Mary Helen Shepard Light

(1833–1902) Mary Helen lived on a farmstead near where Oak Hill Country Club is today. The mother of six children, she managed to be the first President of the Pittsford Political Equality Club, which was organized September 6, 1902 in Pittsford, NY. Notes from the Club’s meeting on November 4, 1902, paint a picture of her energy and enthusiasm for suffrage:

“The president, Mrs. Light, presided. She was in her brightest mood. Eager to be doing something. Very desirous of arranging for a course of lectures. Mrs. Light and Mr. and Mrs. Charles True attended the state convention at Buffalo. Both ladies were extremely enthusiastic over the exercises, addresses, & c.”

Mrs. Light’s leadership was cut short by her death only a few days later. She was found dead in the buggy in front of her son’s home in Brighton. The obituary described her as “one of the most known and highly respected women in Monroe County; a woman of unusual mental ability and of a most social nature.” (*from http://www.townofpittsford.org)