Mary Towne Burt (, Towne; March 28, 1842 – April 29, 1898) was a 19th-century American

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

reformer, newspaper publisher, and

benefactor Benefactor may refer to: * ''Benefactor'' (album), a 1982 album by Romeo Void * Benefactor (law) for a person whose actions benefit another or a person that gives back to others * Benefication (metallurgy) In the mining Mining is the ext ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Burt was identified with temperance work nearly all her life. She was the first president of the

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and beginning in 1882, served as president of the

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

Society of the Union. In 1875, she became the publisher, and subsequently the editor, of ''Our Union'', the organ of the society, and in 1878–80 was the corresponding secretary of the National Union. For several years, Burt had charge of the legislative interests of the union, and several laws for the protection of women and young girls resulted from her efforts.

Early life and education

Mary Towne was born on March 28, 1842,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio, of English-American parentage. Her father, Thomas Towne, was educated in England for the Episcopal ministry. He died when she was four years old, on a return voyage from England, which he had visited on business. Age the age of 12, Burt, her mother, and her siblings, an older sister, Mrs. Pomeroy of Chicago, and a younger brother, moved to

. Until 16, she attended the public schools of Auburn. She then became a pupil of Professor M. L. Browne, at the Auburn Young Ladies' Institute. Here her talents made her an especial favorite, and Professor Browne offered her every facility if she would remain with him, but this was not practicable. Her home, at this time was with her uncle, John T. Baker, who, with his wife, were her guardians.

Career

Four years after leaving school, she married Edward Burt, son of one of Auburn's oldest residents. Soon after this, she was confirmed a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church by the venerable Bishop Coxe. For a long time, she was much withdrawn from society by frail health, and studied in the solitude of her home. Her husband's health also failing, in 1872, they spent three months at Nassau.

Activism and publishing

When the temperance crusade swept the country, it aroused Burt, as it did thousands of others. Temperance was not new to her; her father and mother were both strong advocates, and the principles had been instilled into her as a child. Her mother (now residing with her) gave her full support to all of Burt's ambition. Her efforts on behalf of temperance occurred without intermission, with the exception of seven months spent in the sick room of her sister, Mrs. Pomeroy. She engaged the Opera House and delivered a lecture on temperance, March 24, 1874, Professor Browne, her former instructor, presiding. Immediately after, in Auburn, a WCTU was organized and Burt elected president, which position she held two years. When a call was made to a national council in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, in the autumn of 1874, Burt was made one of the Secretaries, thus coming to the front in the National Union at its inception. During the winter of 1875, Mr. and Mrs. Burt removed to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In the fall of 1876, in the

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Woman's Temperance Publishing Association. In thus taking charge of an enterprise very dear to her, her success proved her qualification for the task. The paper had been started; was almost an experiment; had no capital but the love and faith of the WCTU, and was largely in debt. She took hold of the enterprise, enlarged and improved the paper in many ways, pushed its interests; and during the subsequent year, its subscription list was nearly doubled. During the year 1877, she assumed the position of managing editor. At her suggestion the name ''Our Union'' was given to the paper, a name which it held until its consolidation with the ''Signal'', of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, when it took the name of ''

The Union Signal ''The Union Signal'' (formerly, ''The Woman's Temperance Union'', ''Our Union'') is a defunct American newspaper, established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Focused on temperance, it was the organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a ...

''. In Chicago, in 1877, she was elected corresponding secretary of the National Union, which office she held for three years, and during that term of office, she opened the first headquarters of the National union in the Bible House,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

President of the New York State Union

Burt was identified with the New York State union since its inception. As its recording secretary for the first seven years of its existence, she had much to do with shaping its aims and its policy. After serving one year as corresponding secretary, she was elected president in 1882, at the convention in

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

. At that time, the state union had a membership of about 3,000, with but 13 of the 60 counties organized. During the years of her presidency, all the remaining counties but one were organized, and the membership went up to 22,000. In her first annual address, she recommended a change in the form of the executive committee, substituting for the three previously elected by ballot, in addition to the general officers, the vice-presidents of the state, who were the presidents of the county unions. This changed the possible numbers of the executive committee from seven to 64. Other measures recommended by her were the publication of a state paper, the opening of state headquarters in New York City, securing permanent headquarters, putting up a building on the permanent state fair grounds at

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, creating the departments of Non-Alcoholics in Medicine and Rescue Work for Girls, the memorializing of the Democratic and Republican parties in behalf of prohibition and for the enfranchisement of woman, and petitioning the constitutional convention of 1894 for the last two purposes. For some years, she had charge of the legislative interests. In 1885–87, she was superintendent of the Department of Social Purity, and at once entered upon a campaign to raise "the age of consent" for young girls. In 1887, this effort was successful, the legislature raising the age from 10 years to 16 years. In 1891–92, she led in the legislative work that resulted in the closing of the New York State exhibit at the World's Fair on Sundays, and in the passage of the bill prohibiting the employment of barmaids in saloons. She also led in the protest against the excise bill which resulted in the modification of some of its worst features. As an organizer, she was indefatigable. Nothing stopped her from meeting with women and explaining the methods of temperance work, while she quickly selected those best fitted to become leaders. She presided at the organization of a large proportion of the county unions. The personal acquaintance with the active members thus gained, greatly aided her in the selection of superintendents and committees, so far as it fell to the president to make such selections. In other enterprises, she showed similar ability. The erection of a permanent building on the state fair grounds at Syracuse was one of them in view of the fact that the WCTU had secured the passage in the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

of a law prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors on the state and county fair grounds within its jurisdiction, the carrying out of which policy changed the character and conduct of agricultural fairs in New York. For several years, Burt took an active interest in the WCTU work at the state fair grounds at Syracuse, which overtaxed her health and physical strength.

Personal life

Burt, with her husband and son, resided in New York. She was a member of the Episcopal Church. Mary Towne Burt's sudden death occurred in New York City, on April 29, 1898.

Selected works

*''Address at the twenty-second annual convention, September 24–26, 1895, Central Presbyterian Church, Rochester, N.Y.'' (1895)

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burt, Mary Towne 1898 deaths 1842 births 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American women writers People from Cincinnati Women newspaper editors Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Managing editors American temperance activists Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century