Early Life
Mary Ahern was born on October 1, 1860 on a farm in Marion County, Indiana. Her parents, William and Mary, were Irish immigrants. When Mary was 10 they moved to Spencer, Indiana where Mary went to high school and graduated in 1878. Next she went to Central Normal College in Danville, Indiana. Her first jobs were as a public school teacher in Bloomfield, Spencer and Peru, Indiana. She became the Assistant State Librarian of Indiana in 1889. There she cataloged the state library and then she was elected State Librarian by the Indiana Legislature from 1893-1895. She lost this position when the political party in power changed. Mary’s response was to fight for change, not for her, but for future librarians-she convinced the politicians to make this position one not tied to politics but instead place it under the State Board of Education.
Read more about this topic: Mary Eileen Ahern
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