Obituary of Mary Longfellow Greenleaf:
Death of Mrs. Mary L. Greenleaf.
Mrs. Mary Longfellow Greenleaf died at 76 Brattle street, on Wednesday evening, paralysis being the cause. She had been in her usual health, or nearly so, up to a short time before passing away. Mrs. Greenleaf was born In Portland, Me., in 1816. She was the daughter of Stephen Longfellow and sister of the late poet Longfellow and Rev. Samuel Longfellow. Mrs. Greenleaf was one of a family of eight children, being next to the youngest in point of age. She married Mr. James Greenleaf in Portland in 1839 and afterwards came to Cambridge to live. For 25 years she passed winters in New Orleans, where her husband had business interests, and her summers were passed in Cambridge. At the time of the civil war, Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf returned to Cambridge, and Mrs. Greenleaf lived here continually since that time in the house on Brattle street, built by her husband. He died In 1865. Mrs. Greenleaf at one time attended Christ Church, but soon after the formation of St. James's Episcopal Church, she became Identified with it and at the time of her death was Its oldest member. The first building owned by the church was the chapel on Beech street, built by Mrs. Greenleaf's munificence in memory of her husband and named by herself. The entire chancel In the present St. James's Church is also a gift of Mrs. Greenleaf
In behalf of her husband's memory. Mrs. Greenleaf's devotion to religious and social interests was always marked throughout her life. Funeral services will be held at St. James's Church this afternoon, at 2.30 o'clock, and will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Edward Abbott, rector of the church, and Bishop William Lawrence, of the diocese of Massachusetts. The interment will be made in the family lot at Mount Auburn cemetery,
From FAG contributor Arnold Corkins;
Mary Longfellow was born in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine, the sixth child and third daughter of Stephen and Zilpah Longfellow. She not only learned school subjects at the Portland Academy but was taught housekeeping skills at home of which she remained proud all her life. Her father and Simon Greenleaf were two leading Portland lawyers who were close friends so she knew her future husband James Greenleaf as a child.
They married in October 1839 in Portland and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where his family now lived. The young couple lived in an ell in the back of the "old" Greenleaf House on Brattle Street. In 1841 they moved to New Orleans due to James’s occupation as a cotton merchant. They returned to Cambridge on a yearly basis for James to arrange shipments to northern textile manufacturers and to escape part of the New Orleans summer. Mary faithfully visited her family home in Portland. In 1858-1859 they renovated and moved the "old" Greenleaf House and built a new home at 76 Brattle Street.
When war broke out in April 1861, the couple was in New Orleans. They managed to reach Boston and stayed at their Cambridge home until the Federal occupation of New Orleans in 1863. It is believed that Mary was anti-slavery but felt compassion for her New Orleans friends, saying they were misled by wicked leaders.
On 22 August 1865, when the couple was at their Cambridge home, James suddenly died. Anne, Mary’s sister, came to mourn with her. Mary, already a devout Episcopalian, devoted herself increasingly to church affairs. She gave the money for the first building of St. James in North Cambridge which her brother-in-law, the Reverend James Croswell had founded. She proceeded to fund the chapel in the church’s new building and assisted in paying off the mortgage. A generation of children was educated in her Sunday School classes.
She always dressed in a black dress and special widow’s cap. Childless, she was a devoted aunt to the Croswell children and took a special interest in her motherless nieces at Craigie House. Her grandnephew, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana, fondly remembered "her gentlest of all kisses" and his stay at Greenleaf House before Harvard entrance exams "to find perfect peace."48 In the late 1890s her eyesight began to fail and she became increasingly frail. After her death, two memorial windows were erected at St. James’s to commemorate its leading patroness.
Death of Mrs. Mary L. Greenleaf.
Mrs. Mary Longfellow Greenleaf died at 76 Brattle street, on Wednesday evening, paralysis being the cause. She had been in her usual health, or nearly so, up to a short time before passing away. Mrs. Greenleaf was born In Portland, Me., in 1816. She was the daughter of Stephen Longfellow and sister of the late poet Longfellow and Rev. Samuel Longfellow. Mrs. Greenleaf was one of a family of eight children, being next to the youngest in point of age. She married Mr. James Greenleaf in Portland in 1839 and afterwards came to Cambridge to live. For 25 years she passed winters in New Orleans, where her husband had business interests, and her summers were passed in Cambridge. At the time of the civil war, Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf returned to Cambridge, and Mrs. Greenleaf lived here continually since that time in the house on Brattle street, built by her husband. He died In 1865. Mrs. Greenleaf at one time attended Christ Church, but soon after the formation of St. James's Episcopal Church, she became Identified with it and at the time of her death was Its oldest member. The first building owned by the church was the chapel on Beech street, built by Mrs. Greenleaf's munificence in memory of her husband and named by herself. The entire chancel In the present St. James's Church is also a gift of Mrs. Greenleaf
In behalf of her husband's memory. Mrs. Greenleaf's devotion to religious and social interests was always marked throughout her life. Funeral services will be held at St. James's Church this afternoon, at 2.30 o'clock, and will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Edward Abbott, rector of the church, and Bishop William Lawrence, of the diocese of Massachusetts. The interment will be made in the family lot at Mount Auburn cemetery,
From FAG contributor Arnold Corkins;
Mary Longfellow was born in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine, the sixth child and third daughter of Stephen and Zilpah Longfellow. She not only learned school subjects at the Portland Academy but was taught housekeeping skills at home of which she remained proud all her life. Her father and Simon Greenleaf were two leading Portland lawyers who were close friends so she knew her future husband James Greenleaf as a child.
