Mary Parker Converse
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Mary Caroline (Parker) Converse (1872–1961), also known as Captain Mary Parker Converse, was the first woman to be commissioned by the
United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...
(USMM), and was also a noted philanthropist who wrote poetry and composed music.


Formative years

Born in
Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...
in 1872, Mary Caroline Parker was a daughter of Anne Elizabeth (Gilmore) Parker and John H. Parker, a respected deacon of Malden's First Baptist Church and successful shoe manufacturer who was a lineal descendant of an
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Patriot and victims of the
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. Her father was also a close friend of Malden's hometown's first mayor, the millionaire Elisha S. Converse. Reared and educated in Malden, she progressed as far as high school before deciding to drop out in order to marry at the First Baptist Church on December 2, 1891, before 1,700 guests from Malden,
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and beyond. Her new husband, Harry Elisha Converse (1863–1920), who was an “ardent yachtsman” and owner of the Eugenie, was a son of her father's close friends, Mary E. Converse and The Honorable Elisha Converse. Like his father, who was president of the Boston Rubber Shoe Company (later known as U.S. Rubber), Harry Converse worked for that same company, and was also active civically, having already been elected to the Malden town council by the time of his marriage to Mary Parker. After two honeymoons – the first in December 1891 to
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and
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, which involved tours of their family's Midwestern shoe factories, and the second, an 1892 spring cruise aboard a German ocean liner – they settled into married life in their mansion in Malden. Together, the couple then welcomed the arrival of five children: son Elisha Edmands (1894–1985), who was born on July 6, 1894; daughter Margaret (1896–1981), who was known as "Peggy"; son Roger Wolcott (1900–1970), who was known as "Govie"; daughter Mary (1902–1940); and son Parker (1897-1965), who was known as "Rip." In 1896, her husband purchased the 900-ton yacht, Penelope. The following year, he was promoted to the position of vice president with the Boston Rubber Shoe Company. By 1898, her husband was involved in an undertaking of an entirely different stripe. Motivated to sell his beloved yacht Penelope to the
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as his nation entered the
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, he was then appointed as a colonel and acting quartermaster-general of the
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by Governor Roger Wolcott in 1901.


Civic engagement and philanthropy

During their marriage, both Mary Converse and her husband became increasingly active in civic and philanthropic activities. In addition to becoming a trustee for the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea and the Malden Hospital, Harry Converse served on the Board of Fire Commissioners, and as a member of Malden's Masonic Lodge (Converse). Socially, they were affiliated with the
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,
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,
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, Calumet Club, Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead Neck), Kenwood and Malden clubs, and the
New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...
. Although the couple was later separated by their divergent interests, she and her children were well provided for via trust funds which had been established by Harry Converse. By 1911, Mary Converse had relocated to Boston, where she continued to be active civically and socially. Among her other initiatives, she helped to established a fund which enabled the Boston Opera to provide reduced price tickets for lower income youths. It was also during this era that she became a playwright and music composer. Following her application to a class at
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, she solicited feedback in 1917 from
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faculty member
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regarding one of her works, and later wrote music for Stuart Walker's "Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil."


World War I

In response to America's entry into
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Mary Converse embarked on yet another civic project. After joining the Boston chapter of the
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, she penned an inspirational pamphlet for members of the U.S. military, and helped to assemble soldiers' grooming kits. She then also actively worked to improve conditions for
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
.” and joined the U.S. Navy’s ambulance corps. She “taught herself to read and speak Russian” in conjunction with this latter service, following interactions with a Russian-speaking soldier.


