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 (USMM), and was also a noted philanthropist who wrote poetry and composed music.
Formative years
Born in Malden, Massachusetts 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 American Revolutionary War Patriot and victims of the Salem witch trials. 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, Boston 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 Detroit and Chicago, 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 (1897-1865), 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 U.S. Navy as his nation entered the Spanish–American War, he was then appointed as a colonel and acting quartermaster-general of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia 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 Algonquin Club, Boston Art Club, Brookline Country Club, Calumet Club, Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead Neck), Kenwood and Malden clubs, and the New York Yacht Club.
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 Radcliffe College, she solicited feedback in 1917 from Harvard faculty member George Pierce Baker 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, Mary Converse embarked on yet another civic project. After joining the Boston chapter of the American Red Cross, 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.” 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 Denver, Colorado 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.