Mary Edwards Walker: A Woman's Name

“A woman’s name is as dear to her as a man’s is to him, and custom ought, and will prevail, where each will keep their own names when they marry, and allow the children at a certain age to decide which name they will prefer.” (Great Lives in History). This was a quote that May Edwards Walker lived by, it was meant for the time when she was married and didn’t take her husbands last name. Mary Edwards Walker was born in the rural part of Oswego, New York on November 26, 1832. There is a historical marker placed at her birthplace on Bunker Hill. She was a sibling to four sisters, Aurora, Luna, Vesta, Cynthia and one brother, Alvah Junior. Her parents were Alvah and Vesta Walker. Mary’s family was an abolitionist family. Her family

to join the army as a surgeon and medical officer for the Union forces. Her request was denied, so she volunteered her time, being accepted as an assistant surgeon at the hospital set up at the U.S. Patent Office. By 1862, she had received a second medical degree from Hygeia Therapeutic College in New York. She was found with the Union Army of the Potomac, serving as a civilian surgeon at the battle of Fredericksburg, in November. Mary Edwards Walker designed and wore a modified officers uniform and carried two pistols at all times, she would also often cross into Confederate territory to help civilians. This led them to believe that she was also acting as if she were a spy. “Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” (Women in

Mary was elected president of the National Dress Reform in 1866. Mary began to dress completely in men’s clothing, from top hat and bow tie to pants and shoes. She was proud of being arrested several times for “impersonating a man.” In 1869, Mary finally received her divorce from New York state. Two years later, she wrote her first book, “Hit,” which was a combination autobiography and commentary on divorce. She called for more fair laws so wives and children could escape unhappy homes. In 1878, Mary wrote her second book, “Unmasked, or Science of Immortality,” about infidelity (Women of Courage). In 1880, Mary Walker’s father passed away, leaving her the Bunker Hill Farm. She lived here until she passed away, traveling from Oswego to Washington when necessary. She planned to use the farm as a colony to teach young single women farming and domestic skills before marriage. In April 1917, while World War I raged on, she offered Kaiser Wilhelm II her land as a site for a German-American peace conference. Mary declared herself a candidate for Congress on Oswego in 1890. The next year, she campaigned for a U.S. Senate seat and, the next year, paid her way to the Democratic National Convention