Mary’s mother, Eunice Newton, is a scientist and a delegate to the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention which launches the campaign for gender equality and female suffrage. Mary is educated at what becomes Skidmore College, and marries Missouri Senator John Henderson in 1868. After sponsoring the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, he becoming fabulously wealthy by redeeming war bonds. The couple move from St. Louis to Washington in 1889, and build their “Henderson’s Castle” mansion. She in turn earns the title “Empress of 16th Street” for her skills as a hostess, a patron of the arts and an activist for female rights. Mary dies in 1931 at age eighty-eight.
Mary Foote Henderson
