Mary E. Busey
Mary Elizabeth Bowen Busey (1854-1930) was born in Delphi, Indiana to Abner and Catherine Bowen. Busey attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, the first degree granting institution open to Women in the United States. At the age of twenty-three, she married Civil War veteran, U.S. Army General, and Urbana citizen Samuel T. Busey. They had three children together, Marietta Ruth Busey, Bertha Busey, and Charles Bowen Busey and lived at 502 W. Main Street in Urbana.
Upon arriving in Urbana, Busey became a very active citizen, ultimately becoming involved in at least twenty clubs, organizations, and major city projects. In 1888, she joined the First Presbyterian Church, a congregation for whom she would sponsor and build a new church in 1902. In 1906, she became a member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, the first year women could run for board positions. On the night of her death in 1930, the Urbana Association of Commerce had scheduled to hold an event honoring her. However, Busey was held up in a Cincinnati, Ohio hospital, recovering from gallbladder surgery. That evening, Busey passed away from pneumonia. When the Association learned of her death, they carried on with the banquet as a memorial to Busey and her great impact on the city of Urbana.
A supporter of women’s rights and suffrage, she was a member of the Illinois State Suffrage Association, organizer and first president of the Woman’s Relief Corps local chapter, founding member of the Urbana Women’s Club, member of the Dames of the Loyal Legion, member of the League of Women Voters of Champaign County, University Women’s Club member, Urbana Business Women’s Club member, one of the first Phi Delta Theta fraternity patronesses, and a national honorary member of the Gamma Epsilon Pi Sorority.
Busey was elected to six consecutive terms on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and was instrumental in the construction of the main library and the women’s dormitory now known as Busey Hall. While a board member, she was part of the Alumni and Engineering committees and was named the chairperson of the Agricultural committee, but unfortunately died before taking the position.
On serving as a Board of Trustee member Busey stated: “Women were allowed to vote on school matters in Illinois fifteen years before they were given full suffrage. I ran for the board of trustees the first year after we were given the privilege.”