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Mary Fels

German-born American suffragist, philanthropist, Georgist, economist, author, journal editor (1863-1953)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ66699077
Source-derived summary

Mary Fels (née Fels; March 10, 1863 - May 16, 1953) was a German-born American philanthropist, Georgist, Zionist, suffragist, economist, author, and journal editor. She was interested in all the different movements that supported democracy. She was an ardent supporter of equal suffrage, and was active in the promotion of Israel. Though she supported and encouraged her husband, Joseph Fels, in his campaign for economic justice, it was not until after his death that Mrs. Fels became active in the single tax movement. She established and supervised the Joseph Fels International Commission, which included welfare funds.

Early life and education

Mary (or Mollie) Fels was born in Sembach, Bavaria, Germany, March 10, 1863. Her parents were Elias Fels (1824–1898) and Fanny Rothschild Fels (1826–1888). Elias Fels was industrious and far from rich. There were several boys and half a dozen girls in the family, Mary being the youngest.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Mary Fels” as german-born American suffragist, philanthropist, Georgist, economist, author, journal editor (1863-1953). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mary, Fels and German-born.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1863, 1953, 1824, 1898—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1863-03-10. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Mary, Fels and German-born providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Mary Fels”, the useful work is to connect “german-born American suffragist, philanthropist, Georgist, economist, author, journal editor (1863-1953)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q66699077. VIAF identifies the subject as 12682131. The Library of Congress control number is nr92023508. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1863, 1953, 1824 and 1898.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mary Fels”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mary Fels primary sources, Mary Fels archive and Mary research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mary Fels”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Mary Fels” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.