Year Honored: 2020

Birth: 1883-1967

Born in: Delaware

Biography

Mary Seward Phillips Eskridge was born in 1883, at a time in which a woman’s place was said to be the home. Throughout her life, Eskridge strove to ensure that women could choose where they desired a place.

Having completed her high school education in Seaford, DE, Eskridge was a teacher for a short while in Bethel, DE, before her marriage to Capt. John R. Eskridge in 1903. After the birth of her first two children, she joined the Seaford Acorn Club, becoming its president in 1913, and continued active work with the club well into the 1960s. Eskridge was elected vice-president of the Seaford Parent Teacher Association in 1915, later serving twice as President, and remaining active with the PTA until 1936.

After becoming involved in the Suffragist Movement in 1919, Eskridge served on a number of clubs in numerous positions. She served on the ratification committee for Sussex County and was the Treasurer of the Equal Suffrage Association. After the 19th Amendment was passed, Eskridge served as Treasurer of the League of Women’s Voters and worked with the Delaware Democratic Party’s State Committee.

Continuing her foray into state politics, Eskridge was elected as a Sussex Country representative of the new Democratic State Committee in 1922, and in 1928 she was elected to the Democratic National Committee of Women of Delaware, a position she would hold for eight years. After campaigning for her husband, Eskridge became First Lady of Seaford after her John R. Eskridge was elected Mayor in 1920. Additionally, during World War I Eskridge became a driver for the Red Cross Motor Service transportation program and served as the Western Sussex Chair of the Victory Loan Program, raising $85,000 for the cause. Under New Deal programs, she worked for the National Youth Administration Program and the Works Progress Administration in Sussex County.
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Sources and Additional Readings

Biographical sketch of Mary Seward Phillips (Mrs. John R.) Eskridge. Biographical Sketch of Mary Seward Phillips (Mrs. John R.) Eskridge | Alexander Street Documents. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1010111651.

Mary Seward Phillips Eskridge (1883-1967) - find... Find a Grave. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42727745/mary-seward-eskridge.