Mary Lee Ware

Born into a respected family in the New Hampshire town of Rindge, specifically to naturalist and Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Charles Eliot Ware ("a leading physician in Boston") and his wife Elizabeth in 1858, Mary Lee Ware was an avid nature-lover and lived according to the precept "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Taken to Italy as a young girl, Mary was dazzled by the many sights (such as Rome and Florence) there, which served to enhance her love of beautiful things. Beauty that ranged from the picturesque landscape to the language which she quickly excelled, to the art for which the country is famous. This is no surprise given that her father, Dr. Charles Ware (Harvard class of 1834), while not a botanist himself raised his daughter to love botany with a passion. A love which was fostered by the family farm in Rindge New Hampshire, a place which stood out happily among her childhood memories. - who would become the first director of the Harvard Botanical Museum. In fact, "Mary Ware, an especially fascinating character, became in many respects a professional naturalist," a role which she was later able to utilize by being the patron sponsor of the Glass Flowers, her purpose being to advance the education of women. ==The Glass Flowers==

The "ever-loyal and ever-generous" Being independently wealthy and (already) liberal benefactors of Harvard's botany department, Mary convinced her mother to agree to underwrite the 200 mark consignment, but this was done anonymously at first (and would remain so until 1888). The uncannily lifelike models arrived in the spring of 1887 and enchanted the Wares. Then, that same year, Dr. Charles Ware died, thus filling the two women with the desire to provide Harvard with a donation in his memory. Today, there is a large bronze plaque in the exhibit's center formally dedicating it to the nature-loving Doctor, father, and husband. The initial contract signed dictated that the Blaschkas need only work half-time on the models, thus allowing them to continue their work making glass marine invertebrates. However, in 1890, they and Goodale - acting on behalf of the Wares - signed an updated version that allowed Leopold and Rudolf to work on them (the Glass Flowers) full-time; some sources detail the agreement as a shift from a 3-year contract to a 10-year one, agreed to once Goodale convinced Mary and her mother of the wisdom in doing so. Later, in 1889, Leopold made and gifted a bouquet of glass flowers to the Wares which, at some later date, was given to Harvard and is now part of the Glass Flowers exhibit. Specific role Early in the making of the Glass Flowers, Mary Lee Ware engaged in correspondence with Professor Goodale regarding the making of the collection, one of which contained a remark of Leopold's regarding the false rumor that secret methods were used in the making of the Glass Flowers: "Many people think that we have some secret apparatus by which we can squeeze glass suddenly into these forms, but it is not so. We have tact. My son Rudolf has more than I have, because he is my son, and tact increases in every generation. The only way to become a glass modeler of skill, I have often said to people, is to get a good great-grandfather who loved glass." Miss Ware is also known to have visited the Blaschka home/studio three times, the first in 1899 along with Prof. Goodale, Mrs. Goodale and their son Francis. By this time Mary was the sole benefactress of the Blaschkas, as her mother, Elizabeth C. Ware, had died the previous year (1898). During the course of these visits she became very great friends with Rudolf and his wife Frieda, and, on one occasion, Rudolf wrote to Mary L. Ware regarding his vision of how the Flowers should be displayed: "I think pure white sheets will do best as bestow good light to the whole room. The models will look best either on pure white or a deep velvet-black." However, in September 1923 Miss Ware received a letter from Rudolf Blaschka stating that he has at long last shipped four cases of specimens to the Museum. This is the first Glass Flowers shipment following World War I, but the letter also notes the complicated tax and inflation situation in Germany has left him (Rudolf) without money - "I am at the end of my financial power" - and the Museum has not sent the 1923 payment yet. Presumably, Mary Lee Ware notified Professor Ames of this as, that November, $500 was sent to Rudolf via the now dead Prof. Goodale's son Francis. Furthermore and in addition to funding and visiting, Mary took a fairly active role in the project's progress, going so far as to personally unpack each model Upon her death in 1937, Miss Ware left a will with assets worth one million dollars, $600,000 of which she bequeathed on charity and education. Of this vast sum, a full half of it (the largest single bequest in her will) was given to Harvard for completion and the upkeep of the Glass Flowers (as well as support Rudolf and Frieda). ==The Ware Farm and agricultural work==

