Mary Dudley Hussey (July 31, 1853 - October 26, 1927) was an American lawyer, physician, and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. Hussey worked towards

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

both through legal efforts and through activism. She was based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Biography

Mary Dudley Hussey was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on July 31, 1853. She was a daughter of suffragist, Cornelia Collins Hussey and physician,

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...

, was present at her birth. As a child, she was exposed to work of

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

and attended the last meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Hussey's work as a suffragist began in 1868 when she attended a meeting held by Lucy Stone. In 1873, Hussey applied for admission to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, after being inspired by the action of

Lillie Devereux Blake Lillie Devereux Blake (pen name, Tiger Lily; August 12, 1833 – December 30, 1913) was an American woman suffragist, reformer, and writer, born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and educated in New Haven, Connecticut. In her early years, Blake wrote se ...

, who also publicly applied that year. In 1877, she graduated with a physician's degree from the Woman's Medical College of New York. Hussey practiced medicine for a short time, but felt that studying law would help her "advance the interests of women." She earned her law degree in 1898 from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. She also helped create the New Jersey Legal Aid Society which helped support the legal needs of women living in poverty. In 1899, she helped

Mary Philbrook Mary Philbrook (1872-1958) was the first female attorney in New Jersey, and the first female to be admitted to the bar association in New Jersey. The New Jersey Supreme Court initially refused Philbrook's petition in 1894 on the grounds that no ...

found the Women Lawyers' Club because the Bar Association would not allow women. Hussey was a member of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

(WCTU) and the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. In 1890, Hussey helped reorganize the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association (NJWSA). She served as secretary to the organization for several years. She also organized the Political Study Club of Orange. Hussey took part in an April 1910 march on

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

where she presented a women's suffrage petition to New Jersey representative,

William H. Wiley William Halsted Wiley (July 10, 1842 in New York City – May 2, 1925 in Orange, New Jersey), was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district from 1903 to 1907 and from 1909 to 1911, an ...

. After women gained the right to vote, she championed the League of Women Voters (LWV). Hussey rode her bicycle in

East Orange East Orange is a city in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was the state's 20th most-populous municipality in 2010, after having been the state's 14th most-po ...

and in many other cities where she visited. She distributed both suffrage fliers and

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

bulbs. The bulbs were given out with the stipulation that any money made from selling the flowers should be used to support women's suffrage. Hussey was an avid gardener and initiated the first school garden in New Jersey. Hussey also sold her plants to help fund different causes that were important to her. She wore plain clothing and was described as having a "

picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...

appearance." Hussey eventually retired from biking after 25 years in 1924. Hussey became ill in 1925 and died in her home in East Orange on October 26, 1927. She was buried in Milton, New York.

References

{{Authority control 1853 births 1927 deaths American women lawyers American lawyers American women physicians People from East Orange, New Jersey Suffragists from New Jersey American women's rights activists New York University alumni