| Birth Name: | Mary Elizabeth Cary |
| Birth Date: | August 1865[1] |
| Birth Place: | Richmond, Virginia |
| Education: | Richard Colored Normal School |
| Occupation: | Educator, businesswoman |
Mary Elizabeth Cary Burrell (August 1865 –) was an American educator and businessperson.[2] She is known for being a school teacher and for working for causes like women's suffrage.
Burrell was born in August 1865 in Richmond, Virginia, the daughter of Beverly and Lucy Cary (or Carey). Her father worked in a tobacco factory.[3] [4] She graduated from the Richmond Colored Normal School in June 1883.[5]
Burrell taught in the Richmond Public Schools from her graduation in 1883 until 1885 when she married William Patrick Burrell,[6] who likewise had graduated from the Richmond Colored Normal School, the year after she did.[5] Mary Burrell and her husband were early members of the Grand Fountain of the United Order of True Reformers, a fraternal organization which grew to offer insurance, banking services, real estate services, a retirement home, and educational opportunities to members.[7] As a member of the Grand Fountain, Mary Burrell founded new lodges as well as expanded the number of youth education programs (called 'Rosebud') which were organized by the lodges to teach financial skills.[6] She served as first clerk for the bank, training other clerks, and was president of the Rosebud Board. She served in the leadership of multiple social organizations, including the Women's Auxiliary of Richmond Hospital, the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women, and the Women's Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of the State of Virginia.[6] She organized social gatherings in her home in Richmond, with prominent guests who included Booker T. Washington. She raised two sons, William Preston (1893) and John Mercer (1894).
In 1910, financial scandal and fraud struck and the Grand Fountain was forced to shutter most of its businesses. Mary Burrell and her husband relocated to New Jersey, where they resumed their work building social organizations.[8] Mary Burrell was involved in women's suffrage, and later worked on get-out-the vote programs and various political organizations.[9]
A photo of Mrs. Mary E. Cary Burrell.