Martha Parsons

Parsons was born on December 6, 1869 to John and Juliette Allen Parsons. Her father was a prosperous merchant who died in 1880, when she was eleven. Later she graduated from Enfield High School. One of the first to learn Gregg shorthand, Parsons took a job with Morgan Envelope Company, working as a stenographer, earning $10-$12 a week. In 1893, she was hired by Landers, Frary & Clark, based in New Britain, Connecticut, also beginning as a stenographer. By 1912 however, she had become executive secretary of the company, becoming the "first female business executive in Connecticut's history to earn her position on the basis of merit." Parsons signed her mail "M. A. Parsons" so that people she was interacting with would not know that she was a woman. In 1917, she founded the universal war relief association at Landers.[1]

Martha Parsons held her position at Landers, Frary & Clark until her retirement in 1919, whereupon she moved to New Hartford, Connecticut in order to live with her sisters, Julia and Mary. In 1928, Parsons hired Ethel Rebecca Twining to work in the house. The two women developed a strong friendship, and Twining was even included in Parsons' will, until Twinning died.[2] Parsons died in 1965, leaving her house to the historical society. That house is now a site on the Connecticut Women's Heritage Trail. The house of Martha Parsons was built in 1782 by John Meacham. The house was originally called "Sycamore Hall," but was renamed Parsons house after Martha Parsons.[3]