They married in October 1839 in Portland and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where his family now lived. The young couple lived in an ell in the back of the "old" Greenleaf House on Brattle Street. In 1841 they moved to New Orleans due to James’s occupation as a cotton merchant. They returned to Cambridge on a yearly basis for James to arrange shipments to northern textile manufacturers and to escape part of the New Orleans summer. Mary faithfully visited her family home in Portland. In 1858-1859 they renovated and moved the "old" Greenleaf House and built a new home at 76 Brattle Street.
When war broke out in April 1861, the couple was in New Orleans. They managed to reach Boston and stayed at their Cambridge home until the Federal occupation of New Orleans in 1863. It is believed that Mary was anti-slavery but felt compassion for her New Orleans friends, saying they were misled by wicked leaders.
On 22 August 1865, when the couple was at their Cambridge home, James suddenly died. Anne, Mary’s sister, came to mourn with her. Mary, already a devout Episcopalian, devoted herself increasingly to church affairs. She gave the money for the first building of St. James in North Cambridge which her brother-in-law, the Reverend James Croswell had founded. She proceeded to fund the chapel in the church’s new building and assisted in paying off the mortgage. A generation of children was educated in her Sunday School classes.
She always dressed in a black dress and special widow’s cap. Childless, she was a devoted aunt to the Croswell children and took a special interest in her motherless nieces at Craigie House. Her grandnephew, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana, fondly remembered "her gentlest of all kisses" and his stay at Greenleaf House before Harvard entrance exams "to find perfect peace."48 In the late 1890s her eyesight began to fail and she became increasingly frail. After her death, two memorial windows were erected at St. James’s to commemorate its leading patroness.
Obituary of Mary Longfellow Greenleaf:
Death of Mrs. Mary L. Greenleaf.
Mrs. Mary Longfellow Greenleaf died at 76 Brattle street, on Wednesday evening, paralysis being the cause. She had been in her usual health, or nearly so, up to a short time before passing away. Mrs. Greenleaf was born In Portland, Me., in 1816. She was the daughter of Stephen Longfellow and sister of the late poet Longfellow and Rev. Samuel Longfellow. Mrs. Greenleaf was one of a family of eight children, being next to the youngest in point of age. She married Mr. James Greenleaf in Portland in 1839 and afterwards came to Cambridge to live. For 25 years she passed winters in New Orleans, where her husband had business interests, and her summers were passed in Cambridge. At the time of the civil war, Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf returned to Cambridge, and Mrs. Greenleaf lived here continually since that time in the house on Brattle street, built by her husband. He died In 1865. Mrs. Greenleaf at one time attended Christ Church, but soon after the formation of St. James's Episcopal Church, she became Identified with it and at the time of her death was Its oldest member. The first building owned by the church was the chapel on Beech street, built by Mrs. Greenleaf's munificence in memory of her husband and named by herself. The entire chancel In the present St. James's Church is also a gift of Mrs. Greenleaf
In behalf of her husband's memory. Mrs. Greenleaf's devotion to religious and social interests was always marked throughout her life. Funeral services will be held at St. James's Church this afternoon, at 2.30 o'clock, and will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Edward Abbott, rector of the church, and Bishop William Lawrence, of the diocese of Massachusetts. The interment will be made in the family lot at Mount Auburn cemetery,
From FAG contributor Arnold Corkins;
Mary Longfellow was born in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine, the sixth child and third daughter of Stephen and Zilpah Longfellow. She not only learned school subjects at the Portland Academy but was taught housekeeping skills at home of which she remained proud all her life. Her father and Simon Greenleaf were two leading Portland lawyers who were close friends so she knew her future husband James Greenleaf as a child.
They married in October 1839 in Portland and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where his family now lived. The young couple lived in an ell in the back of the "old" Greenleaf House on Brattle Street. In 1841 they moved to New Orleans due to James’s occupation as a cotton merchant. They returned to Cambridge on a yearly basis for James to arrange shipments to northern textile manufacturers and to escape part of the New Orleans summer. Mary faithfully visited her family home in Portland. In 1858-1859 they renovated and moved the "old" Greenleaf House and built a new home at 76 Brattle Street.
When war broke out in April 1861, the couple was in New Orleans. They managed to reach Boston and stayed at their Cambridge home until the Federal occupation of New Orleans in 1863. It is believed that Mary was anti-slavery but felt compassion for her New Orleans friends, saying they were misled by wicked leaders.
