| Marcus Ames | |
| Birth Date: | 1828 |
| Citizenship: | United States |
| Occupation: | Minister |
| Spouse: | Jane Ames (née Vandenburg) |
| Relatives: | Herman Vandenburg Ames (son) |
| Family: | Ames family |
| Reverend | |
Marcus Ames (1828 - 1887) was an American minister and prison chaplain who was an early reformer in juvenile corrections. A member of the Ames family, he served as head of the Lancaster Industrial School for Girls and as chaplain of the state institutions of Rhode Island.
A member of the Ames family, Marcus Ames was the son of Azel Ames and Mercy Ames (née Hatch).[1] [2] [3] He was educated at Phillips Andover Academy, where he graduated as valedictorian, before studying medicine at Harvard Medical School.[4] [5] [6]
He was ordained to the clergy in 1854, becoming a "brilliant, fervent, and impressive" Congregational preacher who ministered throughout Massachusetts.[6] [7] Though Ames was educated to undertake missionary work in West Africa, the poor state of health of his wife ultimately precluded him from traveling abroad.[6]
Ames was a firm believer in criminal rehabilitation and, in 1862, was made superintendent and chaplain of the Lancaster Industrial School for Girls.[7] Two years later he expressed, in writing, his concerns for what he saw as a growing problem with a lack of skilled education, and prevalence of idleness, among working class girls, and opined that without education many would be destined for unemployment and homelessness.[8] In 1874, after plans were announced to install workshops at the school, Ames – concerned that the new direction towards prison industry was transforming it into a jail – resigned in protest.[8] [9] His resignation was joined by most of the school's matrons.[8] [10] After leaving the Lancaster School, he was appointed chaplain of state institutions of the State of Rhode Island, which included the state's insane asylum, prison, almshouse, and workhouse.[11]
With his wife, Jane Ames (née Vandenburg), Ames had two sons, Marcus and Herman, and a daughter, Ella.[3] [6] [12]