Logan, Mary Cunningham (1838–1923)

views updated

Logan, Mary Cunningham (1838–1923)

American political wife and writer. Name variations: Mrs. John A. Logan; Mary S. Logan. Born Mary Simmerson Cunningham, Aug 15, 1838, in Petersburgh (now Sturgeon), Boone County, MO; died Feb 22, 1923, in Washington, DC; dau. of John M. Cunningham and Elizabeth Hicks (La Fontaine) Cunningham; m. John Alexander Logan, Nov 27, 1855 (died 1886); children: 1 son, 1 daughter; (adopted) daughter.

Accompanied husband on campaigns for Illinois state legislature, US House of Representatives, US Senate, and vice presidency (on ticket with James G. Blaine, 1884); served as his amanuensis after his promotion to general in Army of Tennessee during Civil War; suggested that holiday be declared for those who fought for the Union, which led to his sponsoring legislation for Memorial Day; declined job offer of federal pensions commissioner from President Benjamin Harrison; stepped in as president of Red Cross after resignation of Clara Barton (1904); published Thirty Years in Washington (1901) and Reminiscences of a Soldier's Wife (1913); edited domestic arts periodical, Home Magazine (1888–95), and collection of biographical sketches, The Part Taken by Women in American History (1912).