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Mary Ann Monson Whitney
Other Name:
Mary Ann Monson; Mary Ann Munson; Mary Ann Cutler
Gender:
Female
Born:
March 28, 1803
Died:
July 7, 1844
Home Town:
New Haven, CT
Later Residences:
Venus, IL
Quincy, IL
Quincy, IL
Marriage(s):
Daniel Green Whitney (August 13, 1838)
George Younglove Cutler (May 29, 1821)
George Younglove Cutler (May 29, 1821)
Biographical Notes:
Mary Ann Monson Whitney was born March 28, 1803 in New Haven, Connecticut to Aenas and Mary Shepard Monson. From 1818-1819 Mary Ann attended the Rev. Claus Herrick's female school in her hometown. In 1820 she traveled to Litchfield, Connecticut where she studied briefly at Sarah Pierce's Female Academy. On May 29, 1821 Mary Ann married George Younglove Cutler, with whom she had three children. George had been a student at the Litchfield Law School in 1819, and after completing his education in Litchfield had relocated to New Haven where he studied law with Judge Daggett (the uncle of Mary Ann). After being admitted to the bar George practiced law in New Haven and Watertown. In 1829 George moved his family to Venus, Illionis (now Nauvoo) where they settled. After George's death in 1834 Mary ...
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Quotes:
George Younglove Cutler Journal, 22 July 1820 - "Miss M. you were becomingly dressed last night because there was less fix about you than common. I like richness of dress but hate ribbons & bows & knots & ruffles & rigmaroles generally speaking I dislike ornaments of any kind. To see ladies loaded with as many foolish kickshaws as are put on now-a-days looks more like burlesque than reality." (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).
Additional Notes:
Mary Ann was named in a poem handwritten by Litchfield Law School student (and her future husband) George Younglove Cutler to "the lovely girls" of the Litchfield Female Academy:
Let's fill our cups to Beauty bright,
And toast the lovely girls.
This would have been a dreary night,
But for the charming girls.
And here's to all our noble Selves,
God bless our glorious lives.
Our health to our most noble Selves,
God grant us heavenly wives.
Connecticut demands a bowl,
And claims a foaming can.
Our health to Hannah's noble soul,
And beauteous Mary Ann.
Old Penna too we'll greet,
And Penna toast.
And sure the bumper must be sweet,
When sweet Conard's the toast.
One cup to Georgia's ...
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Let's fill our cups to Beauty bright,
And toast the lovely girls.
This would have been a dreary night,
But for the charming girls.
And here's to all our noble Selves,
God bless our glorious lives.
Our health to our most noble Selves,
God grant us heavenly wives.
Connecticut demands a bowl,
And claims a foaming can.
Our health to Hannah's noble soul,
And beauteous Mary Ann.
Old Penna too we'll greet,
And Penna toast.
And sure the bumper must be sweet,
When sweet Conard's the toast.
One cup to Georgia's ...
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Education
Years at LFA:
1820
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- George Younglove Cutler
Husband
LLS (1819) - Daniel Green Whitney
Husband - Mary Shepard Monson
Mother - Aenas Monson
Father
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:
George Younglove Cutler Journal, 1820 (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).
1820 Litchfield Female Academy Winter Session Catalogue (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. More Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1927).
1820 Litchfield Female Academy Winter Session Catalogue (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. More Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1927).
Secondary Sources:
Munson, Myron A. 1637 - 1887. The Munson Record. Vol. II. New Haven, CT: Printed for the Munson Association, 1895.
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