Mary Swift Lamson (b. 1822 - d. 1909), was an American educator and writer best known as a teacher of

Laura Bridgman Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (December 21, 1829 – May 24, 1889) was the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, forty-five years before the more famous Helen Keller; Bridgman’s friend Anne Sulliv ...

, at the Perkins Institute for the Blind. She wrote the book ''Life and Education of Laura Dewey Bridgman, the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Girl'' (1884) about her experiences teaching Bridgman''.''

Early life and education

Lamson was born Mary Swift in

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

, on June 22, 1822. Her parents were Dr. Paul Swift and Dorcas Swift (née Gardner). In 1840, she graduated with the first class of Lexington Normal School (now Framingham State University) and married

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

varnish gum importer Edwin Lamson (1811-1876) in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on June 22, 1846, her twenty-fourth birthday.

Career

Perkins Institute for the Blind

Lamson worked at the Perkins Institute for the Blind under superintendent

Samuel Gridley Howe Samuel Gridley Howe (November 10, 1801 – January 9, 1876) was an American physician, abolitionist, and advocate of education for the blind. He organized and was the first director of the Perkins Institution. In 1824, he had gone to Greece to ...

. In 1841, Lamson replaced Lydia Drew as the primary teacher and companion of deafblind student Laura Bridgman, a position which she held until her marriage to Edwin Lamson in 1846. When Lamson left her position at the Perkins Institute, Howe wrote that Lamson was an "able and excellent teacher...Indeed, to Miss Swift and Miss arahWight belong, far more than to any other persons, the pure satisfaction of having been instrumental in the beautiful development of Laura's character."

Writing

In 1884, Lamson published a book about her experiences teaching Bridgman titled ''Life and Education of Laura Dewey Bridgman, the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Girl.'' The book reportedly drew heavily from journals kept by Lamson during her time as a teacher at the Perkins Institute. It was published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. and includes an introduction by Edwards A. Park of

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

. In the book's

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...

, Lamson wrote that she published the book in response to requests for a published account of Bridgman's life and education from Howe, Dr. Frances Lieber, and others. In this preface, Lamson writes, "My aim will be simply to state facts, and in making selections from the daily reports of her teachers to omit nothing which can be of service in any department of science." Lamson also wrote journals about her travels through the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

in 1855 and her travels by

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

in 1868, though these were not published in her lifetime.

Private life

Mary and Edwin Lamson had four children: Mary (1847-1848), Helen (born 1852), Gardner (born 1855) and Kate (born 1859). Mary Swift Lamson died in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

on March 2, 1909.

References

{{Authority control Educators of the blind Educators of the deaf People from Nantucket, Massachusetts 1822 births 1909 deaths Writers from Massachusetts American education writers 19th-century American educators 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women educators 19th-century American women writers Framingham State University alumni