MARY FRYE BARRY

Mary Frye Barry was born in Waukegan, Illinois, the daughter of William and Marcia (Deming) Barry. She was educated in the public schools of Waukegan and then attended normal school at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, following which she taught school for one year.

Even as a child, Dr. Barry wanted to become a doctor, an ambition in which she received little encouragement. Nothing daunted, she persisted and for a year studied with Dr. Clark of Waukegan. Later she entered the Woman's Medical School of Chicago and graduated in 1887. Successful in a competitive examination, Dr. Barry received an appointment as an intern in the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children in Chicago where she served for a year.

At the end of her internship, she opened an office in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and in two years established a large practice. In hopes of finding a climate which might prove beneficial for her sister, Dr. Barry moved to Pueblo, Colorado, in 1891. Like most women doctors of that era, she encountered a certain amount of opposition but very soon won the respect of her male colleagues. In January, 1896, she was appointed county physician for Pueblo County, a position she held for two years.

When Senator Henry Teller of Colorado organized the silver wing of the Republican party Dr. Barry became interested and was soon a leader in state politics. She served many times as a delegate to county and state conventions, and in the fall of 1898 she was nominated by the Fusionists to represent her district and was elected by an overwhelming majority to the House of Representatives. Although not married, she was particularly interested in the rights of married women and introduced a number of bills designed to protect a wife's property rights.

A trip to visit her married sister, Mrs. L.M. Smith, brought Dr. Barry to Honolulu in January, 1901. So charmed was she by the Islands that she decided to remain and in August, 1901, opened an office on the corner of Beretania and Union streets. The following year she was appointed by the Board of Health as examiner of school children, a position she held for a number of years. She is last listed in the Honolulu Directory of 1907 and probably left the Islands sometime during that year.

Dr. Barry died in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on December 8, 1919, at the age of 60.

During her years in Pueblo she was a member of the Pueblo County Medical Society, serving as Secretary for two years, and a member of the Colorado State Medical Society. She was a member of the Congregational Church.

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