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Mary Strong Kinney

Mary Strong Kinney (April 9, 1859 – June 17, 1938) was an American politician from Oregon.

Early life and education

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Mary Edna Strong was born on April 9, 1859, in Salem, Oregon, to Elisha Strong and Pherne Brown Strong.[1] Her great grandmother was Tabitha Moffatt Brown, the founder of what was to become Pacific University.[1] She received her A.B. degree from Willamette University, as well as her A.M. degree in 1878.[1][2][3] She taught at the La Creole Academy in Dallas.[3] She married William Sylvester Kinney, the youngest son of Robert Crouch Kinney, in 1881.[1][4] After her husband died in 1898, she managed his sawmill and raised four sons:[1][4] Robert C., Dr. Alfred E., Dr. Kenneth W., William S.[5]

Political career

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In 1912, the year women in Oregon were granted suffrage, Kinney was the president of the Astoria Women's Suffrage Club. Kinney was elected as a Republican to represent Clatsop County in the Oregon House of Representatives in 1920, serving in the 1921 legislature as the only woman in either house that year.[1][3] She fought for the right for women to serve on Oregon juries.[1] In 1922, she was elected to the state senate, where she served in the 1923 and 1925 legislative sessions.[1] Oregon Voter magazine noted in 1922 that "her business experience was so broad that she had a ready comprehension of legislative problems" and that she "bore herself with distinction and dignity".[6]

Death and legacy

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Strong moved to Astoria in 1908.[5] She died in Seaside, Oregon, on June 17, 1938, and was buried in the Salem Pioneer Cemetery. A liberty ship, the SS Mary E. Kinney was built in Portland and named in her honor on December 29, 1943.

See also

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Further reading

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  • Stewart, Jane A. (May 26, 1921). "Women of Today". The Journal of Education. 93 (21). Trustees of Boston University: 569. doi:10.1177/002205742109302104. JSTOR 42830872.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mary Edna Kinney". Salem Pioneer Cemetery. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  2. ^ Odell, Elizabeth French McLench (1884). A Semi-centennial Offering to the Members and Friends of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem, Oregon. Portland, Oregon: Swope & Taylor, Printers. pp. 37, 44.
  3. ^ a b c "Who's Who in the House: Mrs. W. S. Kinney". Oregon Voter. 24 (1): 51. January 1, 1921.
  4. ^ a b "William Sylvester Kinney". The Oregon Native Son. 2 (1). Portland, Oregon: Native Son Publishing Co.: 269 May 1900.
  5. ^ a b Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. p. 160. Retrieved 8 August 2017.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ "Who's Who in the Senate: Mrs. W. S. Kinney". Oregon Voter. 31 (13): 489. December 30, 1922.
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