On 22 August 1865, when the couple was at their Cambridge home, James suddenly died. Anne, Mary’s sister, came to mourn with her. Mary, already a devout Episcopalian, devoted herself increasingly to church affairs. She gave the money for the first building of St. James in North Cambridge which her brother-in-law, the Reverend James Croswell had founded. She proceeded to fund the chapel in the church’s new building and assisted in paying off the mortgage. A generation of children was educated in her Sunday School classes.
She always dressed in a black dress and special widow’s cap. Childless, she was a devoted aunt to the Croswell children and took a special interest in her motherless nieces at Craigie House. Her grandnephew, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana, fondly remembered "her gentlest of all kisses" and his stay at Greenleaf House before Harvard entrance exams "to find perfect peace."48 In the late 1890s her eyesight began to fail and she became increasingly frail. After her death, two memorial windows were erected at St. James’s to commemorate its leading patroness.
Death of Mrs. Mary L. Greenleaf.
Mrs. Mary Longfellow Greenleaf died at 76 Brattle street, on Wednesday evening, paralysis being the cause. She had been in her usual health, or nearly so, up to a short time before passing away. Mrs. Greenleaf was born In Portland, Me., in 1816. She was the daughter of Stephen Longfellow and sister of the late poet Longfellow and Rev. Samuel Longfellow. Mrs. Greenleaf was one of a family of eight children, being next to the youngest in point of age. She married Mr. James Greenleaf in Portland in 1839 and afterwards came to Cambridge to live. For 25 years she passed winters in New Orleans, where her husband had business interests, and her summers were passed in Cambridge. At the time of the civil war, Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf returned to Cambridge, and Mrs. Greenleaf lived here continually since that time in the house on Brattle street, built by her husband. He died In 1865. Mrs. Greenleaf at one time attended Christ Church, but soon after the formation of St. James's Episcopal Church, she became Identified with it and at the time of her death was Its oldest member. The first building owned by the church was the chapel on Beech street, built by Mrs. Greenleaf's munificence in memory of her husband and named by herself. The entire chancel In the present St. James's Church is also a gift of Mrs. Greenleaf
In behalf of her husband's memory. Mrs. Greenleaf's devotion to religious and social interests was always marked throughout her life. Funeral services will be held at St. James's Church this afternoon, at 2.30 o'clock, and will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Edward Abbott, rector of the church, and Bishop William Lawrence, of the diocese of Massachusetts. The interment will be made in the family lot at Mount Auburn cemetery,
From FAG contributor Arnold Corkins;
Mary Longfellow was born in the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine, the sixth child and third daughter of Stephen and Zilpah Longfellow. She not only learned school subjects at the Portland Academy but was taught housekeeping skills at home of which she remained proud all her life. Her father and Simon Greenleaf were two leading Portland lawyers who were close friends so she knew her future husband James Greenleaf as a child.
They married in October 1839 in Portland and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where his family now lived. The young couple lived in an ell in the back of the "old" Greenleaf House on Brattle Street. In 1841 they moved to New Orleans due to James’s occupation as a cotton merchant. They returned to Cambridge on a yearly basis for James to arrange shipments to northern textile manufacturers and to escape part of the New Orleans summer. Mary faithfully visited her family home in Portland. In 1858-1859 they renovated and moved the "old" Greenleaf House and built a new home at 76 Brattle Street.
When war broke out in April 1861, the couple was in New Orleans. They managed to reach Boston and stayed at their Cambridge home until the Federal occupation of New Orleans in 1863. It is believed that Mary was anti-slavery but felt compassion for her New Orleans friends, saying they were misled by wicked leaders.
On 22 August 1865, when the couple was at their Cambridge home, James suddenly died. Anne, Mary’s sister, came to mourn with her. Mary, already a devout Episcopalian, devoted herself increasingly to church affairs. She gave the money for the first building of St. James in North Cambridge which her brother-in-law, the Reverend James Croswell had founded. She proceeded to fund the chapel in the church’s new building and assisted in paying off the mortgage. A generation of children was educated in her Sunday School classes.
She always dressed in a black dress and special widow’s cap. Childless, she was a devoted aunt to the Croswell children and took a special interest in her motherless nieces at Craigie House. Her grandnephew, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana, fondly remembered "her gentlest of all kisses" and his stay at Greenleaf House before Harvard entrance exams "to find perfect peace."48 In the late 1890s her eyesight began to fail and she became increasingly frail. After her death, two memorial windows were erected at St. James’s to commemorate its leading patroness.
Family Members
Spouse
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
See more Greenleaf or Longfellow memorials in:
- Mount Auburn Cemetery Greenleaf or Longfellow
- Cambridge Greenleaf or Longfellow
- Middlesex County Greenleaf or Longfellow
- Massachusetts Greenleaf or Longfellow
- USA Greenleaf or Longfellow
- Find a Grave Greenleaf or Longfellow
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
