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Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing 1889 - 1974

Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing was born on January 11, 1889, and died at age 85 years old on October 3, 1974 in New York, New York United States. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing.

Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing

January 11, 1889

October 3, 1974

New York, New York, United States

Female

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Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing Mary Cushing (1889 - 1974)

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Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing's History: 1889 - 1974

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Introduction

Famous author of THE RAINBOW BRIDGE. Mary Fitch Watkins (1889–1974) was the daughter of Vermont Episcopal minister Schureman Halsted Watkins (who was the chaplain for the Tombs prison and the prison on Blackwell’s Island at one time) and Helen Randolph Smith Watkins. Her book The Rainbow Bridge (1954) discusses her seven years as assistant to diva Olive Fremstad (1871–1951), who is regarded as a model for Thea Kronborg in Willa Cather’s The Song of the Lark (1915). Watkins regarded the experience as “a better education than I might have found in college and a privilege far greater than I could possibly have deserved” (Rainbow Bridge 7). Sometimes referred to by Fremstad as “little Miss Watkins” (she was 5 foot 3), she served as a driver for the Motor Corps of the National League for Women’s Service before taking up the same role with Anne Morgan’s American Fund for French Wounded (see Watkins, “Anne Morgan: An Intimate Portrait,” The Woman Citizen, Aug 1927). She sailed for France in April 1918, with an item in the 18 April 1918 Barre [VT] Daily Times listing her prospective duties as driving “motor trucks carrying supplies, clothing, and building materials to the devastated villages” (3). Her 20 April 1921 letter in the New York Times, supporting one by author Owen Wister that advocated for the bodies of US service members to remain buried overseas, provides a glimpse into some of her wartime experiences
01/11

1889

Birthday

January 11, 1889

Birthdate

Unknown

Birthplace

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Professional Career

She was an author and a critic.
Personal Life & Family

Mary wrote a book about Olive Fremstad. Fremstad allegedly professed to have no interest in romantic entanglements. However, she wed twice, with both marriages ending in divorce. She and her secretary, Mary Watkins Cushing, also lived together for some time. She died in Irvington, New York, but was buried alongside her parents in a family plot in the village cemetery in Grantsburg, Wisconsin.
10/3

1974

Death

October 3, 1974

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

New York, New York United States
Death location

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Obituary

Mary Watkins Cushing, a former dance critic of The New York Herald Tribune, died yesterday at her home, 106 East 85th Street. She was in her 80's and formerly lived in New Canaan, Conn. Mrs. Cushing was the widow of Edward T. F. Cushing, a music critic and Sunday editor of The Brooklyn Eagle, now defunct. She joined the staff of The Herald Tribune in the nineteen-twenties and soon became dance critic and editor. She retired from the newspaper in 1934 to devote herself to freelance magazine writing. Her books included “Behind the Scenes at the Opera,” “First Aid to the Opera‐Goer” and “The Rainbow Bridge,” a biography of Olive Fremstad, dramatic soprano. Surviving is a daughter, Antonia C. Stone, and four grandchildren. Mary Fitch (Watkins) Cushing passed away on October 3, 1974, in New York, New York at age 85. She was born on January 11, 1889.

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8 Memories, Stories & Photos about Mary

Amanda S. Stevenson

16.8k+ favorites

04/27/2021

Article.

By Mary Fitch Watkins Cushing.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

16.8k+ favorites

04/27/2021

Close-up of Olive Fremstad.

Close-up Pose.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

16.8k+ favorites

04/27/2021

Mary Fitch Watkins Cushing

Photo of the Author on Find a Grave Memorial.
Mary Fitch Watkins Cushing
BIRTH 11 Jan 1889
DEATH 3 Oct 1974 (aged 85)
Manhattan, New York County (Manhattan), New York, USA
BURIAL
Lakeview Cemetery
New Canaan, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA
PLOT Section: SECTION N : Grave: 1
MEMORIAL ID 173680366 · View Source
A former dance critic for the New York Herald Tribune, Cushing joined the paper in the 1920's and retired in 1934 to become a freelance magazine writer. She also authored a few books including ' "Behind the Scenes at the Opera" and "The Rainbow Bridge" which was a bio of dramatic soprano Olive Fremstad.
Family Members
Parents
Photo
Schureman Halsted Watkins
1862–1937
Photo
Helen Randolph Watkins
1864–1934
Gravesite Details BurialDate:10/07/1974
Flowers
Left by TLS on 20 Dec 2019

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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