WI. The couple moved to Punta Gorda, FL where they resided until Perry's death. McAdow was intensely interested in the women's suffrage movement, hosting Carrie Chapman Catt and Susan B. Anthony in her home to promote giving women the vote. She founded a branch of the women’s literary society the Twentieth Century Club. She was a member of the Society for Psychical Research, however she was also a skeptic, being one of the people who exposed Henry Slade as a fraud.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAdow, Clara 1838 births 1896 deaths American skeptics American suffragists People from Jackson, Michigan People from Billings, Montana 19th-century American businesswomen 19th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Detroit Activists from Montana Activists from Michigan