Mary Eleanora McCoy
Mary Eleanora McCoy | |
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| Born | Mary Eleanora Delaney January 26, 1846 |
| Died | November 17, 1923(aged 77) |
| Spouse | |
Mary Eleanora McCoy(néeDelaney;January 26, 1846 – November 17, 1923)[1]was an Americanphilanthropist,organizer, andclubwoman.She is known for organizing the Michigan State Association of Colored Women, a chapter of theNational Association of Colored Women(NACW).
Biography
[edit]McCoy née Delaney was born in 1846 inLawrenceburg, Indiana.Sources differ on her exact birth date: January 26, 1846[2]or perhaps January 7, 1846.[1]She was born in anUnderground Railroadstation, with one source naming her parents as "Jacob C. and Eliza Ann (Montgomery) Delaney, perhapsescaped slaves".[2]She married twice, first to Henry Brownlow and then toElijah McCoy.Elijah McCoy was an inventor and the subject of the phrasethe real McCoy.[2]
The McCoys settled in Detroit in the early 1880s. Mary McCoy was an active clubwoman. She was a member of the Twentieth Century Club of Detroit, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Lydian Association of Detroit, and the Willing Workers.[2]WithLucy Thurman,she organized the Michigan State Association of Colored Women (a chapter of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW)). Her philanthropy included participation in the establishment of theSojourner Truth Memorial Association of Michiganwhich providedUniversity of Michiganscholarships to children of former slaves. She served as vice president. She also funded the McCoy Home for Colored Children, and established the Phyllis Wheatley Home for Aged Colored Women in Detroit, serving as president.[3]
By the early 1900s, McCoy was working forwomen's suffrage.She was a member of the Independent Women Voters and advocated for suffrage through her ongoing association with the NACW. She marched in the1913 Woman Suffrage Paradein Washington D.C. In 1920, she attended theNational American Woman Suffrage Association's Victory Convention in Chicago.[2]
McCoy died on November 17, 1923, in Detroit.[2]In 2012, she was inducted into theMichigan Women's Hall of Fameand in 2016 theMary E. McCoy Post Office Buildingwas dedicated in Detroit.[4]
References
[edit]- ^abWright, Arthuree Mclaughlin (2013)."McCoy, Mary Eleanora".African American Studies Center.doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.35827.ISBN978-0-19-530173-1.Retrieved9 February2022.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^abcdef"Biographical Sketch of Mary Eleanora McCoy".Alexander Street.Retrieved9 February2022.
- ^"Mary E. McCoy".Michigan Women Forward.Retrieved9 February2022.
- ^"Mary E. McCoy Post Office Dedication Ceremony".USPS.Retrieved9 February2022.
- 1846 births
- 1923 deaths
- Philanthropists from Indiana
- 19th-century African-American women
- 19th-century American philanthropists
- 19th-century women philanthropists
- 20th-century American philanthropists
- 20th-century women philanthropists
- African-American suffragists
- Suffragists from Michigan
- People from Lawrenceburg, Indiana
- Clubwomen
- 19th-century African-American businesspeople
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- National Association of Colored Women's Clubs
- Activists from Detroit
- History of slavery in Indiana