Fels, Mary (1863-1953)

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Item Relations

Member of (2)
Participated in (2)
Mentioned in (19)
Written by (2)
Received by (1)
Comments (0)

Peace Expedition Committee of Administration

Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation (1916)

Jane Addams to Emily Greene Balch, March 13, 1915

David Starr Jordan to Jane Addams, January 19, 1916

William Jennings Bryan to Jane Addams, January 22, 1916

Rosika Schwimmer to Jane Addams, January 26, 1916

Jane Addams to David Starr Jordan, January 27, 1916

David Starr Jordan to Jane Addams, February 18, 1916

Rosika Schwimmer to Jane Addams, August 19, 1916

The Second Annual Meeting of the Woman's Peace Party, December 9, 1916

Jane Addams to Lillian D. Wald, December 27, 1916

Contributions received for the Women's Congress After the War, January 17, 1917

Contributions received to Fund for Woman's Congress After the War, January 30, 1917

Contributions subscribed to Fund for Woman's Congress After the War, February 1, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Hannah Clothier Hull, November 11, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Eleanor Daggett Karsten, November 18, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Jane Addams, November 20, 1917

Eleanor Daggett Karsten to Alice Thacher Post, November 22, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Jane Addams, December 13, 1918

Jane Addams to Emily Greene Balch, October 16, 1919

General Committee on the Limitation of Armament Declaration and Membership, November 1921

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

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

Comments

Birth Date

1863-03-10

Death Date

1953-05-16

Birthplace

Sembach, Bavaria, Germany

Biographical Text

Mary Fels was a philanthropist, Zionist, and popular public speaker. Born in Bavaria, she emigrated to the United States when young, settling in Keokuk, IA. While attending the University of Pennsylvania, she married Joseph Fels, a distant cousin and the owner of a soap manufacturing company. The wealthy couple were philanthropists who believed that capitalism was unjust and needed reform. After her husband's death in 1914, Mary Fels moved to New York and remained active. She was a member of the Peace Ship expedition and was selected as a delegate to the Neutral Conference for Continuous Negotiation. She became the editor of The Public: A Journal of Democracy from 1917-1919, and supported the single tax, woman suffrage, labor unions, and increasingly, the need for a Jewish settlement in Palestine. Fels founded the Joseph Fels Foundation to promote Jewish resettlement, the single tax, and better understanding of Jewish history. Fels wrote two books, Joseph Fels: His Life-Work (1916) and Toward the Light (1929).

Mary Fels married Joseph Fels in 1881. The couple had one son, who died in infancy. Mary Fels died in 1953.

Occupation

Woman suffrage activist

Source

Photograph from The Kane Republican, August 6, 1915, p 8.

Collection

People

Map

Edited By

DeLora, Renee

Hajo, Cathy Moran

Rights

Public domain

Gender

Female

First appears

1915

Bibliography and Links

Elliot Weinbaum, "Mary Fels". Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. March 1, 2009. (accessed February 28, 2017).

Mrs. Jos. Fels Dies in N.Y. at 90, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 1953.

Mrs. Mary Fels, Adams County Free Press, May 3, 1916, p 9.

SNAC

Citation

“Fels, Mary (1863-1953),” Jane Addams Digital Edition, accessed September 12, 2024, http://mail.digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/8173.

Fels, Mary (1863-1953)

Item Relations

Peace Expedition Committee of Administration

Republican Party

Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation (1916)

Peace Ship (1915-1916)

Jane Addams to Emily Greene Balch, March 13, 1915

David Starr Jordan to Jane Addams, January 19, 1916

William Jennings Bryan to Jane Addams, January 22, 1916

Rosika Schwimmer to Jane Addams, January 26, 1916

Jane Addams to David Starr Jordan, January 27, 1916

David Starr Jordan to Jane Addams, February 18, 1916

Rosika Schwimmer to Jane Addams, August 19, 1916

The Second Annual Meeting of the Woman's Peace Party, December 9, 1916

Jane Addams to Lillian D. Wald, December 27, 1916

Contributions received for the Women's Congress After the War, January 17, 1917

Contributions received to Fund for Woman's Congress After the War, January 30, 1917

Contributions subscribed to Fund for Woman's Congress After the War, February 1, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Hannah Clothier Hull, November 11, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Eleanor Daggett Karsten, November 18, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Jane Addams, November 20, 1917

Eleanor Daggett Karsten to Alice Thacher Post, November 22, 1917

Alice Thacher Post to Jane Addams, December 13, 1918

Jane Addams to Emily Greene Balch, October 16, 1919

General Committee on the Limitation of Armament Declaration and Membership, November 1921

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

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

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

Comments