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Mary Abernethy DeForest

Other Name:
Mary Lucretia Abernethy
Gender:
Female
Born:
March 27, 1812
Died:
April 3, 1877
Home Town:
Torrington, CT
Later Residences:
Watertown, CT
New Haven, CT
Colebrook, CT
New York, NY
Marriage(s):
William Brintnall DeForest (May 3, 1836)
Biographical Notes:
Mary Lucretia Abernethy, cousin of Anna Abernethy, was the dauther of Russell Catlin Abernethy and his wife Amelia Smith Acernethy. Her father served the community of Torrington, Connecticut as a successful merchant, but also as Justice of the Peace and Town Clerk. In 1828 Mary attened Sarah Pierce's Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut and in she 1836 married William Brintnall DeForest. DeForest was prepared by his early education to be a minister, but after being oradained for only two years his voice began to fail him and he gave up the ministry. He then pursued a medical degree and practiced as a physician in Colebrook, Connecticut, New York City, and New Haven, Connecticut, where he also served as the Assistant Judge of the City Court. During their marriage Mary and William had two children; one son and one daughter. At the age of 75 Mary passed away.
Additional Notes:
After Mary's death, her widower, William Brintnall DeForest, married a Miss Lynde of New York City.
Education
Years at LFA:
1828
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
1828 Litchfield Female Academy Catalogue (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).
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