Frances Theodora Parsons (1861 - 1852) [Section 30 Lot 68]
Author under the name “Mrs. William Starr Dana,” Botanist, Naturalist
Frances Theodora Smith was born on December 5, 1861, to N. Denton Smith, a successful tea merchant, and Harriet E. Shelton in New York City. She was educated at the Miss Comstock’s School for Girl, a private school in the Upper East Side, whose alumni include many well-noted women of the time including Mrs. Edith Carrow Roosevelt, wife of President Theodore Roosevelt. She spent her summers with her grandparents at their home in near Newburgh, where she is said to “have gained her love of botany” near the Catskill Mountains and Hudson River.
In 1884, Frances married William Starr, a Commander in the United State Navy. However, he fell victim to the influenza pandemic or “Russian Flu” of 1890, which killed over one million worldwide. While in mourning she spent periods of time in the country with her friend and illustrator Marion Satterlee. She “rekindled her love of wildflowers” and began her career as a writer first under the penname Mrs. William Starr Dana.
Her first book was How to Know the Wild Flowers(1893) was the first field guide to wildflowers in North America, with 48 full-page color plates by Elsie Lousie Shaw, and 110 full-page black-and-white illustrations by Marion Satterlee. The book was a hit, and sold out in five days and received positive responses from Rudyard Kipling, and Theodore Roosevelt, who was a childhood friend. The book remains a classic and is still in print today. The other two books under this name include According to Season (1894), and Plants and Their Children (1896).
Frances remarried in 1896 to James Russell Parsons, Jr. a profession of education and treasurer of at the State Normal College, later University at Albany. The two resided in Albany where he served as a politician within New York State; together they had one son, Rusell Parsons. In 1899, Frances wrote a companion book to How to Know the Wild Flowers titled How to know the Ferns under the name Frances Theodora Parsons.
James was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to serve as a diplomat, the Consul General in Mexico However, he was killed on December 5, 1905 when an electric trolley struck his horse-drawn carriage on the streets of Mexico City. He was 44 years old.
Frances became very politically active, a strong supporter of the suffrage movement as well as the Republican and Progressive parties. She served as a campaign manager for Fiorello H. La Guardia while running for President of the Board of Alderman; later becoming Mayor of the City of New York. She was also civic-minded, aiding in the protection of Central Park, and supporting New York City public schools and wounded World War I veterans.
She wrote one more book, an autobiography Perchance Some Day(1952). She died the same year on June 10 at her home in Katonah, at age 90. She was cremated at Ferncliff Crematory in Hartsdale and later interred at Albany Rural Cemetery about a week later in the James R. Parsons, Jr. and Wife family plot.