Mary Bentley Thomas (December 13, 1845 – February 11, 1923) was an American suffragist and

Maryland Woman Suffrage Association The Maryland Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was a woman's suffrage organization in Maryland, USA, founded in 1889. About The MWSA was created to fight for women's suffrage in Maryland. Carolyn Hallowell Miller started the group on January ...

president from 1894 to 1904. She was also involved in the Friends Equal Rights Association and the

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...

, holding various offices in both organizations.

Early life

Mary Bentley was born in Maryland to Richard and Edith Bentley, who were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. Her grandfather, Caleb Bentley, was a silversmith and postmaster.

Career

Thomas was president of the Maryland Woman Suffrage Association from 1894 to 1904, succeeding the association's founder, Caroline Hallowell Miller. She was in turn succeeded by

Emma Maddox Funck Emma Maddox Funck (November 19, 1853 – March 21, 1940) was an American suffragist and served as president of the Maryland Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA). Biography Funck was born in Baltimore on November 19, 1853, where she attended publi ...

. She held offices with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and spoke at national suffrage conferences. She wrote to the governors of Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado, and asked questions about women's suffrage, which was legal in all four states; she published the responses as a

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

. Thomas was also the third president of the Friends Equal Rights Association, and spoke on women's rights at national Quaker gatherings.

Personal life

Mary Bentley married dairyman Edward Porter Thomas in 1865. They had six children together. She died in 1923, aged 77 years. Her scrapbook of newspaper clippings, in the collection of the

Sandy Spring Museum Sandy Spring Museum was founded as a local history museum, preserving the history of the surrounding area of Sandy Spring, MD. Today, by supporting community-driven cultural arts and educational programs, they gather community to build a sense of ...

, is available online at Digital Maryland. In 2021, a historical marker was erected in

Sandy Spring, Maryland Sandy Spring is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Geography Sandy Spring's boundaries are roughly defined as Brooke Road and Dr. Bird Road to the north ...

, noting Thomas and Miller's work on woman's suffrage; several of Thomas's descendants attended the marker's unveiling.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mary Bentley 1845 births 1923 deaths Suffragists from Maryland American Quakers People from Sandy Spring, Maryland National American Woman Suffrage Association activists