Marcus Ames (1828–1887) was an American minister and

prison chaplain Prison religion includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison inmates, usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle. "Prison Ministry" is a larger concept, including the support of th ...

who was an early reformer in juvenile corrections. A member of the

Ames family The Ames family is one of the oldest and most illustrious families of the United States. The family's branches are descended from John Ames, the son of a 17th-century settler of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and numerous public and private wo ...

, he served as head of the

Lancaster Industrial School for Girls The Lancaster Industrial School for Girls was a reform school on Old Common Road in Lancaster, Massachusetts. It was the country's first state reform school for girls, opening on August 26, 1856. The facility provided its charges with separate r ...

and as chaplain of the state institutions of Rhode Island.

Early life

A member of the Ames family, Marcus Ames was the son of Azel Ames and Mercy Ames (née Hatch). He was educated at

Phillips Andover Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, where he graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

, before studying medicine at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

Career

He was ordained to the clergy in 1854, becoming a "brilliant, fervent, and impressive"

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

preacher who ministered throughout

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Though Ames was educated to undertake missionary work in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

, the poor state of health of his wife ultimately precluded him from traveling abroad. Ames was a firm believer in criminal rehabilitation and, in 1862, was made superintendent and chaplain of the

. Two years later he expressed, in writing, his concerns for what he saw as a growing problem with a lack of skilled education, and prevalence of idleness, among working class girls, and opined that without education many would be destined for unemployment and homelessness. In 1874, after plans were announced to install workshops at the school, Ames – concerned that the new direction towards prison industry was transforming it into a jail – resigned in protest. His resignation was joined by most of the school's matrons. After leaving the Lancaster School, he was appointed chaplain of state institutions of the

State of Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, which included the state's insane asylum, prison, almshouse, and

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

Personal life

With his wife, Jane Ames (née Vandenburg), Ames had two sons, Marcus and

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Min ...

, and a daughter, Ella.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Marcus 1828 births 1887 deaths Harvard Medical School alumni People from Massachusetts Heads of American boarding schools Prison chaplains American Congregationalist ministers Phillips Academy alumni 19th-century American clergy