Mary Platt Parmele Explained

Mary Platt Parmele
Birth Name:	Mary Platt
Birth Date:	July 14, 1843
Birth Place:	Albany, New York, U.S.
Death Date:	May 26, 1911 (age 67)
Death Place:	New York, New York, U.S.
Occupation:	Writer
Father:	Zephaniah Platt
Relatives:	Jonas Platt (grandfather)

Mary Platt Parmele (July 14, 1843 – May 26, 1911) was an American historian and writer.

Early life

Parmele was born in Albany, New York and educated in New York. She was the daughter of Zephaniah Platt and Cornelia Jenkins Platt.^[1] Her father was the Michigan Attorney General, and her grandfather was U.S. Representative Jonas Platt.

Career

From 1892 Parmele contributed philosophical articles and short stories to reviews and magazines. Her most successful books were a number of "Short History" books of various countries written in the late 19th and early 20th century.^[2] Her "Short History of ..." books included volumes on France, Russia, England, United States, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Her style was appreciated by critics as readable, lively, and comprehensive.^[3]

Parmele ventured beyond straight historical writing with Ariel, or the Author's World (1892), in which a character has the power to transport himself to a planet orbiting Earth, "created by atoms obeying the wills of writers", thus inhabited by fictional creations such as Frankenstein's monster.^{[4] [5]} Parmele was critical of the claims of Christian Science. In 1904, she published a book that argued against the claims of Christian Science.^{[6] [7]}

Publications

• Answered in the Negative (1892, two stories)
• The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France (1894)^[8]
• A Short History of England (1898)^[9]
• A Short History of France (1898)^[10]
• A Short History of Germany (1898)^[11]
• A Short History of Spain (1898)^[12]
• A Short History of the United States (1898)^[13]
• Ariel, or the Author's World (1898, chapbook)
• The Kingdom of the Invisible (1902)^[14]
• Christian Science: Is it Christian? Is it Scientific? (1904)^[15]
• A Short History of England, Ireland, and Scotland (1907)^[16]
• A Short History of Rome and Italy (1907)^[17]
• A Short History of Russia (1907)^[18]

Personal life

Mary Platt married twice. Her first marriage was to Samuel J. Agnew; they had two sons, Howard and Holmes,^[19] and divorced. In 1870, she married her cousin, widower Theodore Weld Parmele; he died in 1893.^[20] She lived with Mrs. J. J. Tierney in her last years, and died when she was struck by a motorcycle in 1911, at the age of 67, in New York City.^{[21] [22]} Her son Holmes Agnew was institutionalized at the time of her death.^[23] Her grave is in Brooklyn's historic Green-Wood Cemetery.

Notes and References

1. Book: Leonard, John William . Who's who in New York City and State . 1905 . L.R. Hamersly Company . 690 . en.
2. News: 1901-09-17 . Mrs. Mary Platt Parmele; How She Cleverly Averted Embarrassment on the Part of her Guest Professor X . 2024-07-12 . Kansas City Journal . 8 . Newspapers.com.
3. News: 1904-03-25 . New Books and Magazines . 2024-07-12 . Omaha Daily Bee . 10 . Newspapers.com.
4. Web site: SFE: Parmele, Mary Platt . 2024-07-12 . The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
5. Book: Bleiler, Everett Franklin . Science-fiction, the Early Years: A Full Description of More Than 3,000 Science-fiction Stories from Earliest Times to the Appearance of the Genre Magazines in 1930 : with Author, Title, and Motif Indexes . 1990 . Kent State University Press . 978-0-87338-416-2 . 586 . en.
6. Anonymous. (1904). "New Books and Editions – Religion", Book News: An Illustrated Magazine Vol. 23, No. 267; p. 244.
7. News: Fairchild . H. Coulson . 1904-09-28 . Christian Science Defended; Official Reply to Mrs. Mary Platt Parmele's Book . 2024-07-12 . Passaic Daily Herald . 5 . Newspapers.com.
8. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . The evolution of an empire. A brief historical sketch of France . 1894 . New York, W.B. Harrison . The Library of Congress.
9. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of England . 1898 . New York, C. Scribner's Sons . The Library of Congress.
10. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of France . 1907 . N. Y. : Scribner . University of California Libraries.
11. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of Germany . 1898 . C. Scribner's sons . New York.
12. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of Spain . 1907 . New York : C. Scribner's sons . University of California Libraries.
13. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of the United States . 1898 . New York, C Scribner's sons . The Library of Congress.
14. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . The kingdom of the invisible . 1902 . New York, Irving press . The Library of Congress.
15. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . Christian science; is it Christian? Is it scientific . 1904 . J.F. Taylor & company . New York.
16. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of England, Ireland, And Scotland . 1907 . New York : C. Scribner's Sons . University of California Libraries.
17. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of Rome and Italy . 1907 . New York : C. Scribner's Sons . University of California Libraries.
18. Book: Parmele, Mary Platt . A short history of Russia; . 1907 . New York : C. Scribner's sons . University of California Libraries.
19. Book: Platt, George Lewis . The Platt lineage; a genealogical research and record . 1891 . New York, T. Whittaker . Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center . 123.
20. News: 1893-05-15 . Obituary: Col. Theodore Weld Parmele . 2024-07-12 . The New York Times . 5 . en-US . 0362-4331.
21. News: 1911-05-27 . Wheel Kills Woman Author . 2024-07-12 . Chicago Tribune . 2 . Newspapers.com.
22. News: May 27, 1911 . Motor Cycle Kills Mrs. Mary Parmele; Aged Woman Writer, Weak from Illness, Walked Into Its Path in Sixth Avenue . 2024-07-12 . The New York Times . 1 . en . 0362-4331.
23. News: 1911-06-27 . None to Claim Her Estate; Mrs. M. P. Parmele's Personalty Devised to Inebriate Son . 2024-07-12 . New-York Tribune . 7 . Newspapers.com.