Widowhood and return to the sea

Widowed by her husband on December 8, 1920, Mary Converse relocated to
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in 1923, and spent the next 20 years helping to improve the quality of life for her fellow Denver residents by supporting a range of civic, arts and other community organizations, including the
Denver Symphony Orchestra The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a successi ...
. Sometime after this move, Mary Converse attended the
United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipman, midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serv ...
at
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, where she earned a second-class pilot's license, according to historian Andrew Zimmerman. In 1938, she petitioned leaders of the
United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...
to have her license renewed, and set about completing USMM requirements in order to so. During this time she began a "life-long fascination with navigation." As part of the obligations associated with re-licensing, she was required to regain her sea legs. So, on February 2, 1938, she joined the crew of the South African freighter S.S. Henry S. Grove, and honed her navigation skills as a 4th mate and practicing pilot while en route from
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to
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. She then continued her training at the same rank aboard the freighter S.S. ''Lewis Luckenbach''. Departing in June 1939, she sailed from
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to
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by way of the
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, becoming increasingly adept at celestial navigation. Driving from San Francisco to
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, she boarded the S.S. Dell Wood on July 15, and engaged in further training en route to
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. In addition to logging 33,700 miles during four voyages over a three-year period, she had also enrolled at the Washington Technical Institute in Seattle. Earning a "'master of steam and motor vessels of any gross tonnage on any ocean – yachts only,'" she made history, becoming "the only woman to earn captain’s papers (for yachts of any tonnage and in any ocean) in the U.S. Merchant Marine." ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' reported on her accomplishment as follows:
"CAPTAIN" CONVERSE Mrs. Mary P. Converse, Denver's sea-going society matron, proudly holds the certificate making her a captain to prove that woman's place is on the bridge as well as the galley. She returned from her latest voyage privileged to call herself "Captain Mary P. Converse" by virtue of a certificate witnessing the fact that she may "navigate steam and motor vessels of any gross tonnage on the waters of any ocean. She passed the examinations given by the United States steamboat service, U. S. Department of Commerce, with a rating of 99, after six weeks' study. The white-haired, 67-year-old grandmother reached Seattle by sea sailing as fourth mate on a freighter from New York by way of the Panama Canal. Never Seasick in three years of Intermittent sailings, she has made oyagesfrom New York to Seattle, from the African coast on the east to Alaska on the north. In the 100,000 miles she "guessed" she has traveled on the seas, Mrs. Converse said she had never been seasick. Her Interest in navigation dates back to the time when, with her husband, the late Harry E. Converse, she sailed his yachts. After his death she moved to Denver, established a home and assumed leadership in social and musical affairs. In the back of her mind, however, were thoughts of the sea. Composes Too For a time she will remain in Denver, doing her best to interest youths of the Rocky Mountain region in the importance of the merchant marine and urging them to accept the challenge of the sea. "This is a definite opportunity to serve the country," she said, "in this hour of unrest and future uncertainty." When she is home, Captain Converse shifts interests. From navigation she turns to musical composition, and recently completed a sextet for strings which doubtless will be played at one of her swank "evenings at home."
She then preserved her cherished status as a first-class pilot by renewing her license every five years.


World War II

Despite this accomplishment, Captain Mary Converse never sailed again; instead, she became an educator who taught navigation to officers in the
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during
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. Post-war, she then became involved with the
High Altitude Observatory The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) is a laboratory of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). HAO operates the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory on Hawaii (island), Hawaii and a research institute in Boulder, Colorado. Its staff condu ...
in Denver. Intensely interested in
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and solar research, she was respected as one of the organization's most articulate and effective advocates, recruiting members of the Coors family and other patrons who provided significant amounts of funding for operations and research. She also helped to plan the HAO annual scientific lectures known as "Captain Mary Dinners." In 1957, she relocated to the
Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...
ranch of her son Elisha, but still remained active as a fundraiser and advocate for the observatory.


Death and burial

Mary Caroline (Parker) Converse died at the age of 89 at the Oxnard Hospital in
Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...
on Sunday, July 2, 1961. Some have reported that her remains were returned to Massachusetts for burial at the same cemetery where her husband had been laid to rest – the
Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...
in Everett, Middlesex County. However, that cemetery only has records of her husband's burial there. Her obituary, which was syndicated in newspapers nationwide eulogized her as follows:
Capt. Mary Parker Converse, the only woman to hold a sea captain's papers in the United States merchant marine, is dead at the age of 89. Capt. Converse died Saturday at a hospital in Oxnard. A sailor most of her life, Capt. Converse had lived on the family ranch at Camarillo, Calif., for the past four years. She spent four months in 1940 charting the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Panama Canal and Alaskan waters to win her captain's rating. She was the widow of wealthy yachtsman Col. Harry Converse.
When word was received of her death, board and staff of the High Altitude Observatory issued the following statement:
Among the many thoughtful services the Board wishes to take note of are: (1) the donation to the High Altitude Observatory building which made possible the Captain Mary P. Converse Seminar Room; (2) her generosity in setting up the Captain Mary P. Converse Student Emergency Fund, by which many students have been helped through temporarily rough seas; (3) her annual dinner and lecture parties at the Denver Country Club… ; and (4) her years of valuable advice as a Research Associate of the High Altitude Observatory…. The memorials she has left – especially the Seminar Room and the Student Emergency Fund—are much like Captain Mary herself, possessing an inspiring usefulness far beyond first impressions."


Publications

*Converse, Mary Parker. ''113 Days on Iron Decks: A Voyage of Re-discovery''. Denver, Colorado: Self-published, 1938. *Converse, Mary Parker. ''Again We Sail''. Denver, Colorado: Self-published, 1940.


Awards and other honors

From 1957 to 1960, Capt. Mary Converse held the position of research associate with the High Altitude Observatory, an honorary post awarded to her by the organization's board of trustees in recognition of her longtime, effective support. In 1961, a seminar/conference room was dedicated in her honor at HAO's Denver facility. When HAO operations were relocated to
Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...
, a seminar/conference room was then also dedicated in her honor there – in the HAO's new south tower.Bates, Sally. Captain Mary, National Center for Atmospheric Research.


References


External resources

* Converse, Mary Allen
Captain Mary: The Biography of Mary Parker Converse, Captain, U.S.M.M
Kings Point, New York: American Merchant Marine Museum, January 1987.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
an
American Merchant Marine Museum
Kings Point, New York. {{DEFAULTSORT:Converse, Mary Parker 19th-century American women musicians 20th-century American women American women philanthropists United States Merchant Mariners of World War II 1872 births 1961 deaths 19th-century American women writers Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Everett, Massachusetts)