Mary Osborn Douthit Explained

Mary Osborn Douthit (1850–1908) was an early white settler of the Oregon country, a teacher, a prominent advocate of woman suffrage, and editor of the book The Souvenir of Western Women, published to coincide with the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon in 1905. She immigrated to Oregon in 1853 at the age of three.^[1] Her parents were James Harrison and Lueza Osborn Douthit.^[2] She was killed when struck by a streetcar in downtown Portland in 1908; she had been living in Portland for 15 years.^[3] According to fellow suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway, Douthit's untimely death cut short a literary career on the cusp of success.^[4] Her book had brief, positive mentions in the Oregon Historical Quarterly^[5] and in the Pacific Monthly.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Transactions of the [1st]-56th annual reunion. 1873. Salem, Ore., Portland, Ore..
2. News: Miss Douthit a Pioneer: Woman Killed by Car Came to Oregon in 1853 . . July 27, 1908 . 7 .
3. https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83045782/1908-07-26/ed-1/seq-9.pdf "Pioneer Woman Killed By Car"
4. Joseph. Gaston. Abigail Scott Duniway. Abigail Scott. Duniway. Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders/Volume 3. Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders. 1911. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.. Portland. 52–60.
5. Frederic George. Young. Reviews. Reviews (Number 2). Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 7. Oregon Historical Quarterly. 7(2). 1906. Oregon Historical Society. Portland. 222.
6. William Bittle. Wells. Literature. The Pacific Monthly/Volume 14/Number 3. The Pacific Monthly. 14(3). 1905. The Pacific Monthly Publishing Co.. Portland, Oregon. 362.