Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

People, Site

Location

201 W 2nd St, Chadron, NE 69337, USA

Lat/Long

42.8308436, -103.0019027

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Humanitarian and suffragist, Mary E. Smith Hayward (1842-1938) was active in the early stages of the fight for women’s suffrage in Nebraska, serving as president of the Nebraska Woman Suffrage Association (WSA) in 1899. According to the Nebraska state report included in volume 6 of the History of Woman Suffrage, during Hayward’s presidency, Nebraska suffragists held meetings and worked to increase membership and support of the state WSA. In March 1913, Hayward marched for women’s right to vote in the national suffrage parade in Washington, D.C., representing the state of Nebraska. At that time, Hayward was an honorary president of the Nebraska WSA.

In 1917, a partial suffrage law was passed in Nebraska, giving women in the state the right to vote in municipal and presidential elections. This law was unsuccessfully fought by anti-suffrage organizations, with the actions of these anti-suffrage groups leading to a further bolstering of public support for women’s right to vote in the state.

On June 4, 1919, the United States Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment which stated that the right to vote could not be denied on account of sex. In August of that year, the amendment was ratified at a special session of the Nebraska state legislature. By August 1920, the necessary 36 states had ratified the amendment, finally securing women’s right to vote across the United States.

In addition to her suffrage activism, Hayward contributed to many charitable causes throughout her life. According to her obituary published in the February 20, 1938 edition of the Nebraska State Journal, she was a life member of the National Humane Society and also followed a vegetarian diet. Her obituary referred to her as the “first business woman” in the city of Chadron, Nebraska, and as a “fighter for woman suffrage.” It continued:

“With the passing of Mrs. Mary E. Smith Hayward, the Chadron community loses not only one of the few remaining pioneers who helped build Chadron from a shanty to the modern city it is, but also one of the most remarkably independent and strongminded women who ever lived in this part of the country.”

Hayward owned and operated a dry goods store in Chadron for many years. As of 2022, the name of her business, M.E. Smith & Co., can still be seen inscribed at the top of the two-story brick building located at 201 West 2nd Street in Chadron.