| Mary Eato | |
| Birth Name: | Mary Elizabeth Eato[1] |
| Birth Date: | September 23, 1844 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S |
| Nationality: | American |
| Other Names: | Mary E. Eaton |
| Occupation: | Educator, suffragist |
Mary Elizabeth Eato (also Eaton; September 23, 1844 – February 8, 1915) was an African-American suffragist and teacher.
Eato was born in New York City on September 23, 1844,[2] the daughter of Timothy and Sarah Jane Eato.
At the age of 16, Eato began teaching for the "Colored Schools". She received a diploma in teaching from a New York normal school in July 1861, when she was the only colored student graduating at the commencement ceremony.[3] She later went on to teach at Grammar Schools.[4] Among the schools she taught at were Grammar School No. 3, 41st Street,[4] [5] under the principal Charles Lewis Reason,[5] and Grammar School No. 80,[4] [6] on 42nd Street.
In 1891, she was awarded the degree of Master of Pedagogy from the University of the City of New York. She taught for 44 years, retiring in 1904.[7] Among her students were some who themselves became teachers, such as Frances Reynolds Keyser,[5] and Dr. Adena C. E. Minott,[6] founder of a school of mental sciences in Chicago.[8]
During her teaching career, she met Sarah Garnet, the first black woman principal in New York City. While Garnet founded the Colored Women's Equal Suffrage League of Brooklyn, Eato held a membership there for many years. Eato then became the league's vice president in 1908.
She died on February 8, 1915, at the age of 70.[4] [7]