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History Matters: Delaware women - Marjorie Speakman

History Matters digs into the Delaware Historical Society’s archives each month to explore connections between key people, places, and events in history and present-day news.

"Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression." - Margaret Sanger

In honor of Women’s History month, The March edition of History Matters is a two-part installment featuring the often-overlooked stories of some important Delaware women.

Part 1 shines the spotlight on Marjorie Speakman, a multi-talented woman who became one of Wilmington’s fashion and business authorities.

Speakman was born in 1889 in Philadelphia where her family lived with her grandparents who were wealthy and provided them with a comfortable lifestyle. Early in Marjorie’s life, her father squandered much of his fortune on vices, eventually causing her mother to leave him and take Marjorie to Delaware.

When Marjorie was 18 she married a wealthy man named Cummins Speakman and lived with his family in Belmont Hall in Smyrna. Marjorie held a variety of jobs until 1937 when she had an opportunity to become a partner of a new fashion house in Wilmington, which became Bird-Speakman, Wilmington's premier fashion house at the time. From there Marjorie went on to become one of Delaware’s most prominent women in business, fashion, and media.

History Matters: Delaware women part 1: Marjorie Speakman


This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.