Mianne Palfrey Explained
| Mianne Palfrey |
| Fullname: | Mary Ann "Mianne" Palfrey Dexter |
| Birth Date: | 6 March 1911 |
| Birth Place: | Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Death Date: | [1] [2] |
| Plays: | Right-handed |
| Wimbledonresult: | 2R (1930) |
| Usopenresult: | 2R (1930, 1931, 1932) |
| Wimbledondoublesresult: | 1R (1930) |
| Usopendoublesresult: | QF (1930, 1931) |
| Wimbledonmixedresult: | 2R (1930) |
| Usopenmixedresult: | 2R (1931) |
Mary Ann "Mianne" Palfrey (March 6, 1911 – November 2, 1993) was an American tennis player who was active in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Mianne was the daughter of John Palfrey, a lawyer, and Methyl Oakes. She was part of a quintet of tennis playing sisters, together with Sarah, Lee, Polly and Joanne.[3]
Palfrey won the girls' national indoor singles title in 1929, defeating her sister Sarah in the final. In addition she won the girls' indoor doubles titles, partnering Sarah, in 1927, 1928 and 1929.[4] [5]
In February 1930, she won the singles title at the U.S. Indoor Championships, held at the Longwood Covered Courts in Chestnut Hill, defeating the 1924 and 1925 champion Marion Zinderstein Jessup in the final in straight sets.[6] [7]
On August 27, 1932, she married Arthur Dehon Hill in Sharon, Massachusetts but they divorced several years later.[8] They had one daughter[9] . She married Franklin Dexter on August 5, 1939, in Brookline, Massachusetts. On return from their honeymoon in Scotland at the outset of World War II their ship, the passenger liner, was torpedoed by the German U-boat and sank but the couple survived.[10] With Franklin, she bore four children. Franklin Dexter died in July 1977.
Notes and References
- News: Bud Collins . Turmoil of '93 left those of us in the tennis racket strung out . The Boston Globe . December 31, 1993 . 71 . Mianne Palfrey Dexter, 82, one of an extraordinary quintet of sisters who won US junior titles. She also won the women's US Indoor in 1930 . Newspapers.com . limited.
- News: Obituary for Mianne (Palfrey) Dexter . The Boston Globe . November 5, 1993 . 30.
- Book: Collins, Bud. Bud Collins. The Bud Collins History of Tennis. 2016. New Chapter Press. New York. 978-1-937559-38-0. 3rd.
- News: John B. Knox . Two sisters monopolize titles in indoor tennis . The Sunday Tribune . April 21, 1929 . 7 (third section).
- Web site: Past USTA Girls' Nationals Champions - 18s . USTA.
- News: 18-year-old girl wins national tennis title . The Coshocton Tribune . February 2, 1930 . 10 . Newspapers.com . limited.
- News: Mianne Palfrey wins from former champ to gain title. . Rochester Democrat and Chronicle . AP . February 2, 1930 . 10 . Eighteen-year-old Mianne Palfrey, one of Brookline's five tennis-playing sisters, today became the women's national indoor singles champion by defeating Mrs. Marion Zinderstein Jessup of Wilmington, Del., a former holder of the title 7-5, 6-2, here on the Longwood covered courts. . Newspapers.com . limited.
- News: Miss Mianne Palfrey, tennis star, marries. . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . August 28, 1932 . 7 . Newspapers.com . limited.
- News: 1993-11-05 . Obituary for Mianne (Palfrey) Dexter . 2024-08-03 . The Boston Globe . 30.
- News: New Englanders on Athenia bring war close to home . The Boston Globe . September 5, 1939 . 2 . Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Dexter, brother-in-law and sister of the internationally known tennis star, Sarah Palfrey Fabyan, were honeymooning in Scotland when war broke. They were among the 35 New Englanders who managed to get passage on the Athenia. . Newspapers.com . limited.
