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Brown Papers, 1848-1920 (bulk 1848-1854)Finding AidEncoding funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.© 2004
Biographical NoteMary Quincy Brown was born on April 29, 1828, and was a member of the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary Class of 1849. After graduating, she taught at the Seminary from 1849-1852. Her sister Susan Brown (Class of 1851) also taught from 1851-1852. Brown was originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts but during her lifetime lived in New York State, Indiana and Ohio. Brown also took care of her aged parents and worked to help immigrants and the poor. She died in 1920. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the CollectionThe Mary Quincy Brown Papers include correspondence (March 9, 1848- January 13, 1912), a composition entitled "Mary Lyon as Missionary Educator", an information sheet from 1915, an Alumnae Quarterly clipping from 1920, and a note regarding Brown and life at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Most letters are written by Brown and her sister Susan Brown (Class of 1851) and are addressed to their parents, regarding health, deaths (including the death of Mary Lyon), and general news of the Seminary. Other letters are from their parents addressed to them, and one is from their father to Mary Lyon regarding Susan's admission. Return to the Table of Contents Search TermsReturn to the Table of Contents Organization of the CollectionThis collection is organized into three series: Return to the Table of Contents Summary of CorrespondenceThis collection includes 23 letters dating over a period of two and a half years from March 9, 1848 until October 10, 1850, all written to or from Mount Holyoke Seminary. Mary Quincy Brown was a member of the Class of 1849 and taught at the Seminary from 1849 - 1852. Her younger sister, Susan, was a member of the Class of 1851 and taught from 1851 - 1852, The family resided in Newburyport and there are letters from the parents to their daughters, but most of the letters are written by Mary or Susan, or the two together, while they were at Mount Holyoke. Both Mary and Susan were at Mount Holyoke at the time of Mary Lyon's death. The health of both students and teachers was clearly a matter of ongoing concern. The letters reveal little of personal reactions to the Seminary experience and perhaps it is worth noting that many years later Mary reported that she had been dreadfully homesick but carefully concealed this when writing home. Susan also commented a number of times that she had made few acquaintances. The family appeared to be friends of the Condits and the girls were frequent callers on Mrs. Condit and Helen. There is one additional letter written in 1854 by Father Brown to his wife about a trip to Philadelphia. Of special note: CR Ludwig April 1991, November 2001 Return to the Table of Contents |
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