Mary and her husband, William Anderson
Mary and daughter Nancy
Mary's daughter Nancy (Aged 5)
Nancy's three children and their cousins (1960s)
Nancy's letter to the editor (1970)
Mary's work was so important to her that she delayed marrying Will Anderson until 1911. Their marriage was a very happy one, but sadly very short. Will died in 1919. Mary never fully recovered from the loss. She died in 1921 at the age of 40. They had one daughter, Nancy, born in 1915.
Will and Mary had known each other for a long time. They met at a union meeting, when they were in their twenties. They shared the same socialist values.
Will asked Mary to marry him in 1903, but she said no. She was just 23, and she felt her work must come first. Will did not lose hope. "He had found his centre, and cared too deeply to give up." (Hamilton, 1925) Mary's work had taken her to London. When Will left trade union work for a political career, he was also based in London, so he was able to keep in close contact with Mary. He helped her with "The Woman Worker", a penny newspaper that she had launched. It was the official paper for the National Federation of Women Workers.
In 1911, Mary finally agreed to marry Will. They were married on 21st September at City Temple. The couple spent their ten- day honeymoon in Paris and Brussells. Will turned out to be perfect for Mary. He put her career first, because he believed that she had greater powers for good than he did. Mary often said, "How much is he too good for me?" He gave her the emotional steadiness and kindly calm, which her whirlwind temperament needed. Tragically, in 1913, Mary gave birth to a stillborn son. She did not speak in public for several months after. In 1915 a daughter was born. She was known as Nancy, but named Elizabeth Anne after Mary's mother.
There were many visitors to the Andersons' home. Arthur Henderson, Labour M.P. and Chief Whip of the Labour Party, at the time of his visit, recalled, "One of the most happy and instructive nights of my life was spent with Willie Anderson, Mary and their bairn". (The Labour Woman, February 1921)
In 1919 Will caught influenza, which turned to pneumonia. He died on the morning of 25th February. Mary never really recovered from his loss. She continued to work, but her health was failing. She had two operations for cancer, but they were unsuccessful. She died at her home on 1st January 1921.
Nancy was brought up by an aunt until she was twelve. She then went to Bedales School, as her mother had wished. In 1939 Nancy married a naval officer, I.H.Bargrave Deane. They had three children, Sally, Juliet and James. The photograph shows them, with two of their cousins, outside Nancy's house in Petersfield.
The newspaper cutting shows a letter written by Nancy in the 1970s. She writes with pride of her mother's achievements, and it seems from the tone of the letter, that she inherited some of her spirit.
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| Updated: | Fri 27 Apr 2007 - 0 |
| Interpretation written by | Barbara Harris |
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