Mary Parker Woodworth
{{Short description|American writer and speaker (1849–1919)}}
{{Infobox writer
| embed =
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Mary Parker Woodworth
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| image = Mary Parker Woodworth portrait.png
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| native_name =
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| birth_name = Mary Parker
| birth_date = May 3, 1849
| birth_place = Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, U.S.
| death_date = June 14, 1919 (aged 70)
| death_place = Concord, New Hampshire, U.S.
| resting_place =
| occupation = writer, speaker
| education =
| alma_mater = St. Johnsbury Academy
Vassar College
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| subject = education; missionary life
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| spouse = {{marriage|Albert Woodworth|1873|1908|end=died}}
| partner =
| children = 3
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}}
Mary Parker Woodworth ({{nee}}, Parker; May 3, 1849 – June 14, 1919) was an American writer and speaker on educational and missionary topics. She was the first New Hampshire graduate from Vassar College, and the first woman member of the Concord, New Hampshire Board of Education.{{sfn|Metcalf|McClintock|1915|p=298}}
Early life and education
File:Mary Parker Woodworth.png
Mary Parker was born at Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, May 3, 1849. She was the daughter of Charles and Amelia (Bennett) Parker.{{sfn|Metcalf|Abbott|1919|p=27}} Woodworth's brother, Col. H. E. Parker, became editor of the Bradford Opinion.
Woodworth was educated at St. Johnsbury Academy, being the only girl in a graduating class of nine.{{efn|According to The St Johnsbury Caledonian (25 Jun 1919), Streeter graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy in 1870. But according to Metcalf & McClintock (1915), she graduated from Vassar in 1870.{{cite news |title=Death of Honored Lady Well Known to St. J. Citizens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/143270006/?terms=Mary%20Parker%20Woodworth&match=1 |access-date=26 March 2021 |work=The St Johnsbury Caledonian |via=Newspapers.com |date=25 June 1919 |page=1}} }} She entered Vassar College in the sophomore year and graduating with first honor in 1870,{{sfn|Metcalf|McClintock|1915|p=298}} the first New Hampshire graduate.{{sfn|Metcalf|Abbott|1919|p=27}}
Career
On September 30, 1873, she married Albert Woodworth, afterward mayor of Concord. Their children were Edward, Grace, and Charles.{{sfn|Metcalf|Abbott|1919|p=27}}
Woodworth taught at St. Johnsbury Academy and St. Agnes Hall, Bellows Falls, Vermont.{{sfn|Metcalf|Abbott|1919|p=27}} She did much literary work. She was also a patron of art and music, being instrumental in the organization of the Concord Choral Union, of which she was vice-president.{{sfn|New Hampshire Publishing Company|1895|p=175}}
Woodworth was the first woman member of the Concord board of education, serving nine years, 1890–9, and declining a re-election. She served as president, Concord Woman's Club, 1897–9; chair, Scholarship Fund, New Hampshire Federation of Women's Clubs, designed to aid in the normal training of girls for teaching in rural schools, since its establishment in 1904. She was a member of the Vassar and Collegiate Alumnae Associations, and twice president of the Boston branch. In religion, Woodworth was an Episcopalian, communicant of St. Paul's Church, Concord. She served as president of New Hampshire Diocesan Woman's Auxiliary to the General Board of Missions from 1912.{{sfn|Metcalf|Abbott|1919|p=27}}
She was a writer and speaker in behalf of causes which interested her.{{sfn|Metcalf|Abbott|1919|p=27}}
Death and legacy
She died in Concord, June 14, 1919. Her letters are held in a collection at the Vassar College Digital Library.{{cite web |title=Woodworth, Mary (Parker). Letters, 1867-1869 |url=https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/islandora/object/vassar%3A25299 |website=digitallibrary.vassar.edu |publisher=Vassar College Digital Library |access-date=26 March 2021}}
Notes
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References
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=Attribution=
- {{Source-attribution| {{cite book |last1=Metcalf|first1=Henry Harrison|last2=Abbott|first2=Frances Matilda|title=One Thousand New Hampshire Notables: Brief Biographical Sketches of New Hampshire Men and Women, Native Or Resident, Prominent in Public, Professional, Business, Educational, Fraternal Or Benevolent Work|url=https://archive.org/details/onethousandnewha00metciala/page/27/mode/1up |edition=Public domain|year=1919|publisher=Rumford Printing Company}} }}
- {{Source-attribution| {{cite book|last1=Metcalf|first1=Henry Harrison|last2=McClintock|first2=John Norris|title=The Granite Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, History and State Progress|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IclYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA298|edition=Public domain|volume=47|year=1915|publisher=J.N. McClintock|location=Concord, New Hampshire}} }}
- {{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=New Hampshire Publishing Company|title=New Hampshire Women: A Collection of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Daughters and Residents of the Granite State ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8GEEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA175|edition=Public domain|year=1895|publisher=New Hampshire Publishing Company}} }}
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Category:People from Sugar Hill, New Hampshire
Category:Writers from New Hampshire
Category:St. Johnsbury Academy alumni
Category:Vassar College alumni