Mabel Hartzell (1875-1954)

Class of 2026 – Founder

Mabel Hartzell was born in Saginaw, Michigan, January 1, 1875. Mabel moved to Alliance with her family when she was eight, and her mother died when she was nine. Matthew and Mary Earley, who were friends of the Hartzell family, adopted Mabel in 1885 and allowed her to keep the Hartzell name.

Mabel was a remarkable woman, especially for her day. She received a teaching degree in 1898 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1905 from Mount Union College; a Master of Arts from Ohio State University in 1924; and also studied at the University of Washington in Seattle. She was a member of Mount Union’s Alpha Xi Delta Sorority. She taught for 1-1/2 years in Bolton, just north of Alliance, but the bulk of her career in education was in the Alliance City Schools. She taught grade school for five years, and then taught Latin, Physics, and Social Science at Alliance High School for 30 years.

According to some of her former students, Miss Hartzell was a rigorous teacher, but always fair with her students. She also served on the Alliance Board of Education from 1912-1924 and 1951-1954. This service is notable because she was first elected in 1911, before women were granted the general right to vote in 1920. Mabel Hartzell never married or had children, but she lived a full life, dedicating herself to education and to the Alliance community. She willed her beautiful home on North Park Avenue  to the Alliance Historical Society. Mabel Hartzell died in Alliance on December 2, 1954.

Mabel Hartzell’s civic accomplishments:

• Founder of the Alliance Chapter of the American Red Cross, and a director for 33 years
• Founder of the Alliance Historical Society
• Founder and President of the Mount Union College Women’s Association
• Founder of the Alliance Woman’s Club, as well as its first President
• President of the Alliance Sorosis Club
• President of the Alliance Quota Club
• Member of the Retired Teacher Association
• President and Board Member of the Alliance YWCA
• President of the Associated Charities
• Director of the Alliance Community Chest
• Director of City Savings and Building Company
• Life Honorary Member of the Stark County Historical Society
• State Counsellor (1905) of the Daughters of America
• Member of the Rebekah Lodge
• Member of Daughters of Scotland
• President of the Alliance Women’s Christian Temperance Union
• President of the Alliance Suffrage Association
• Officer of the Stark County Suffrage Association
• Member of the Ever Ready Club