Representative women of New England/Abby Williams May
ABBY WILLIAMS MAY, the subject of this sketch, was born in Boston on April 21, 1829, and named for her grand-mother, Abigail Williams May, wife of Samuel May. Her parents were Deacon Samuel J. and Mary (Goddard) May. Her father, who was commonly spoken of as "Deacon May," was of the sixth generation of his family in Massachusetts. The Rev. Samuel Joseph May, a noted Unitarian preacher of the last century, was his near relative. Deacon May and his wife were at one time parishioners of the Rev. John Pierpont and later of Theodore Parker, and were devoted advocates of the abolition cause. Mrs. May was prominent among the ladies who held tables at the anti-slavery fairs, which were for many years a feature in the social life of Boston. I remember Abby very well at Parker's meeting. From him I learned something of a European trip which she made in her youth. Her father subsequently told me of her devotion to a motherless niece, whom she reared from infancy.
Miss May had many friendships, but she had also great capacities for public service. She was singularly free from any desire for personal prominence, but her ability of mind and soundness of character were recognized in all that she undertook. When the exigencies of the Civil War led to the organization of the Sanitary Commission, Miss May became a leader in the group of patriotic women who in Boston and Massachusetts generally exerted themselves to send aid and comfort to our soldiers in the field. In a notice of Miss May published soon after her death Mrs. E. D. Cheney says;—
"She was engaged in many philanthropic movements, and usually went to the head by a natural tendency. President of the Horticultural School for Women, vice-president of the New England Women's Club, president of the Massachusetts School Suffrage Association, vice-president of the Association for the Advancement of Women, and director in other institutions, she would seem to have found ample scope even for her large powers."
Miss May was an ardent suffragist. She was also much interested in dress reform, and was active in the movement which led to the improved system of underwear for w-omen now so generally adopted in this country. Her own taste in dress was simple and individual. She would wear a hat that shaded her eyes, shoes adapted to the shape of her foot, and garments of rich material, but of sombre color and comfortable cut. Mrs. Cheney says further:—
"In her later years education became her greatest interest. She was one of the first women elected on the school committee of the city of Boston, and she served on it faithfully for several years. When through changes in the manner of election she was not returned to the board,' the deep disappointment of her fellow-citizens led them to petition for the right of women to vote for the school committee. She was soon after appointed a member of the Board, of Education. Her services in this position were greatly valued, especially her oversight of the normal schools, in which both teachers and pupils profited by her wise counsel and warm sympathy."
My own happiest remembrance of Miss May relates to her participation, continued for years, in the work of the Association for the Advancement of Women. This Association, which is now in some degree replaced by the (General Federation of Women's Clubs, was accustomed to hold an annual Congress of Women in widely distant parts of the country. At these meetings, which were continued during a quarter of a century, the duties and interests of women were considered in their most vital relation to the well-being of society. They were often held in cities where no one of the participants was known by sight. On such occasions Miss May would come upon the scene attired in her usual plain, rather colorless dress, wearing the broad-soled shoes and serviceable hat, from the use of which she never departed. This simple costimie hardly commended her to an ordinary assemblage of women. The hat, however, was soon removed, its absence permitting a full view of the face, with its cameo-like profile and fine expression. As soon, moreover, as she began to take part in the proceedings, the charm of her voice and the power of her presence made themselves felt. All did love to hear her and to look upon her.
In the business of the meetings, which was manifold and sometimes not without difficulties, her advice and influence were most important, and the "lady in plain clothes" showed herself as she was, a great gentlewoman. As such and as a most loyal and sympathetic friend, faithful and affectionate in all personal relations, she is remembered and mourned by those who had the happiness of being her fellow-workers.
Miss May's death occurred in Boston on the 30th of November, 1888, before the completion of her fifty-ninth year.
Julia Ward Howe.