Elizabeth Ordway

Elizabeth Ordway
Born	4 July 1828
Died	11 September 1897  (aged 69) Seattle
Resting place	Lake View Cemetery
Other names	Lizzie
Occupation	Teacher, suffragist

Mary Elizabeth Ordway (July 4, 1828 – September 11, 1897), an early advocate for women's suffrage in Washington territory, was one of the first group of young women recruited to become teachers and wives in pioneer Seattle in the 1860s. Despite the expectation that these "Mercer Girls" would marry, Ordway remained single and became a successful teacher, school administrator, and suffrage activist.^[1] The suffrage activism of Ordway and some of the other "Mercer Girls" reflected their educational levels, professional status, and the values associated with personal autonomy that promoted their decisions to migrate across the continent to build new lives.