Mary Nettie Chase

Mary Nettie Chase c. 1885

Mary Nettie Chase (December 28, 1863 or January 19, 1864 - December 30, 1959) was an American educator, suffragist and peace activist.

There are two accounts of Chase's birth. She was either born on December 28, 1863, ^{[1] [2]} or January 19, 1864 in Madison, New Hampshire. ^{[3] [4]} Chase's father, Uriah Chase, worked as a Baptist minister. ^[5] She married Roscoe G. Watson in June of 1890 and was separated from him by 1900. ^[5]

Chase graduated from Bates College in 1885 with a Master of Arts. ^[5] Between the years 1887 to1890 and 1892 to 1895, Chase worked as a teacher at Green Mountain Seminary in Waterbury Center in Vermont. ^[1]

Chase was a successful suffrage organizer in Vermont and was praised by the Woman's Journal in 1901 for her recruitment efforts. ^[6] Chase spoke at the 1902 Vermont women's suffrage convention held in West Concord on June 18 and 19. ^[7] She was a member of the Vermont Woman Suffrage Association (VWSA) and worked as a lecturer for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). ^[1] From 1901 to 1912, she served as the president of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association (NHWSA). ^{[1] [8]}

Chase was working as the secretary for the peace organization, the Society for the Promotion of International Amity, in 1917. ^[5] Chase worked as a peace activist throughout World War I. ^[9] Part of her work included promoting Spanish language classes in New Hampshire. ^[5]

Chase died in Boston on December 30, 1959. ^[10]

References

1. Bates College Lewiston, Me (1915). General Catalogue of Bates College and Cobb Divinity School, 1863-1915. University of Michigan. Lewiston, Maine: Journal Printshop. p. 72.
2. Eastman, John R. (John Robie); Emery, George Edwin (1910). History of the town of Andover New Hampshire, 1751-1906. University of New Hampshire Library. Concord, N.H. Printed by the Rumford Printing Company. p. 69.
3. Stearns, Ezra S.; Parker, Edward E.; Whitcher, William F.; Lewis Publishing Company; Lewis publishing company, Chicago (1908). Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. New York, Chicago: The Lewis publishing company. p. 1588 – via HathiTrust.
4. Gent, Malcolm. "Biographical Sketch of Mary N. Chase". Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890–1920– via Alexander Street.
5. Brown, Janice (2019-05-22). "New Hampshire Suffragist, National & Local Civic Leader, Peace Proponent, Lecturer, Teacher: Mary Nettie Chase of Andover (1863-1959)". Cow Hampshire. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
6. Dubrulle 2020, p. 43.
7. Harper 1922, p. 651.
8. NHWSA 1907, p. 8.
9. "Mary N. Chase". William G. Pomeroy Foundation. 2021-04-09. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
10. Hackman, Kent (2024-12-11). "Search for Chase". Concord Monitor. pp. A7. Retrieved 2025-08-04– via Newspapers.com.

Sources

• Dubrulle, Elizabeth (September 2020). "'Nowise Daunted by Defeat': Mary Chase and New Hampshire's State Constitution" . Historical New Hampshire. 73 (2): 42–56 – via EBSCO.
• Harper, Ida Husted (1922). The History of Woman Suffrage. New York: J.J. Little & Ives Company.
• NHWSA (1907). A Brief History of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Printing Company – via Internet Archive.

External links

• Mary N. Chase Collected Papers, 1916-1939