Mary Tenney Castle
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Mary Tenney Castle (October 26, 1819 — March 13, 1907), known as Mother Castle, was an American missionary and philanthropist in the Hawaiian Islands.


Early life

Mary Ann Tenney was born in
Plainfield, New York Plainfield is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 915 at the 2010 census. The Town of Plainfield is located in the northwestern corner of Otsego County. History The town was first settled ''circa'' 1793, ...
, the daughter of Levi Tenney and Mary Kingsbury Tenney. She attended
Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy (often called Deerfield or DA) is an Independent school, independent College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schoo ...
in Massachusetts.


In Hawaii

Mary Tenney arrived in Hawaii as a new bride in 1843. She raised her niece, Mary, and had nine more Castle children, all born in Hawaii between 1844 and 1862. She was known as "Mother Castle". She was interested in progressive education, with advice from
John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...
, a family friend. "Mother Castle lived with a serenity and cheerfulness that made her home a Mecca to all visitors interested in the better side of Hawaiian life," recalled one obituary in 1907. In widowhood, she set up the Samuel N. Castle Memorial Trust, to fund educational scholarships, health programs, and building projects in Honolulu. Her gift of $10,000 started the Free Kindergarten and Children's Aid Society of the Hawaiian Islands in 1895. The trust is now the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation.


Personal life and legacy

Mary Tenney married her late sister Angeline's widower, Samuel Northrup Castle, in 1842. She outlived three of her children: her son Albert died as a boy in 1864, and her son Charles died in 1874. Another son, Henry, died in 1895. She was widowed when Samuel died in 1894. Mary Tenney Castle died in 1907, at "Pu'uhonua", her home in the Manoa Valley, aged 87 years. Some of her manuscript letters are reproduced online in the Hawaiian Mission Houses Digital Archives. The Castle Foundation Papers are in the Hawaiian Mission Houses Archives. The Mary Tenney Castle Memorial Graduate Fellowship at the
University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
funds students interested in early childhood education. The Samuel and Mary Castle Art Center at
Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...
is named for the Castles, as is a building at the
University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
. She was mother-in-law to psychologist
George Herbert Mead George Herbert Mead (February 27, 1863 – April 26, 1931) was an American philosopher, Sociology, sociologist, and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago. He was one of the key figures in the development of pragmatis ...
Daniel R. Huebner
''Becoming Mead: The Social Process of Academic Knowledge''
(University of Chicago Press 2014): 63-64.
and businessman
William Drake Westervelt William Drake Westervelt (December 26, 1849 – March 9, 1939) was the author of several books and magazines on Hawaiian history and legends. He drew upon the collections of David Malo, Samuel Kamakau, and Abraham Fornander to popularize Hawaiian ...
. Descendants of Mary Tenney Castle included her sons
William Richards Castle William Richards Castle (March 19, 1849 – June 5, 1935) was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. Family William Richards Castle was born in Honolulu on March 19, 1849. His father was Samuel Northrup Cast ...
, a lawyer, and
James Bicknell Castle James Bicknell Castle (November 27, 1855 – April 5, 1918) was a Hawaiian businessman in the times of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii. Life James Bicknell Castle was born November 27, 1855, in Honolulu. His fat ...
, a businessman; and grandsons Harold Kainalu Long Castle and William Richards Castle Jr.


Family tree


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Mary Tenney 1819 births 1907 deaths American Christian missionaries People from Plainfield, New York Deerfield Academy alumni Female Christian missionaries Christian missionaries in Hawaii