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Glidden Homestead & Historical Center Mary McConnell Glidden was born in Dragston, NJ, on July 29, 1827. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Bright and John McConnell. She met her future husband, Josiah W. Glidden, when he was living in Philadelphia taking painting lessons. They met at church, where Mary sang in the choir, and the pastor’s wife introduced them. Josiah Willard Glidden was the younger brother of Joseph F. Glidden. The brothers came west from New York and settled in DeKalb in 1842. Josiah and Mary married in 1857 in Chicago, and set up their household on a farm on the western edge of DeKalb. In time, six children would enter that household, one dying in infancy. Mary was an accomplished dressmaker, and was the first to own a sewing machine in DeKalb. Josiah would load up the wagon and deliver Mary and her machine to area homes. While Mary was busy sewing, and absent sometimes as long as a week, her sister-in-law Abbey Glidden would mind the children. Mary and Josiah, who was a prolific writer, were active members of the DeKalb Literary Society. It was said of Mary that she “possessed a seemingly inexhaustible fund of quaint humor that gave charm to her literary work.” Josiah died in 1876, after receiving a cut which developed into a fast-acting infection. In a time before the advent of antibiotics, he died within a week from the bacteria. The next year, Mary and her five children ranging in age from 9-19 moved from the farm into town. She opened a dressmaking shop at the northwest corner of Fourth and Lincoln Highway and managed to support her family. Once again her sister-in-law Abbey helped with the children. By 1900, Mary was living with daughter Bertha and son-in-law Samuel Bradt. She died in 1909 at the age of 81. Mary was eulogized as a woman with an intellect and a graceful self assurance. After suffering the loss of her husband and later in life two of her adult daughters, Mary was known as one having a brave heart. Love and duty were virtues that guided her entire life. |
