Sewall, May Wright (1844-1920)

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Item Relations

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Mentioned in (10)
Written by (21)
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Peace Ship (1915-1916)

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, December 24, 1914

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, December 30, 1914

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, December 31, 1914

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, January 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, January 19, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, January 30, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, February 2, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, February 15, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, February 23, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, March 15, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, March 23, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, March 31, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, April 5, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, August 4, 1915

May Wright Sewall to N. M. Thompson, September 4, 1915

Henry Ford et al. to Jane Addams, December 7, 1915

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, April 23, 1917

May Wright Sewall to Jane Addams, May 17, 1918

Secretary to Jane Addams to May Wright Sewall, February 8, 1915

Secretary to Jane Addams to May Wright Sewall, March 12, 1915

Jane Addams to May Wright Sewall, March 24, 1915

Jane Addams to May Wright Sewall, April 1, 1915

Emily Greene Balch to William Jennings Bryan, September 7, 1916

Jane Addams to the Delegates of the International Congress of Women, November 5, 1918

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Birth Date

1844-05-27

Death Date

1920-07-22

Birthplace

Greenfield, Wisconsin

Biographical Text

May Wright Sewall was a social reformer, educator, and suffragist. As a young woman, she attended Northwestern Female College, an institution which later became a part of Northwestern University. Sewall and her husband opened the Classical Girls School in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school had a prestigious reputation; the Sewall's ran the school together until 1895 when her husband died of tuberculosis. She continued to run the school until her retirement in 1908. In addition to devoting her life to the education of young women, Sewall was involved in women's organizations and philanthropy local to Indianapolis. She helped found the Herron School of Art, which would later become the art school of Indiana University. She was also a peace activist, vehemently opposing the First World War. Sewall died in 1920.

Wright married Edwin Thompson in 1872. The marriage ended in 1875 when Thompson died of tuberculosis. Wright remarried in 1880 to Theodore Sewall. Although she had married twice, May had no children.

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Rights

Public domain

Contributor

Hajo, Cathy Moran

Dzuback, Emily

Gender

Female

First appears

1904

Bibliography and Links

Stephens, Jane. "May Wright Sewall: An Indiana Reformer." Indiana Magazine of History 78, no. 4 (1982): 273-95. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27790650.

Wikipedia

Citation

“Sewall, May Wright (1844-1920),” Jane Addams Digital Edition, accessed September 28, 2023, http://mail.digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/3908.