Although her mother remained in Boston, Mary Lee Ware clearly considered herself a New Hampshirite and apparently maintained the West Rindge family farm of her childhood. However, she is almost always called Miss Mary Lee Ware of Boston; very rarely is Rindge, NH mentioned. Reportedly (per the majority of sources) she was a seasonal resident of both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, spending the summers at the Ware Farm in Rindge while wintering in Boston with her mother. Years earlier, in 1887 The Farm was known to be "an outstanding showplace with Jersey cows, poultry, a piggery, sheep, and Irish Settlers, all purebred...in 1911, her three foundation cows and a bull were imported from the Isle of Jersey." Her affection for the family and its many non-family residents is illustrated by the fact that, upon her death, Mary's will designated funds to keep the farm and her "farm family" together for one full year. The Grange Hall in Rindge was also named after her — the Mary L. Ware Grange Hall — doubtless in tribute to her many agricultural contributions; and, in addition, a Mary L. Ware Park was established in West Rindge. Sadly, in 1957, the Hall was bought and converted into the Ed’s Country Auction House by Mr. Edward Gilman "Ed" Stevens. Furthermore, in regards to Miss Ware's agrarian impact, the New Hampshire Farm Bureau's highest award was once the Mary Lee Ware Trophy. Regarding her will, Mary left $25000 to her Boston and West Rindge employees. Mr. Capone, in turn, continues to honor the legacy and philanthropic spirit of Miss Ware, insofar as her deep love of nature went, working with HOOF&CLAW to preserve the environment and inspire solutions to environmental issues. ==Community involvement==

As a Philanthropist of many interests, Mary Lee Ware contributed in other many and varied ways to the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. However, though "well known locally in NH and Boston for charitable works, she often kept her donations anonymous from the public." Massachusetts Aside from the Glass Flower enterprise, Mary Lee Ware supported Harvard University in other ways, donating four table cases to the Economic Room along with various sums of money for research and preservation purposes, as is evidenced in various Harvard Treasurer's Statements. In addition, she was one of early anthropologist Frederic Ward Putnam of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology many wealthy donors. The main body of the letter to Mr. Coolidge reads "The spurs I found among Mr. Hall’s army outfit, labelled “F.P.[”] as you see, and we wondered if by any chance they could have been worn by Mr. Parkman on his “Oregon Trail” journey. It is of course only a guess, but certainly F.P. could only mean Mr. Parkman and Miss Lizzie might have given them to Mr. Hall as a keep-sake. If they were his, possibly your son Jack would like them. If not, you can of course do as you please with them." Miss Ware's cousin, this Mr. Hall, is presumed to be Henry Ware Hall seeing as he shared an uncle with Francis Parkman: "Edward Brooks Hall—the same Hall who had married Mary Lee Ware’s aunt Harriet. So Henry, Francis, and Mary were all first cousins." Mary Lee Ware sent the letter to Mr. Coolidge because he was Parkman’s son-in-law. Said letter was recently obtained by the Massachusetts Historical Society. Mary L. Ware did at least some work with the Christian Register, helping in the selection of letters in a 1917 edition. Furthermore, from at least 1906 to 1913 she was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, as known by a pair of letters she exchanged during those respective years to Anne Whitney, a reputable Massachusetts poet and sculptor. Miss Ware attended the first annual meeting of the Woman's National Farm & Garden Association's New England Branch in Boston, and was elected to the position of "Chairman Executive Committee." Mary was a corporate member of the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth, along with her cousins Charles E. and Harriet P. Ware of Fitchburg and (possible relative) Mrs. Mary G. Ware of Lancaster. Mary Lee Ware was an officer in the Massachusetts Forestry Association from at least 1906 to 1915, occupying such roles as one of many Vice-Presidents, a member of the Executive Committee along with Ways and Means as well as being the Chairman of the Membership and Publications Committee. As in so many of her roles she was, curiously and again, known as "Mary Lee Ware of Boston," though this could easily be due to her seemingly preferred Rindge residence being outside of Massachusetts. New Hampshire Similarly showing her love of the natural world, in 1901–1902 Mary Lee Ware played a pivotal role in the creation of the New Hampshire Rhododendron State Park when, in 1901, subsequent owner Levi Fuller planned to "lumber off" the property and would have if not for Mary, who bought it in 1902. Giving it to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) a year later, she signed the deal on the condition that the woodland "...be held as a reservation properly protected and open to the public...forever." The contract also barred cutting down any trees or picking any rhododendron, a promise that has been broken only once due to the 1938 hurricane. The donated land is called "Old Patch Place," remodeled by the AMC as a hostel/clubhouse but has since (1946) come under the protection of the N.H. Division of Parks and Recreation — the system's only designated botanical park. The "Old Patch Place" cottage near the park entrance was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Miss Ware was a unit chairwoman of the Women's Committee and Council of National Defense in the Granite State, working with the Federal Food Administrator of New Hampshire. Also, the Rindge Historical Society Museum's collection of artifacts "began with the efforts of Mary Lee Ware...a seasonal resident of Rindge. Ms. Ware, around the turn of the twentieth century, took it upon herself to solicit donations of historical items from the town’s residents." This collection, today located near the center of Rindge, was once housed at the Ingalls Memorial Library (which would itself later benefit from Mary's generosity). Indeed, in the very first issue of the Rindge Community Newsletter (a volunteer effort by the Rindge Chamber of Commerce), Mary L. Ware was credited with the founding of the Rindge Museum, stating that she asked for the historical donations per "a large horse-drawn wagon and a few of her hired men." ==Death==

