May Wright Sewall was an educator, suffragist, reformer, and civic leader who helped shape Indianapolis during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Wisconsin in 1844, Sewall moved to Indiana in the 1870s and eventually made Indianapolis her home. She believed strongly that women deserved the same opportunities for education and civic participation as men.
What Did She Do?
Sewall spent much of her life creating opportunities for women. In 1882, she and her husband, Theodore, founded the Girls' Classical School of Indianapolis, offering young women an education that included subjects such as science and modern languages.
Her work extended far beyond the classroom. Sewall helped establish the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society and became a national leader in the fight for women's voting rights. She worked alongside nationally known suffragists including Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and eventually served as president of the International Council of Women.
How Did She Change Indiana?
Sewall helped create organizations that would become lasting parts of Indianapolis' cultural and civic life. She was involved in founding the Indianapolis Woman's Club, the Indianapolis Propylaeum, and the Art Association of Indianapolis, the predecessor of today's Newfields.
She also helped bring women's issues onto a much larger stage. At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Sewall organized a major Congress of Women, bringing female leaders from across the country and around the world together.
The Part of Her Story We Forgot
Sewall is often remembered primarily as a suffragist, but her ambitions were much broader. She advocated for education, the arts, women's organizations, and international peace. She helped build networks that allowed women to exchange ideas and participate more openly in public life. Perhaps most remarkable, Sewall died on July 22, 1920, just one month before the ratification of the 19th Amendment finally secured women's constitutional right to vote.
Where to Experience Her Story Today
Visitors can find an Indiana Historical Bureau marker honoring May Wright Sewall at Veterans Memorial Plaza in downtown Indianapolis, near the site where the Indianapolis Propylaeum once stood. The Propylaeum itself continues to preserve her legacy and the history of women's civic involvement in Indianapolis.
You can also explore Sewall's papers through the Indianapolis Public Library's Digital Collections, where letters, photographs, and other materials offer a closer look at the woman behind one of Indiana's most fascinating reform movements.
For another Hoosier woman who pushed for change, read about Flossie Bailey of Marion.
