Maggie Smith was born in 1867 in Ottawa, Ohio, the daughter of a Methodist Episcopal minister. She arrived in Stevensville, Montana, in 1893. She became a teacher when she was fifteen and taught in Ohio. Later, she was principal and county superintendent of schools in Helena. The Epworth League, established in 1889 in Cleveland, Ohio, was formed as a junior league to extend the effectiveness of Methodism; Smith became a member of the Montana League in 1894. The following year, she became the state president, and worked to make the organization more effectively carry its message of Methodism statewide. She was also active in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. In 1911, she married Benjamin Tappan Hathaway, a deputy superintendent of the State Department of Public Instruction. He died when they had only been married six months.
That same year, she became interested in politics. She actively lobbied for women's suffrage and served as one of the first two women in the Montana legislature, 1917-1921. Some of her legislation concerned alcohol and tobacco controls in the state. In 1920, the Democratic caucus elected her the minority floor leader, making her the first woman in American history to receive this distinction. She ran unsuccessfully for the office of Representative to the U. S. Congress from Montana in 1922. In 1925, she was appointed secretary of the Bureau of Child Protection in Montana, and served in that post for three years. Here, she worked to advance the welfare of women and children in the state. In 1936, she was appointed director of Child Welfare Services of the Montana Relief Commission. In this post, she traveled to Washington, DC, to lobby for women and children. She left that position in 1937 and became a freelance worker. In 1940 she became Informational Representative of the State Department of Public Welfare, and became secretary of the Montana Temperance Commission in 1941. In 1953, the Montana Conference of Social Welfare honored Hathaway at its annual banquet.
The collection contains scrapbook and manuscript materials collected by Hathaway and used by Harold Tascher in writing his book
The collection is divided into three series:
Series I: Scrapbooks, 0.75 linear feet, 1893-1932
Series II:
Series III: Clippings, 1 folder, 1917-1951
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
[Name of document or photograph number], Maggie Smith Hathaway Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.
The collection was acquired by Harold Tascher as part of his work on Hathaway. This was originally a segment of his papers.
Gift of Harold Tascher, 1972.
The actions of the original processors are unknown. In November 1997, the collection was substantially rearranged and more thoroughly described.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
This series contains twelve scrapbooks that focus on Hathaway's legislative activities, child welfare work, the Epworth League, and women's suffrage. The books contain photographs, newspaper clippings, typescript transcriptions of newspaper stories, typescript copies of Hathaway's addresses and speeches, and various awards and accolades given her.
The series is arranged approximately chronologically.
This series consists of the handwritten and typescript manuscript for Tascher's book. The typescript copy bears annotations that seem to be in Hathaway's hand. There is also one copy of the book in published form.
This series consists of newspaper and magazine clippings from Montana and national newspapers about Hathaway and a few publications about liquor and tobacco. Many of the newspaper clippings are annotated in her hand.