Singer. Alto soloist. Mother of Rachel Carson. Maria Carson's family lived in Pennsylvania when she was a young girl. They moved to Ohio for a short while, then after her father's death, her mother moved the family back to Pennsylvania, and enrolled Maria in the elite Washington Female Seminary there. She graduated with honors in Latin in 1887, taking advanced courses at Washington College. She was known for having uncommon musical ability, playing the piano, singing, and composing. After her graduation, she taught school in Washington County, sang with a musical group, and gave piano lessons. She married at twenty-five and had to stop teaching, as married women were not permitted to teach school in those days. Her husband moved the family to a small farm near Springdale. She used her leisure time to improve the quality of her children's lives, particularly in natural history. She and the children were outdoors every day when weather permitted, and she shared with them her knowledge of nature, botany, and birds. She played the piano, and she and the two children sang songs and read stories from children's magazines. She impressed her respect and love for wild creatures on all her children. When they returned from the woods with things they had found, she instructed the children to return them to where they belonged. When Rachel Louise Carson was born, she began keeping a diary chronicling Rachel's babyhood, documenting her love of the outdoors and Rachel's early introduction to it.
Singer. Alto soloist. Mother of Rachel Carson. Maria Carson's family lived in Pennsylvania when she was a young girl. They moved to Ohio for a short while, then after her father's death, her mother moved the family back to Pennsylvania, and enrolled Maria in the elite Washington Female Seminary there. She graduated with honors in Latin in 1887, taking advanced courses at Washington College. She was known for having uncommon musical ability, playing the piano, singing, and composing. After her graduation, she taught school in Washington County, sang with a musical group, and gave piano lessons. She married at twenty-five and had to stop teaching, as married women were not permitted to teach school in those days. Her husband moved the family to a small farm near Springdale. She used her leisure time to improve the quality of her children's lives, particularly in natural history. She and the children were outdoors every day when weather permitted, and she shared with them her knowledge of nature, botany, and birds. She played the piano, and she and the two children sang songs and read stories from children's magazines. She impressed her respect and love for wild creatures on all her children. When they returned from the woods with things they had found, she instructed the children to return them to where they belonged. When Rachel Louise Carson was born, she began keeping a diary chronicling Rachel's babyhood, documenting her love of the outdoors and Rachel's early introduction to it.
Bio by: Pete Mohney
