Mary Bouton "Mamah" Borthwick (June 19, 1869 – August 15, 1914) was an American translator who had a romantic relationship with architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which ended when she was murdered. She and Wright were instrumental in bringing the ideas and writings of Swedish feminist Ellen Key to American audiences. Wright built his famous settlement called Taliesin in Wisconsin for her, in part, to shield her from aggressive reporters and the negative public sentiment surrounding their non-married status. Both had left their spouses and children in order to live together and were the subject of relentless public censure. Early life and education She was born as Mary Bouton Borthwick in Boone, Iowa to Marcus Smith Borthwick (1828–1900) and Almira A. Borthwick (née Bowcock) (1839–1898). She had two sisters: Jessie Octavia Borthwick Pitkin (1864–1901) and Elizabeth Vilitta Borthwick (1866–1946). Borthwick earned her BA and MA at the University of Michigan in 1892 and 1893. She later worked as a librarian in Port Huron, Michigan. Marriage and family In 1899, Borthwick married Edwin Cheney, an electrical engineer from Oak Park, Illinois. They had two children: John (1902) and Martha (1905). Before their children, they adopted Mamah Borthwick's niece, Jessie Borthwick Pitkin, when Mamah's sister (Jessie Octavia Borthwick Pitkin) died during childbirth in 1901. Relationship with Wright Borthwick met Frank Lloyd Wright's wife, Catherine, through a social club. Soon after, Edwin commissioned Wright to design them a home in Oak Park, now known as the Edwin H. Cheney House. Mamah's sister, Elizabeth Vilitta Borthwick, lived in an apartment on the lower level of the house. In 1909, Borthwick and Wright left their spouses and traveled to Europe. Wright returned to the United States around a year later in October of 1910. Meanwhile, Borthwick remained in Europe so that she could obtain a divorce from her husband for the reason of abandonment. During her time in Europe, she began translating the works of the Swedish feminist thinker and writer Ellen Key, whom she admired. In April, 1911, Wright's mother purchased land in her family's valley near Spring Green, Wisconsin so that her son could begin designing a home in which to live with Borthwick after her planned divorce. He named the home Taliesin (Welsh for "Shining Brow"). Borthwick returned to the United States in June of 1911. She spent time with her children in Canada through the summer waiting to divorce Edwin Cheney, which