Mary
McDowell was
born in Cincinnati in 1854. Her father was active in the anti-slavery
movement and the family moved to Chicago
after the Civil War. As a young woman
McDowell joined the Women's Christian Temperance
Union (WCTU) and was active in the struggle for women's
suffrage.
In 1889 McDowell joined Jane Addams, Ellen
Gates Starr, Alzina Stevens, Edith
Abbott, Grace Abbott, Florence
Kelley, Julia Lathrop,
Alice Hamilton, Sophonisba
Breckinridge and other social reformers at Hull
House.
Inspired by the work of Jane Addams at
Hull House, McDowell established the
University of Chicago Settlement in 1894. McDowell was particularly
interested in helping workers in Chicago improve their pay and conditions.
As a member of the American Federation of Labour,
McDowell helped organize several strikes.
In 1903 she helped establish the Women's Trade
Union League, and the following year assisted Michael Donnelly,
organizer of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen in the
Chicago Stockyards Strike.
McDowell, who became known as the 'Angel of the Stockyards', was a
much loved figure and when a local newspaper ran a contest entitled
"Who is the best woman in Chicago?", McDowell ran second
to Jane Addams in the poll.
Mary McDowell died in 1936.
Mary McDowell
and Jane Addams
at a protest meeting in 1932.
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