Mary Maud Peterson Kennedy

Mary Maud Peterson Kennedy, 1877 -1902
Dressmaker

Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, Block 4, Grave 3

(Image courtesy of Microsoft Word clip art)

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Sewing and needlework, although not very well-paid, have always been one of the few occupations open to respectable women.

Mary was born August 7, 1877, in Greenwood, Cass County, Nebraska, to George Peterson and Lucinda Bice. In 1900 the family had moved to Homer Township, Bates County, Missouri, where Mary’s parents were farmers, and Mary and her sister Nettie were listed as servants. Mary and Nettie, however, left Missouri soon after and, by early December, were living in Pleasanton, Kansas, where they opened up a dressmaking business.

Mary became a member of the Royal Neighbor Lodge in Missouri. The Society was a progressive women’s fraternal benefit society established in 1895 and an auxiliary to Modern Woodmen of America. The organization focused on assisting women and children in need and offering life insurance for women--an option never before available to women. Royal Neighbor is now the largest women-led life insurer in the country.

It was not long before Mary met Benjamin F. Kennedy, a cattleman from Belgrade, Montana, and nephew of Judge Daniel E. Peterson. They were married April 17, 1901, in Amoret, Missouri. Shortly after the wedding, the young couple moved to Montana.

Like so many others at the time, Mary was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis, and a move to a warmer climate was recommended. The Peterson family arrived in Phoenix sometime between 1901 and 1902. Benjamin and Mary then came to Phoenix so that Mary’s family of origin could care for her. On February 18, 1902, she died at her father’s residence.

Mary was buried in Rosedale Cemetery. Her sister, Elica Card, who died in 1904, and her brother, Benjamin, who died in 1911, are also buried there.

© 2020 by Patricia Gault. Last revised 13 March 2020.

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