Mary L. Geffs

Mary L. Geffs (1854–1939) was an author, speaker, and suffragist. She married young and her husband, who was a stock trader and legislator, died at a young age. As a young woman, she worked in sweat shops to support her family. She investigated and reported on occupational hazards in sweat shops and coal mining camps, and became an advocate for occupational safety. Geffs went on lecture tours for the Socialist Party of America and campaigned for University of Colorado regent, state superintendent of public instruction, and governor.

She was a delegate for the National Woman Suffrage Association conventions and she went on a speaking tour of the western United States advocating for women's right to vote. Geffs edited The Living Issue to communicate labor issues. It was endorsed by the Knights of Labor. She published the book Under Ten Flags about the settlement of Weld County, Colorado in 1938.

Early life Mary L. Vanpelt was born in 1854 to Mary Ann Fuller Vanpelt and Cyprus Vanpelt, a farmer. She was raised in Union Township of Clinton County, Ohio with her brothers Fuller, David who became a judge, and Cyrus who was a minister.

Marriage and children Mary L. Vanpelt, at the age of 16, married Robert Geffs on November 24, 1870 in Clinton, Ohio, becoming Mary L. Geffs. Robert was born to Mary and Thomas Geffs on April 24, 1849 on a farm in Clinton County, Ohio. (He is also said to have been born in 1851.) who was born in Ohio. Robert was elected to serve a term in the legislature in 1877. While on a road-trip to buy cattle, he was robbed of $2,200 , which left him in financial distress. He was severely injured when his horse fell on him.

In 1880, Geffs was a 26-year-old widow living in Pawnee, Kansas. She had four children Inez, Ernest, Osco, and Bessie, the eldest seven years of age and the youngest just 8 months old.

Career and suffrage After her husband's death, Geffs worked 10-hour days in Cincinnati sweatshops and at her residence in a cheap tenement. She sewed clothes to support herself and her children. Earning little, she was subject to eviction and she was worried that her children did not have enough to eat.

She was a delegate from Ohio that attended the National Woman Suffrage Association convention of 1884 and 1894.

She moved west and was employed as a reporter for Denver newspapers, and augmented her income by sewing for others. In 1906, she joined the Socialist Party and sat on Colorado state executive and national committees. She became a campaign speaker in 1910. She was sent by the party to Arizona in 1912 to speak about women's suffrage. The following year, she toured western states, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.

She campaigned for University of Colorado regent, state superintendent of public instruction, in 1910 for secretary of governor,

Geffs edited The Living Issue to communicate labor issues. It was endorsed by the Knights of Labor. She published the book Under Ten Flags about the settlement of Weld County, Colorado in 1938.

Personal life and death In 1900, she lived with her son Ernest and daughter Bessie on California Street in Denver. Geffs lived and worked out of 5075 Raleigh Street in 1910. In 1920, she was living with her daughter Bessie and son-in-law John Carlson's house in Eaton, Colorado. She lived at 5025 Tennyson Street in Denver in 1928. After having been ill for a year, she died at her daughter Bessie's house on November 8, 1939 at the age of 85.