Jane Marsh Parker

Jane Marsh Parker (, Marsh; pen name, Jenny Marsh Parker; June 16, 1836 – March 13, 1913) was an American author and historian of the long nineteenth century. She was a frequent contributor to The Churchman and other publications of the Protestant Episcopal church. She was the author of novels and religious works, including Toiling and Hoping (New York, 1856); The Boy Missionary; Losing the Way (1860); Under His Banner (1862); The Morgan Boys (1859); Rochester, a Story Historical (Rochester, 1884); The Midnight Cry (New York, 1886); Life of S. F. B. Morse (1887); and Papers Relating to the Genesee Country (1888), among other publications. Parker founded the Fortnightly Ignorance Club of Rochester, New York, which was the first women's club in the state after Sorosis.

Early life and education Permelia Jane Marsh was born in Milan, New York, on June 16, 1836. The father, Rev. Joseph Marsh, was a Campbellite minister, who adopted the views of William Miller and was a leader in the Second Advent movement in 1843-50. The mother, Sarah Adams Marsh, was a descendent from John Quincy Adams. She contributed to all the leading periodicals, including that of the Episcopal Church, as well as Harper's Magazine and The Century Magazines. She was one of the Spectator's Club contributors to The Outlook, and a member of the Contributors' Club, writing for the Atlantic Monthly.

Parker was one of the first women to oppose the placing of children in jails with hardened criminals, and it was largely through her efforts that the first matron was placed in the Rochester jail. She opposed women's suffrage. "If I should ever vote, it would be to cast a ballot against woman's suffrage." She died of bronchial pneumonia in Los Angeles, California on March 13, 1913, at the home of her daughter, Margaret. Interment was at Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester.

Selected works

Toiling and Hoping, 1856 The Boy Missionary, 1858 The Light of the World, Or, Footprints of Christ Our Lord, 1858 Frank Earnest, Or Going Into the Master's Vineyard ..., 1858 Seed for the Spring-time: Or, Common Names and Common Things, in the Church and Liturgy, Explained for Little Learners, 1858 What a Little Child Should Know: Or, Simple Lessons on the Creed, Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, Etc, 1858 Around the Manger; Or, Christmas, Past and Present,: With St. Chrysostom's Sermon, 1858 Losing the Way, 1859 The Morgan Boys, 1859 L'Enfant missionnaire, histoire pour la jeunesse, par Mme J.M. Parker, traduction libre par Henry T. de Jersey, 1860 Barley Wood: Or, Building on the Rock, 1860 The Soldier of the Cross, Or, Life of St. Paul: Written for the Lambs of the Flock, 1861 Around the Manger: Or, Christmas, Past and Present, 1861 Under His Banner, 1862 The Story of a Story-book, 1863 Dick Wortley, Or, Choosing a Profession, 1863 Under His Banner, 1869 The Duty of the American White Woman to the American Black Woman, 1884 Rochester: A Story Historical, 1884 The Midnight Cry: A Novel, 1886 Life of S. F. B. Morse, 1887 Papers Relating to the Genesee Country, 1888 An Evening with David Copperfield: A Literary and Musical Dickens Entertainment Comprising Readings, Impersonations, Tableaux, Pantomimes and Music, 1889 The Opening of the Genesee Country, 1892 The Jesuit Relations, 1894 Christ Church, Rochester, Western New York: A Story..., 1905