Mary Parker Woodworth (, Parker; May 3, 1849 – June 14, 1919) was an American writer and speaker on educational and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

topics. She was the first

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

graduate from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, and the first woman member of the

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

Board of Education.

Early life and education

Mary Parker was born at

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire Sugar Hill is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 647 at the 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 563 tabulated in 2010. The town overlooks the White Mountain National Forest, with views of the Presi ...

, May 3, 1849. She was the daughter of Charles and Amelia (Bennett) Parker. Woodworth's brother, Col. H. E. Parker, became editor of the '' Bradford Opinion''. Woodworth was educated at

St. Johnsbury Academy St. Johnsbury Academy (SJA) is an independent, private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in the United States. The academy enrolls students in grades 9-12. It was founded by Thaddeus Fairbanks ...

, being the only girl in a graduating class of nine. She entered Vassar College in the sophomore year and graduating with first honor in 1870, the first New Hampshire graduate.

Career

On September 30, 1873, she married

Albert Woodworth Albert Woodworth (April 7, 1843 – June 24, 1908) was an American businessman and member of the Woodworth political family. Early life Woodworth was born in Dorchester, New Hampshire, on April 7, 1843, the son of George Woodworth, whose own fa ...

, afterward mayor of Concord. Their children were Edward, Grace, and Charles. Woodworth taught at St. Johnsbury Academy and St. Agnes Hall,

Bellows Falls, Vermont Bellows Falls is an incorporated village located in the town of Rockingham in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,747 at the 2020 census. Bellows Falls is home to the Green Mountain Railroad, a heritage railroad; the ...

. 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. 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 Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

branch. In religion, Woodworth was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

, 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. She was a writer and speaker in behalf of causes which interested her.

Death and legacy

She died in Concord, June 14, 1919. Her letters are held in a collection at the Vassar College Digital Library.

Notes

References

Attribution

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodworth, Mary Parker 1849 births 1919 deaths People from Sugar Hill, New Hampshire Writers from New Hampshire Lecturers St. Johnsbury Academy alumni Vassar College alumni Clubwomen School board members in New Hampshire