author
Mary Larcom Dow
1835–1920
A New England teacher and memoirist, she preserved the everyday history of Beverly Farms with warmth, humor, and a strong sense of place. Her writing feels personal and local, but it also captures a vanishing piece of 19th-century American life.
1 Audiobook
Old Days at Beverly Farms
by Mary Larcom Dow
About the author
Born Mary Larcom Ober in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, in 1835, she later became known as Mary Larcom Dow. She was closely connected to the Larcom family and wrote lovingly about her cousin, the poet Lucy Larcom, as well as the people and traditions of coastal Massachusetts.
Dow is best known for Old Days at Beverly Farms, a memoir published after her death in 1921. The book blends local history, personal recollection, and character sketches, giving readers an intimate picture of community life in Beverly Farms and preserving stories that might otherwise have been lost.
Available sources also identify her as a teacher, and her writing reflects that same clear, welcoming spirit. She died in 1920, leaving behind work that remains valuable both as literature and as a record of New England memory.