Mary Abby Lawrence Douglass was born in 1839 in
Pepperell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
In the March 6,
1931 issue of the New York Times, an article about the life of Mrs.
Douglass, told of her Red Cross work with the Christian Commission at
Lookout Mountain and later in Nashvile, Tenn. during the Civil War. It
also spoke of how she managed the Seaside Home for over 40 years at
Coney Island in New York. Children from the city were cared for here
over the summer. Presumably these children had ties to the Children's Aid
Society which her husband, Richard(1), had headed before his death. She
attended Mount Holyoke Seminary (now a college) for several years and
used that training to teach Sunday school for many years at the Plymouth
church where she had been a member for over 60 years.
The
'hidden gem' about her life despite all the other good stuff known about
her (above) was found in the Washington (D.C.) Star on the same day
(March 6th)...Mary was 1 of only 2 women who were known to have held
commissions in the U.S. military in the Civil War. She held the rank of
Major. She was on her honeymoon when she first went down south with her
husband who not only was a reverend but also a medical doctor. And he
was a U.S. Army officer on General U.S. Grants staff.
She died on
4th March 1931 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA and was buried
on 7th March 1931. Sons Lawrence & Dwight as well as her daughter Clara
were still alive when she died.
Notes:
1. Rev
Richard Draper Douglas, A.B., son of William Stewart Douglass (1798 -
1860) and Jane Grant Arthur Douglass (1803 - 1842), born in Westport,
NY, Oct. 23, 1836; graduated from Amherst College in 1860, and from
Bangor Theological Seminary in 1863; married, Sept. 13, 1864, Mary Abby
Lawrence, of Pepperell, Mass; was agent of the United States Christian
commission during the civil war; has been, since 1872, secretary of the
Brooklyn Children's Aid Society; resides ('77) at Springfield, NY.
Children: --
i Lawrence, b. in Pepperell, June 27, 1865
ii William
Henry, b. April 8, 1867; d. Oct 23, 1867
iii Clara, b. in Brooklyn,
Aug 24, 1870
iv Dwight Clarkk, b. March 9, 1874 |