The circumstances of Mary Lee Ware's death - which took place a few months after the Glass Flowers enterprise ended - is described in a letter addressed to Professor Oakes Ames. On January 5 "the poor old lady had a heavy stroke which left her almost completely paralyzed. There seemed to be no question whatever but that she could not possibly recover and, four days later, she had another shock which, thank God, carried her peacefully off." and officiated over by Reverends John and Palfrey Perkins with many notable personages in attendance, including Francis Goodale (Prof. Goodale's son). In addition, a later letter from a solicitor to the Soviet authorities details a pension that Mary Lee Ware set for Rudolf and which continued to Frieda until 1941 - after which Mrs. Blaschka had no income at all. She also left them $5000 and, furthermore, was one of the Trustees of and partly responsible for writing the Annual Report of the Library, as she was a signatory of said Report in 1917; this also made her one of the Officers of the Town of Rindge. At some point in life Mary Lee Ware inherited Robert Salmon's The British Fleet Forming a Line off Algiers painting from her father, Dr. Charles Eliot Ware - though how he acquired it is not known. She bequeathed the painting in 1937 (presumably after her death and per her will) to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, Miss Ware's will detailed sizable donations to organizations such as the Massachusetts General Hospital, Kentucky's Berea College, and the American Unitarian Association. In addition, ==Miscellaneous==

The independent wealth of Mary L. Ware and her family was owed to the fact that her mother, Elizabeth C. Ware, was a descendant of the wealthy Salem Cabots - a merchant family dating back to the early 1700s. In 1900 Miss Ware began a subscription to the Fund for the Encouragement of Mexican and Central American Research, as recorded in a Harvard University Annual Report. The rug on the floor of the Edward Hall Library in the First Parish in Cambridge was "given in memory of Miss Mary Lee Ware, a first cousin of Rev. Edward Hall," who presided as Minister from 1882 to 1893. Mary Lee Ware reportedly never owned an automobile - apparently traveling to and from Boston via the train, and by horse and buggy when in Rindge. Mary's relationship with her brother, Charles Ware Jr., is not known. It is known, though, that Charles Jr. also went to Harvard in the 1870s and lived in Boston for a while – marrying in 1881 – before moving to Newton. Why Mary and her mother never involved him (and his wife) in the Glass Flowers enterprise is unknown. ==References==