Mary Merchant DeWolf

Mary Jolls Merchant DeWolf, the daughter of Dr. Joseph Merchant and Hannah Jane Martin Merchant, was born on April 20, 1870. Introduced to the needs of her family and her community at an early age, service to others became a central part of her adult life. Because her home was next door to the Baptist Church, she was trusted with the keys to unlock the church and sound the bell to alert the volunteer fire department to duty when there was a night fire. Due to her mother’s poor health, many of the household responsibilities fell on Mary -- she even attended cooking school in Providence in 1882.

Musically talented, she was the organist at St. Mark’s Sunday school and taught private music students. Her voice was often featured in local concerts and entertainment. Mary’s father’s office was in their home and as a girl she accompanied him on house calls, traveling by horse and buggy throughout Warren, Barrington, Swansea, and Rehoboth. After contracting a serious illness from one of his patients, she graduated from high school a year late. After high school, she studied music at Lasell Academy in Newton, MA. She served in the Cranston Public Schools as music director until her marriage. In 1898, during the Spanish American War, she joined the United States Sanitary Commission, precursor to the American Red Cross, providing aid to soldiers.

In 1902, Mary married Howard K. DeWolf. They had three daughters: Mary, Jane and Rachel. Mary formed the British Relief Committee when World War I began and her home became the center of Red Cross work in Warren when the United States entered the war in 1917. She served on the Warren Branch of the American Red Cross for over 35 years. Mary was a champion of women’s rights and the suffrage movement and had the unique honor of being the first woman in Rhode Island to register to vote when the 19^th Amendment was ratified in 1920.

Politically active throughout her life, she served on the Republican State Central Committee and on the Warren Town Republican Committee. Other organizations that benefitted from her leadership were the Warren Girls Club, the Bristol Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Legion Auxiliary, the R.F. Tobin Women’s Relief Corps, and the Barrington Reading Club. She passed away in 1947 at 421 Main Street, the home where she was born and lived for 77 years. Both her father and her brother Marcius were physicians; perhaps Mary Merchant DeWolf might have become a doctor herself if the opportunity had been easily available to her. Her commitment to her family, to community service, and to women’s rights strongly reflected her desire to work for the betterment of others and to improve society.

Biography provided by Kristin MacDonald, Warren Preservation Society
Image Courtesy of theWarren Preservation Society and the Merchant DeWolf Family