Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-05-08
PLUCK AND INDUSTRY.
CAREER OF MISS SEYMOUR AND HER
BUSINESS SUCCESS.

'he Has Achieved a Good Deal In Twelve
fears-She Was a Pioneer in n New
Line of Work for women-How the worI
Has Prospered-Story of Her Life.
by all ooos the woman whose name is
now most closely connected with the type
writer as means of enabling girls to OBJ
tam a living is Miss Mary F. Seymour. who
HAS nearly twenty typewriters constantly
Improved upon salary, with from five to
itOy others on piece work Miss Seymour
.las oeeh IN business in New York for
Twelve years, and besides business succese
las achieved distinction as the first yvop.n
rotary whose appointment was recognized
as valid in this state, and as the successful
euitor and publisher of The Business Wom
an journal, a most successful publica
tlon, now in its second year. / found Miss
seymour the other day in one of her three
o.nces, Where, amid the clatter and tinkIe
q NAH dozen typewriters, Miss Seymour
toid me the story of how she came to 90 into
business for herself.
pegan business as a stenographer and
law reporter" she said, s'fifteen wears AGO
and practiceI that alone before went into
typewrlting. l started a business both in
ne" L ork and in New Jersey. NV mother
vas quite a philanthropist, and 1 was
brought up to do a great deal of beneyo-
Ieno work, and in that way, 1 suppose,
acquired some executive ability. began
by teaching school first to support myself.
To get out of it.
SHE GOT \ START.
had friend who EMPLOYED an expert
StpnO nj in
ADVISED me to take up stenography. At
that time stenographers charged high
prices, as there were comparatively few
S)od ones, and she was earning a good in
come l went to her when | thought I
Knew enough for practical work, and she
u ctated TO me some legal notes. When /
Drought back the copy she laughed. 1t
was very much out of the proper form, but
1t was accurate
i worked with her for some time inst
for the experience, and had hopes of n part
nershlp some day, but we separated be
cause l would not work on Sunday. |
went to MIR. Munson, the well known stem
oirapher, for employment, and tried
great many offices in New York. Then
took to reporting lectures for the newspa-
pers, which filled up some of my time while
waiting for something better
There was a lawyer in Jersey CITY who
had been counsel for a relative of mine in
a suit for which he got a $4,000 fee and
called upon him. He said he would dictate
to me New Jersey law paper, and if | was
successful in that could have all the work
of the office
People outside of the profession do not
know that writing shorthand and reading
1t are two separate qualifications The
lawyer dictated the paper to me, and ]
took 1t down without any difficulty |
went home. OF all the abstruse and com
pIlcated documents a New Jersey law pa
per is, think, the worst. That evening l
attempted to read my notes
SOME HARD TASKS.
Fortunately for my future career nv
brother was lawyer. 1 called him to the
rescue. Through his assistance present
ed to the lawyer very accurate COPY of
the paper and secured desk there, finally
obtaining so much work that l employed
two young men to assist me- 1 was fas-
cinated with the work and often sat up all
night in order not to break a promise about
delivering my notes.
Il remember one instance where |
worked two nights and three DAYS, with
three stenographers to help me, without
sleeping at all, except for little maps, and
taking but a few minutes for meals, in or
der to get some papers ready for certain
time. When first saw the advertisement |
of the typewriter l thought stenographers |
were doomed. | examined the machine, |
and after that felt no fear in regard to its |
competition ! saw that it would be q val |
liable aid.
In 1880 was offered desk room in the |
Office of Judge Pratt, of New York. was |
tinlid about facing the publicity of large |
Office full of men, and decided to wait for |
or1lers and work at home. About three |
months experience in waiting for work |
and getting little cured me of my folly and |
satisfied me that business woman must |
adapt herself to business rules. l then |
opened a little Office of my own on Broad |
way and started the typewriting business
by writing out my own notes on the ma
chine
L was the first law reporter who made |
practice of doing this in New York. Short |
ly before started my office l met young |
lacy who had been brought up in luxury
and who had been thrown upon her own
sources. She attempted teaching and |
failed. She tried many other things, and |
even went into factory, working for three |
do lars week.
HOW HFR BUSINESS HAS GROWN,
1t was the knowledge of this girls ex- |
perience that partly induced me to start a |
business in which could employ Others |
After buying my typewriter l sent word to |
this young lady, and she, after practicing |
on the machine, was the first one l en-
ployed in my business. Another girl whom |
employed to run ON errands began to
PR ctice on the machine and / taught her |
also. She was about fifteen or sixteen |
years old at that time. The first of these |
young ladies now earns $1,000 year in |
lar ye law Office, and the second is consid- |
cred one of the experts of New York, and |
is paid a still higher salary.
Gradually my business increased so that |
found it almost impossible to carry out |
my original intention, which was to do |
perfect work. Women have been so often |
accused of inaccuracy and unbusinesslike |
habits that L meant to show something |
different. Finally l had to start a train |
ing school in order to get competent as |