Mary Man literary manuscripts (Ms. 84.1)

Biographical note

The identity of Mary Man has not been clearly fixed. It is assumed that she is from Wrentham, Massachusetts and that she was born in 1754 and died in 1829 (see the endorsed signature on "A Happy Man," folder 3, and the necrology written by Mary Howe, folder 12). Evidence also exists in the records of births, deaths, and marriages for Wrentham, Massachusetts and in George Sumner Mann's "Mann Memorial: A Record of the Mann Family in America." In "Genealogy of the Descendents of Richard Man of Scituate, Massachusetts" (Boston 1884), however, one finds references to several "Mary Man's" from the area of Wrentham and Franklin, Massachusetts (e.g. Mary Man, daughter of Ichabod and Sara, born 1750; Mary Man, daughter of Nathan and Esther, born 1752; Mary Man, daughter of Benjamin, born 1737). The Necrology written by Mary Howe (folder 12) describes a Mary Mann [sic] whom we assume to be the author of these manuscripts; her date of death and that of her husband, Elias Mann [sic] is given as 27 June 1829. The circumstances of their deaths, then, raises another interesting question.

Of further interest is the fact that Mary Man signed the earliest manuscript (1765) "Mary Man." Is it possible that the author later married a cousin with the same surname, except for a double "n" spelling? The "Mann Memorial" refers to a Mary Man, daughter of Benjamin, who was born in 1737 and died in 1823, and who married a cousin, Elijah Mann, who was born in 1742 and died in 1815. It also indicates the two spellings. These ambiguities make it difficult to establish a relationship between the Mary Man of Wrentham, Massachusetts, the assumed author of these manuscripts, and the Man family of Rhode Island (of which George Flagg Man, 1806-1885, was part).

Mary Man's interest in missionary work among the Indians raises yet another question. Does she perhaps identify with the missionary referred to in "Poetry from the troy Post: addresssed to A Female who had devoted herself to a Missionary life among the Cherokee Indians" (folder 9)? In the dedication to the poem, "To Mary," composed by Amos Watt and copied by Mary Man (folder 7), Mary is referred to as a "sister" who went to work as a missionary to the Indians. Is Mary Man this missionary? If so, was she related to George Flagg Man, 1807-1885, author of notes on Indian history?