Mary Johnson Bailey Lincoln facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Johnson Bailey Lincoln
Mary J. Lincoln, from an 1894 publication
Born	July 8, 1844 South Attleboro, Massachusetts
Died	December 2, 1921 (aged 77)
Occupation	Educator

Mary Johnson Bailey Lincoln (born July 8, 1844 – died December 2, 1921) was a very important cooking teacher and cookbook writer in Boston. She was known as Mrs. D.A. Lincoln for most of her career. Mary was one of the first people to teach about cooking in a scientific way. She showed how food works with our bodies and how to prepare it properly. She helped start the "Domestic Science" movement in the United States. This was about teaching people how to run a home well.

Mary Lincoln's Early Life

Mary was born in South Attleboro, Massachusetts. When she was seven years old, her father passed away. This meant Mary had to help her family earn money. In 1864, she finished her studies at the Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts. Today, this school is known as Wheaton College.

In 1865, she married David A. Lincoln. They lived in Boston. Sadly, David's health started to get worse in the late 1870s. To help earn money, Mary began working in people's homes. The Lincolns did not have any children.

Teaching at the Boston Cooking School

In the spring of 1879, the Boston Cooking School was created. Mary Lincoln was asked to be its first teacher. At first, she wasn't sure. She knew how to cook, but she didn't know about teaching cooking in a school.

Later that year, she decided to try. She took lessons and watched other teachers. She then agreed to teach for six months. Mary stayed at the school until 1885. She even became its first principal! She created many different classes. Some were free for immigrant girls in Boston. Others taught nurses how to cook for sick people.

Mary Lincoln's Cookbooks and Writing

While teaching at the Boston Cooking School, Mary wrote her famous book. It was called Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book: What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking. It was published in 1884. She wrote it to give her students a textbook. This way, they didn't have to copy all the recipes by hand.

This cookbook was special because it was one of the first in America to include science. It explained nutrition and the chemistry of cooking. It also helped organize cookbooks in a new, logical way. It was one of the first to use exact measurements for recipes. This book was a guide for Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. That famous book was written by Fannie Farmer, who was Mary Lincoln's student. Fannie later became the principal of the Boston Cooking School.

Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book also gave advice for people who wanted to start their own cooking schools. Mary said her book was more than just recipes. It taught about how our bodies use food and the science behind cooking. She wanted it to be easy enough for a child to understand.

In 1885, Mary left the school after her sister passed away. But she still loved teaching young women. She taught at the Lasell Seminary (now Lasell College) in Auburndale, Massachusetts until 1889. During this time, she wrote her second book, The Peerless Cook Book, in 1886.

The Boston Public Schools asked her to write another book. This one was called Boston School Kitchen Textbook: Lessons in Cooking for the Use of Classes in Public and Industrial Schools. It was published in 1887. Both this book and Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book were used to teach cooking all over America and even in Great Britain.

David A. Lincoln, Mary's husband, died in 1894. That same year, Mary joined an advisory committee for The New England Kitchen Magazine. This magazine later became American Kitchen Magazine. Mary was also an active member of the New England Woman's Press Association. She was the cooking editor for the magazine and wrote a popular column called “Day to Day.”

Mary also wrote for other magazines and published more books. She even created many advertising pamphlets for food and cooking companies. Because she was so famous, she promoted many products. She even had her own company, Mrs. Lincoln's Baking Powder Company.

Mary Lincoln continued to work in cooking and writing until she passed away in 1921. She died from a brain hemorrhage.

Mary Lincoln's Published Works

• Lincoln, Mrs. D.A. Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book: What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking. (Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers, 1884).
• Lincoln, Mrs. D.A. The Peerless Cook Book (Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., 1886).
• Lincoln, Mrs. D.A. Boston School Kitchen Textbook: Lessons in Cooking for the Use of Classes in Public and Industrial Schools. (Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers, 1887).
• Lincoln, Mrs. D.A. Carving and Serving (Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers, 1887).
• Lincoln, Mrs. D.A. What to Have for Luncheon (New York, NY: Dodge Publishing Company, 1904).
• Lincoln, Mrs. D.A. Pure Food Cook Book: A Collection of Tested and Economical Recipes. (Chicago, IL: N.K. Fairbank Co., 1907).