Page:Woman of the Century.djvu/339

334 professors of colleges. The present president of Beyrout College, in Syria, Asia Minor, was for some time a student with her, especially in the Latin language.

Mrs. Graves may be said to have inherited the poetic temperament from both sides of the house. The Mary Sharp College under Dr. Graves' presidency acquired a national reputation, and he avers that its success was owing quite as much to her wise counsels and management as to his own efforts. There were few positions in the college she did not, at some time, occupy, save that of mathematics. For thirty-two years she was matron and professor of rhetoric, belles-lettres, elocution and English composition, at different times, as need be, teaching French, ancient history and ancient geography, English literature, or whatever else was required. The published works of Mrs. Graves are "Seclusaval, or the Arts of Romanism " (Memphis. Tenn., 1870), a work written to deter Protestants from sending children to Catholic schools, and "lephtha's Daughter," a drama, (Memphis, 1867). Besides these are two prize stories. Twelve or thirteen small volumes were also compiled from the Southern Child's Book, at the request of the Southern Baptist Sabbath School Union, for the use of Sabbath-schools. Mrs. Graves for years edited and wrote for that publication. She wrote the " Old Testament Catechism in Rhyme" (Nashville. Tenn., 1859), on request of the same society, for the use of the colored people while still slaves, for which she received twenty cents a line, they, her employers, saying, they knew of no one else that could do it. Her unpublished poems are numerous. Mrs. Graves has found a place in "Woman in Sacred Sting." and "Southland Poets," and she is mentioned in the "Successful Men of Tennessee" fur her extraordinary financial ability, having managed a business of fifteen-thousand to twenty thousand dollars per year for years at a time, most successfully.

GRAVES, Miss Mary H., Unitarian minister, born in North Reading, Mass., 12th September, 1839. Her parents were Eben Graves and Hannah M. Campbell Graves. Her maternal ancestors, the

Campbells and Moores, were descendants of the Scotch-Irish settlers of Londonderry, N. H. Mary was graduated from the State Normal School, Salem, Mass., in February, i860. She taught in the public schools of her native town and of South Danvers, now Peabody, Mass. She was inclined to literature and wrote for the "Ladies' Repository" and other journals. She took a theological course of study under Rev. Olympia Brown in Weymouth, Mass., and in Bridgeport, Conn., preaching occasionally in the neighboring towns. In the summer of 1869 she supplied the pulpit of the Universalist Church in North Reading, Mass. In the summer of 1870 she preached in Earlville, III. On December, 14th, 1871, she was regularly ordained as pastor of the Unitarian Church in Mansfield. Mass., having already preached one year for that society. In 188a she had pastoral charge of the Unitarian Society in Baraboo, Wis. She has done some missionary work in the West, mainly in Illinois and adjoining States. In 1885 and 1886, while living in Chicago, she assisted in the conduct of "Manford's Magazine," acting as literary editor. For one year she was secretary of the Women's Western Unitarian Conference. At present her strength is not sufficient to allow her to do the full work of the ministry, and she is devoting herself to literary work. She contributes occasionally to the "Christian Register," the "Commonwealth," the Boston "Transcript." the "Leader" and other journals.

GRAY, Mrs. Jennie T., temperance worker, born in Pilot Grove, Iowa, 16th September. 1857. Her father, Stephen Townsend. was of English descent Her mother was of Welsh and English descent. She was reared in the faith of the Quaker Church. From her father she inherited literary