Mary Howey Murray Vawter (June 30, 1871 – March 28, 1950) was an American artist, poet, and political candidate.

[1] She was the daughter of Heron Campbell Murray, an architectural designer and member of the Maryland House of Delegates, and Cordelia Cary Williams.

After Heron Murray died in 1880, his widow raised Mary and her three siblings at their home Riverlawn, near Mathews, Virginia.

Going from an upper-class east coast upbringing to the rural midwest was an adjustment for Mary Vawter, especially since she was tasked with supervising farming, home construction, financial matters, and keeping her husband focused on his work.

They had differing views (she supported women's suffrage and prohibition and opposed animal cruelty) and she developed a reputation for cantankerousness, at one point becoming embroiled in a lawsuit over a haystack.