Mary Bostwick Shellman: From Civil War to Suffrage

This picture of Mary was taken in 1863, when she was 13 years old.  Despite her youth, Mary cared for dying soldiers at the hospital across the street.  This experience shaped her life and she would dedicate much of her energy to remembering the Civil War dead and aiding veterans.

In her 1864 School Composition Book, Mary boldly wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, denouncing him as a traitor and calling herself his “bitterest enemy.” Her words were especially powerful, as her own family was divided — her sister supported the Confederacy.

Click Here to Mary’s letter to “Jeff” Davis

Children from Carroll County, dressed in white, prepare to carry flowers and flags to the Westminster cemetery. Mary Shellman began this tradition shortly after the Civil War, saying she did so “as no one seemed to take the initiative.” In the photo, Mary stands in a black dress behind the youngest children, while her Boy Scout troop proudly leads the way.

Mary Bostwick Shellman decorates the grave of Lt. R.H. Clark of the 7th Maine Volunteers on Memorial Day, 1890. Lt. Clark died from sunstroke on the march from Virginia to Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. As a young nurse, Mary “sat and fanned him” in his final moments. He was laid to rest in a plot Mary had set aside at Westminster Cemetery for soldiers who had no family to claim them.

Mary Shellman never forgot the people she helped during the Civil War. She comforted a Union soldier named R.H. Clark as he died from sunstroke. In his final moments, he called Mary by his young son’s name, Henry. Mary not only paid for Clark’s burial, but also found his son, who later sent her this photo of himself around 1880.

The “Old Sixth” Massachusetts regiment was the first Union Army unit to lose soldiers in the Civil War, during the Baltimore riots on April 19, 1861. Mary Shellman stayed close with Union veterans and often wrote to their groups to offer support. On the 27th anniversary of the riot, April 19, 1888, she sent a letter and a box of real Maryland Biscuits to veterans in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to remind them they were not forgotten.

Mary Shellman was an honorary member of multiple Civil War veterans organizations, a rarity for a woman. This ribbon was given to her by the local chapter, Wilson Post No. 1

This photo is of Rachel Pye, the servant of a neighboring family. On the back, Paul Reese, who grew up in the Shellman household, wrote, “lifelong friend of MBS (Mary Bostwick Shellman). The words “Auntie Rachel Pye” also appear, possibly written by Mary herself. This relationship illustrates the complexities of race relations in post-Civil War Maryland. Mary was making huge strides in crossing racial divides in her community, but calling a Black woman “Aunt” or “Auntie” was a way to deny her proper respect, using a familiar term instead of addressing her as an equal.

We don’t know if Rachel was born into slavery, but many of the Black community in Westminster were, including Mary Key. Mary Key, born into slavery in 1812, lived her entire life in the Shellman house. Paul Reese, who referred to her as his “Mammy” recalled that she died in the very room where she had been born. Mary Key could read, but not write, and we have no known pictures of her.

Mary’s community was divided during the war. When Confederate troops occupied the town in July 1864, some children cheered and others booed. When Jeb Stuart noticed she was not among those cheering, Mary recalls, he brought her on his horse, called her his “little captive” and gave her a kiss. Many historians and citizens mythologized this story in the mid 20th-century, a time when romanticized stories of the South and the Confederacy became more popular.

This picture of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, hung over Mary’s bed her entire life. While Mary was a member of the Episcopal Church, she shared John Wesley’s value of service above all. Wesley was deeply committed to social reform, including caring for the poor, education and prison reform.

Mary Bostwick Shellman connected her community to the world by installing the first residential telephone in Carroll County, on the second floor of her home, on July 12, 1884. The next year she became the first manager of the Westminster Division of the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company. In 1885, Alexander Graham Bell visited Mary at her home. Noticing the worn spot on her elbow (what she called “the badge of the telephone operator”), Bell told her she deserved a better badge and later sent her this miniature telephone pendant.

Mary enriched her community with her art, be it poetry, music, theater or visual arts. This unique piece, made from moss, bark, twigs and pebbles, shows her church, Ascension Episcopal, or the “Stone Church,” which still stands today. This work, representing Westminster, earned international praise when it won a prize at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Mary was widely involved in her community arts and theater scene. She often performed on stage in costumes like this one and helped organize children’s choirs, music concerts, and more.

Mary Shellman cared about her community’s history, and celebrated it through her art, poetry and writing. She painted this plate as a gift to Elle Logue. Ella’s great-grandfather built the cabin in 1777. The cabin was taken down in July, 1886.

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 caused massive destruction to the Pennsylvania town, sweeping away homes and killing over 2,000 people. The American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton, quickly mobilized to provide food, shelter, and medical care to the survivors. Mary Shellman was among those who answered the call to help. Clara Barton gave Mary this pin in recognition of her service. Today, the American Red Cross still relies on volunteers, and every year responds to over 60,000 disasters, such as fires, floods, and earthquakes.

One great reason why the rich, in general, have so little sympathy for the poor, is because they so seldom visit them. John Wesley. Mary Shellman, who woke each day under the portrait of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, took his words to heart. She visited the poor in her community, especially those living at the County Almshouse, which provided housing for those in need. She and a group of volunteers worked to transform the Almshouse from what she described as “a shame and a blot on our rich, fertile county of Carroll,” into a “model institution.” This photo, showing some of the women who lived there, was part of Mary’s personal collection.

Mary wore this sash as President of the Just Government League of Carroll County, a grassroots Maryland suffrage organization. Suffragists wore sashes in bright colors to stand out at marches and rallies. The most common colors were purple, white, and yellow. These colors were not random — they had special meanings:

• Purple stood for loyalty and dignity.
• White symbolized purity.
• Yellow came from the sunflower, which was used in early suffrage campaigns, and it stood for hope and light.

The sashes helped send a strong, clear message. When women wore them, it showed they were united and proud to fight for the right to vote.

Mary wrote the lyrics and her sister, Fanny, wrote the tune to this campaign song. The song supported William McKinley and the gold standard, a big issue in the 1896 election. Supporters of gold wanted money backed by gold to keep prices stable and protect businesses and workers. The song urges voters to reject “silver” money, which many feared would cause wild swings in the economy.

Mary loved politics and even traveled to the Republican convention in Indiana. She wrote campaign songs and influenced politics, both locally and nationally, decades before she was even able to vote.

Mary Shellman used sample ballots, similar to this one from Ohio, in 1920, when she opened her home up as an “Instruction Room.” Understanding the ballot and the issues and candidates in the election helped ensure everyone could practice their constitutional rights with confidence. Today, the League of Women Voters carries on Mary’s work by publishing sample ballots, interviewing candidates, explaining ballot measures and registering voters.

These pictures are from the November 1920 issue of Woman’s Home Companion magazine. They show a group of women in a living room, “conferring solemnly over” their sample ballots. But on the same page, there is also a racist drawing of a Black servant. This shows the harder truth about the fight for women’s right to vote. Some people who did not want women to vote used the idea of Black women voting as an argument against it. Because of this, many White suffragists distanced themselves from Black women. Still, Black women kept fighting for their rights. In 1920, they voted alongside White women.