Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Margaret H. Lawless, 1864-1933
By Raven Hills, undergraduate student, Tulane University
Margaret H. Lawless, also known as M.H. Lawless, was a suffragist from Garden City, Louisiana. She was born in 1864 or 1865 to immigrant parents: her father was from Norway and her mother was from Ireland. A Margaret Lawless married Patrick Kenney in New Orleans in 1879, and while that was likely Margaret H. Lawless, the record does not indicate a middle initial. Margaret H. Lawless divorced during her lifetime and worked as a real estate agent in St. Mary Parish in Louisiana.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton mentioned Margaret Lawless in her book, History of Woman Suffrage: 1900-1920 as being a member of The Era Club in Louisiana which turned into the State Suffrage Association. She served as the Association's recording secretary in 1913 and auditor in 1915. Lawless was appointed U.S. Postmaster in Garden City, Louisiana, in 1923. In 1933, Margaret died in Franklin, Louisiana and was buried in the city's cemetery.
Sources:
History of Woman Suffrage: 1900-1920, vol. 6, pp. 216-17 [LINK].
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