Mary Monnett Bain
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Mary Monnett Bain (born Mary Monnett) (September 21, 1833, Ohio - July 30, 1885, Osawatomie, Miami County, Kansas), following her mother's death, came into a very large sum of money, and it was her mother's wife that a Methodist Episcopal Church leader, one Bishop Leonard B. Gurley, would provide the proper home in which the young ward was to be raised in. At the time, Gurley was deeply involved with the Ohio Wesleyan Female College in Delaware, Ohio, and it was decided that Monnett would enter into the school in order to receive the proper education.
As Monnett reached an age at which it would be suitable for her to marry, Bishop Gurley became concerned that she might become the target of suitors who valued her for her money alone. The Bishop also did not want to lose total control of his ward's inheritance either, so when Monnett entered into an informal courtship with Charles McCabe, a male seminarian attending Ohio Wesleyan University (also in Delaware, Ohio), the Bishop took steps to convince his ward that her beau's service to the church could be in doubt if he married too soon and his attentions diverted from the Church. Respecting her Trustee's wishes, she broke the engagement, but would not speak directly to McCabe.
Instead, Gurley engineered a marriage between Monnett, and other Seminary Board member, John William Bain. Together, Bain and Gurley conspired to control the trust funds due her at maturity. Under pressure from the Bishop, Monnett granted the Women's Seminary the sum of $10,000 for the construction of Monnett Hall, a grand Second Empire styled Victorian building that would serve as classroom and dormitory for the female students. Trustees of the Female Seminary continued to make financial demands upon Mary Monnett, which she met out of duty to the M.E.Church.
Once married to John William Bain, Mary Monnett Bain watched as her husband quickly squandered her fortune, and eventually died leaving her and their two children penniless. Destitute and in ill health, she moved west to Kansas, first living with her step-son, and then later institutionalized in a state facility for the insane, where she died shortly after being discovered by the Reverend Charles McCabe who was attending to the residents of the asylum as a minister.
With the merger of the Ohio Wesleyan Female College into Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU), control of Monnett Hall was transferred to Wesleyan were it remained active as a dormitory for Women until 1968; Monnett Hall was razed in 1978. OWU continues to honor Mary Monnett Bain through the "Monnett Club" and "Monnett Weekend" held each spring on the campus in Delaware, Ohio.
Mary Monnett Bain's grandson, Monnett Bain Davis (1893-1953) served as the United States Ambassador to Panama 1948-51 and to Israel 1951-1953.
As a tribute for her generosity towards the Female Seminary and Ohio Wesleyan University, Mary Monnett Bain's formal portrait hangs in the main level of OWU's Frances E. Mowry Memorial Alumni Center.
[edit] Sources
- Rush, Cynthia Money Madness & Methodism: The Story of Mary Monnett. Innovations Resource Ltd. 2002.
- Monnette, Orra E.The Monnet Family Genealogy 1913. Reprinted through Higgenson Books, Salem Massachusetts.
- Monnett Bain Davis, Arlington Cemetery
