Mary Melissa Hoadley Dodge (August 21, 1861 – December 24, 1934) was an American heiress who moved to England and sponsored many causes during her life, including

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

and the arts.

Move to London

She was the daughter of Sarah Tappan Hoadley (August 16, 1832–January 10, 1909) and William Earl Dodge, Jr. (1832–1903) from New York. The family wealth came from a mercantile business that developed into one of the largest copper mining and copper wire manufacturing companies in America called Phelps, Dodge & Co. Mary was one of six children and she, like her sister

Grace Hoadley Dodge Grace Hoadley Dodge (May 21, 1856December 27, 1914) was an American philanthropist who was the first woman appointed a member of the New York Board of Education. Early life Grace was born in Manhattan on May 21, 1856. She was the oldest of six ...

(1856–1914), remained unmarried and lived with her parents for several years. To seek some independence, Mary moved to London, England. Her father supported her decision, and purchased a house for her in Brompton Square, where she lived with a female companion from New York named Julia Fairchild Schreiner (1864–1953). Dodge moved from Brompton Square to the more fashionable

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgravia ...

, and then to Warwick House in the precincts of

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

. She also had a residence named West Side House, located on West Side,

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 ...

, in south-west London. She was well-connected in London society, and corresponded with authors, artists and others including

Lord Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

and

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

. She took pleasure in spending her money on friends, and once took seven guests to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

on board a hired yacht. One of the party, architect

Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

(1869–1944), wrote of the experience: He also remarked that she seemed to tire easily, and that this was the result of an arthritic condition. Another example of her generosity was when she hired His Majesty's Theatre and paid all production costs for six performances of an opera titled ''The Wreckers'' by another friend, composer and author

Dame Ethel Smyth Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (; 22 April 18588 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas. Smyth tended t ...

(1858-1944).

Theosophy

Dodge gained a new companion at Warwick House, Muriel, Countess De La Warr (1872-1930), daughter of Lord Brassey, who had divorced her husband Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr in 1902. Lady

Emily Lutyens Lady Emily Lutyens (née Bulwer-Lytton; 1874–1964) was an English theosophist and writer. Life Emily Lytton was born on 26 December 1874 in Paris,Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, (8 November 183124 November 1891) was an English statesman, Conservative politician and poet who used the pseudonym Owen Meredith. He served as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880durin ...

, introduced Mary and Muriel to

and to the works of

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...

(1847-1933). Dodge provided financial support for the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

and for the construction of its London headquarters (designed by Edwin Lutyens) in

Tavistock Square Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

. The building is now BMA House, the headquarters of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

. On May 5, 1911 Besant arrived in London from India with

Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...

(1895-1986) – identified as their future spiritual leader – and his brother Nitya (1898-1925). When in England during the period 1911-1919, the Krishnamurti brothers lodged in quite a few different places, including with Mary Dodge at West Side House, and in lodgings provided by Muriel De La Warr in 2 different locations: sometimes Old Lodge in

Ashdown Forest Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation o ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and sometimes a flat at No. 2 Robert Street,

Adelphi, London Adelphi (; from the Greek ἀδελφοί ''adelphoi'', meaning "brothers") is a district of the City of Westminster in London.Mills, A., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) The small district includes the streets of ''Adelphi ...

. In 1913, Dodge settled £500 per year for life on Jiddu, and £300 per year on Jiddu's brother, Nitya, during the years Nitya was a student at Oxford University.

Suffrage

Dodge and De La Warr also supported the

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

movement and became involved with Sir

Francis Meynell Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell (12 May 1891 – 10 July 1975) was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press. Early career He was the son of the journalist and publisher Wilfrid Meynell and the poet Alice Meynell, a suffragist a ...

. They helped him and

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1929–31, he spent ...

purchase the ''Daily Herald'', a bankrupt Labour newspaper. It was relaunched as a socialist daily newspaper and supported the militant suffrage campaign. Later the two women helped Meynell create the Pelican Press.

Final Years

Despite her great wealth, Dodge was hit by the Depression years and had to cut back on her generosity. Her illness also confined her to a wheelchair in later years. She downsized in London and eventually moved to Wick Hall,

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

, on the south coast of England in about 1930, giving up her houses in London and Wimbledon.

Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere Esmond Cecil Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere (29 May 1898 – 12 July 1978) was a British Conservative politician and press magnate. Early life Harmsworth was the third son of Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, who had founded the ...

became the new owner of Warwick House in 1923. Mary Dodge died on Christmas Eve 1934, leaving about $3 million, mainly to family and friends.

Family

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodge, Mary Melissa Hoadley 1861 births 1934 deaths American emigrants to England Dodge family