May Maxwell

Mary "May" Maxwell (née Bolles; born 14 January 1870 in Englewood, New Jersey; died 1 March 1940 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an early American member of the Bahá'í Faith.

Mary Ellis Bolles was born to John Bolles and Mary Martin Bolles, in Englewood, New Jersey. She was nicknamed 'May' to distinguish her from her mother. May was of English ancestry. The Bolles family were distinguished in New York City, owning a successful bank in the city. When she was fourteen May was sent to England to live with her English cousins. For one year May lived in Kensington. May became very spiritually minded; she was given a gift of a Bible in 1885, which she studied and read daily.

As May approached her late teens, her family saw it was the time for her to be married. Phoebe Hearst, who was a close friend of her mother, funded May’s extravagant debutante ball. She was 'brought out' in Washington. May was considered a great beauty with a petite figure, blue eyes and long fair hair attracting several suitors who courted her. The rejection of several marriage proposals frustrated her family. She was bought out again into Newport society in the hopes of finding a husband. May fell in love during this period and became engaged, but it was broken off. May plunged into depression, and it was around this time that her health seriously deteriorated.

In late 1894, May moved to Paris with her mother and brother; who was attending the École des Beaux-Arts. May’s mother still hoped for her to marry, but May resented the Parisian high society. She went through periods of deep depression and insomnia and even considered entering a convent. In 1897 May lost both her grandmother and cousin whom she was very close to. At 27 May became obsessed with mortality and became bedridden leading to many of her family members believing she was going to die.

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