Dennett, Mary Ware (1872-1947)

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Participated in (1)
Mentioned in (9)
Received by (2)
Written by (2)
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National American Woman Suffrage Convention (1912)

Belle Case La Follette to Jane Addams, January 22, 1912

Sophonisba P. Breckinridge to Jane Addams, April 17, 1912

Jane Addams to Sophonisba P. Breckinridge, May 7, 1912

Martha Carey Thomas to Jane Addams, July 23, 1912

Martha Carey Thomas to Marjorie Daw Johnson, July 23, 1912

Ida Husted Harper to Jane Addams, September 25, 1912

Martha Carey Thomas to Jane Addams, December 12, 1912

Speech on Woman Suffrage, March 9, 1914

Lucia Ames Mead to Hannah Clothier Hull, November 20, 1917

Belle Case La Follette to Mary Ware Dennett, January 22, 1912

Jane Addams to Mary Ware Dennett, December 28, 1917

Mary Ware Dennett to Jane Addams, October 15, 1912

Mary Ware Dennett to National American Woman Suffrage Association Executive Council, February 19, 1914 (fragment)

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Birth Date

1872-04-04

Death Date

1947-07-25

Birthplace

Worcester, Massachusetts

Biographical Text

Mary Ware Dennett was a teacher, artist, and activist. When she was ten years old, her father died, and her mother took care of the family by organizing European tours for women. Dennett was also raised in part by her aunt, Lucia Ames Mead, who was a social reformer. Dennett attended the School of Art and Design in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, graduating in 1894 with first honors. She then became a teacher at the Drexel Institute of Art in Philadelphia and became very involved in the Arts and Crafts movement. After the divorce, Dennett began working as field secretary of the Massachusetts Suffrage Association and eventually worked for the National American Women's Suffrage Association as Corresponding Secretary. However, she eventually left the organization after becoming disillusioned by it. During World War I, she was a member of the Women's Peace Party, and in 1916 she worked as field secretary for the American Union Against Militarism. She then served as executive secretary for the League for Progressive Democracy. In 1917, she co-founded the People's Council of America, a socialist peace group inspired by the Bolsheviks. After having difficulty in childbirth, Denett became a birth control advocate. In 1913, Dennett co-founded the Twilight Sleep Association, which advocated for the use of morphine and scopolamine as painkillers for women in labor. She was the acting president of this organization for a year, and then served as vice president. In 1915 she co-founded the National Birth Control League with Jesse Ashley and Clara Gruening Stillman, serving as its executive secretary in 1918. Dennett later founded the Voluntary Parenthood League.

Dennett married William Hartley Dennett in 1900. The couple had three children together. In 1912, Dennett filed for divorce after having an affair with her husband's client. Dennett died in 1947.