The Life and Loves of Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a remarkable woman: a social activist and reformer, she was a leader of social work, women’s rights, racial equality, and peace movements. For years, magazines polled her as “America’s greatest woman” and in 1931 she was the first woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. None of that would have been possible if it were not for the two women in Jane’s life—Ellen Gates Starr and Mary Rozet Smith.[1]

Jane met Ellen in college in 1877, their friendship was almost instant and by 1889 they were in a loving, committed, romantic relationship. Ellen provided Jane with the encouragement and support that she needed to finalize her plans. She also made an indispensable partner for the inauguration and success of Hull House—America’s most notorious social settlement house. Hull catered to the needs of the poor, immigrants and the overall community of Chicago, including homeless youth and single mothers. [2]

While Ellen provided the emotional trigger that Jane needed to launch herself in her career as a social reformer, Mary was the rock that allowed her to continue her work and serve to her full potential. The two of them met in the first year of Hull House, 1889, when Mary went searching for a place to employ her time in a useful manner. At the same time, Ellen and Jane began to drift off. Whether Mary herself was the cause remains uncertain, but soon Jane and Mary were engaged in a relationship that would last until Mary’s death in 1934. Jane followed fourteen months later. Though much is said about Mary’s immensely generous donations to Hull House itself, her greatest contribution might be dedicating herself to Jane wholeheartedly, ultimately keeping “America’s greatest woman” personally fulfilled.[3]