Mary Jane Holmes, The Most Famous Writer You’ve Never Heard Of: Presentation November 8 in Clarkson

by Axel Pearse

My name is Axel Pearse. I’m a recent SUNY Brockport alumnus, a writer, and an aspiring museologist (museum curator). I’m a proud Western New Yorker (go Bills) and–though I wouldn’t call myself a historian due to my skill in forgetting both names and dates–I have a fascination with history. I also have a fascination with science, art, music, and culture. I’m an exceedingly curious person, and I love sharing what I learn almost as much as I love the learning itself.

Mary Jane Holmes was a prolific, successful, and singularly talented author who lived during the late 1800s going into the early 1900s. Her 39 novels sold over 2,000,000 copies in her lifetime, and she was also published in magazines and journals. She moved to Brockport as a young woman and lived here until her death. Despite being forgotten by history, she was an incredibly significant person in her time and deserves to be recognized as such.

I first heard about Mary J. Holmes during an internship with the Brockport Community Museum. I was going through the different cases to choose where to start my work when I came across the case dedicated to her, and I was drawn to her immediately. As I worked on the display case (which you can find in the Drake Memorial Library), I became increasingly interested in how a woman so important was lost to time. While I worked, I realized I was in a position to exhume her legacy from the graveyard of history.

If you want to help with my purely metaphorical digging, come to Clarkson Schoolhouse, 8343 Ridge Road, on November 8 at 2 p.m. to learn about one of the most important people to have ever lived in Brockport.