Anthony, Mary S., 1827-1907

Mary Stafford Anthony (b. Apr. 2, 1827, Battenville, NY–d. Feb. 5, 1907, Rochester, NY) was the younger sister of suffragist Susan B. Anthony. Mary worked as a teacher and principal; she taught in the city of Rochester's public schools for 27 years and was promoted to principal. She was the first woman known in Rochester to receive equal pay to men who were principals.

In 1848, Mary attended the Rochester Women's Rights Convention with her parents. In 1872, Susan and Mary Anthony along with fourteen other women were arrested for voting illegally in Rochester. As an activist, Mary joined the Women's Christian Temperance Union in 1873. She was the corresponding secretary of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (1893), and organized and hosted the first meeting of the local Women's Political Club (1885). She served as its president for more than a decade, from 1892 to 1903.