Mary E. Drake

Mary E. Drake ( McArthur; after first marriage, Marshall, after second marriage, Drake, after third marriage, Norton; 1833–1916) was an American Congregational church minister and Home Missionary worker. She was one of the first women ordained to the Congregational ministry west of the Mississippi River.

Early life and education Mary Eveline McArthur was born in Trenton, New York, June 8, 1833. Her parents were Harry and Charlotte Ann (Gurney) McArthur. Her father was of Scotch parentage, and her mother was English, a relative of Lady Gurney, better known as Elizabeth Fry. From her parents, Drake inherited a strong religious bent of character that distinguished her life.

After her third marriage, to Rev. James Norton, a pastor of the Congregational church at Newfane, Vermont and at Oberlin, Ohio, she became his assistant.

Personal life She firstly married Mr. Marshall; they had a son, Martin Murray Marshall.

In later life, she resided for many years in Albany, Oregon. She died March 5, 1916, at the Mann Home for the Aged in Portland, Oregon, after an extended illness.

Selected works Drake, M. E., Fanny's Autobiography: A Story of Home Missionary Life on the Frontier (1894) (text)